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Two vying for seat on council
SIKESTON -- Sikeston voters have two choices Tuesday for a new at-large City Council representative.
Mike Bohannon and Matt Tanner are the candidates listed on the ballot for the position currently occupied by Bill Stokes. Stokes said he did not seek another term due to increased responsibilities at work.
Owner of the Sikeston Raymond James Financial Services office, Bohannon and his wife, Kathy, have two children: Charlie, 16, and Natalie, 14.
Tanner is vice president at Focus Bank in Sikeston. He and his wife, Erin, have a 2-year old son, Luke.
Bohannon and Tanner are both lifelong residents of the community and want Sikeston to be a place their kids will want to settle down in to raise their families.
"I'm running for this position for one reason -- I'm not trying to build a resume -- I have a deep affection for the city of Sikeston and I think we must continue on the path to clean up our community and make it a place people want to move to and be a part of," Bohannon said. "We can not stop or back up from what we've been doing as far as the LCRA and public safety."
Bohannon has been involved with the Land Clearance Redevelopment Authority since its inception. "Even in its planning stages," he noted.
Bohannon also served as the LCRA chairman from September 2003 until October 2005. "We've seen a significant improvement in our target area and we've seen a reduction in the Section 8 vouchers used in the city of Sikeston," he said.
"I'm wanting to keep Sikeston viable for the longterm," Tanner said. "I think it's a great place to live, work and raise a family."
A member of Sikeston's Public Safety Advisory Board, Tanner said he believes it is his generation's civic duty to actively serve in leadership positions.
"My dad had a business here for 30 years," he said. "It's all about giving back to your community and that's what I want to do."
"I think it's pretty evident that everybody wants to strengthen our law enforcement. I think (Department of Public Safety Director) Drew Juden has done a fantastic job and he's done it with some limited resources. We need to improve those resources," Tanner said. "And we do that by bringing in more industry into the city."
Bringing in new industry, he said, increases the number of high-paying jobs.
"When you do that, people are going to spend more money, both in retail and real estate," Tanner said. "It all goes hand in hand."
"While I was the LCRA chairman, I started a program to use youth in our targeted area to mow and maintain the properties acquired by the LCRA," Bohannon said. "We started with 20 youth. This summer we'll start out with a minimum of 41 and there's a waiting list of kids wanting to work. We have got to help our young people out, provide opportunities and encourage them. They're our future."
Bohannon said he is proud of Sikeston residents for passing the sales tax to support the LCRA and public safety.
"We've got a wonderful community here in Sikeston but we've got to continue on the path we've started," he said.
Tanner said while he grew up in what is now Sikeston's Ward 4 and now lives in Ward 3, "my scope will be the entire city, not just where I live."
"I have a strong financial background," he added. Tanner said his financial expertise in overseeing revenues and expenses "will help me with the city's business dealings."
Tanner said he also has "a strong moral and ethical belief system, not just in business but in everyday life."
As he is familiar with the people here, having lived and worked alongside them for so long, "I think I know how Sikeston operates."
Tanner said he would also like to work toward improving the city's infrastructure as this, too, will help economic development.
Also on Sikeston's Tuesday ballot, Ward 1 Councilman Jerry Pullen and Ward 4 Councilman Michael Harris are both running for new terms without opposition.