Scott County election Q&A: Seven set sights on second district commissioner seat

BENTON, Mo. — Seven candidates — six on the Republican ballot and one on the Democratic ballot — are competing for the position of the Scott County Second District Commissioner in the Aug. 6 primary election.

On the Republican ballot, voters will choose one of the following six candidates: Chase Asmus, Joshua Glastetter, Robert “Bob” Graviett, Robert Hinkebein, Steve Minner and Randy W. Senciboy.

Running solely on the Democratic ticket is Rick Vandeven. The winner of the Republican race will face Vandeven in the Nov. 5 general election.

Donnie Kiefer of Chaffee currently serves as the Second District Commissioner, and he chose not to seek re-election. The Second District consists of the following townships and precincts: Moreland Township: Benton and New Hamburg precincts; Sandywood Township: Blodgett precinct; Kelso Township: Chaffee, Kelso and Scott City precincts; Commerce Township: Commerce precinct; Tywappity Township: Diehlstadt precinct; and Sylvania Township: Oran and Perkins precincts.

To help voters get to know the candidates, the Standard Democrat has compiled information in a question-and-answer format with them. The following responses were provided by Asmus, Glastetter, Graviett, Hinkebein, Minner and Vandeven. Senciboy opted not to participate in the Q&A.

Background:

Asmus: I, Chase Asmus, am humbly asking for your vote to elect me as Associate Commissioner for the Second District of Scott County. I was born into and raised in a family of lifelong residents of Scott County. This upbringing has taught me the need for a strong financial foundation for current and future generations. I attended Oran High School and graduated in 2014. During that time, I maintained employment with The Little River Drainage District. At the age of 20 years old, I started my own business, known as Chase Asmus Trucking, and employ 18 people in the county.

Glastetter: I have been married to my wife, Sonya, for 16 years. We have two children, a son, Henry who is 13, and our daughter, Kinley, is 11. We live in New Hamburg, where I was born and raised. I am a lifelong resident of Scott County. I have been a self-employed small business owner since 2008. Along with being a business owner, I also have 12 years of business management experience working at Noranda/Magnitude 7 Metals where I was a superintendent of multiple departments for the company before my departure in 2022 to run my business full-time.

Graviett: I have lived in Scott County my whole life, I was born and raised on the same family farm where I raised my family and still live today with my wife, Carla, of 43 years. I have four children, Trey, Brent, Kayla, and Cassie, I also have 12 grandchildren. I went to school at Guardian Angel grades 1-8, and Oran High School grades 9-12. I worked for Procter and Gamble for 30 years and retired in 2015. I continue to farm the family farm which I bought in 1994. I am a member of Guardian Angel Parish, Knights of Columbus 4311, Oran Jaycees, Oran Fire Board and more.

Hinkebein: I am a lifelong resident of Scott County and St. Ambrose Parish in Chaffee. I have been married to Theresa Hinkebein, a retired educator, for 19 years. I graduated from Chaffee High School in 1978. While owning and operating Hinkebein Construction, I enrolled in Southeast Missouri State University night courses and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. Membership in service organizations include: Chaffee Parks and Recreation, Chaffee Board of Adjustments, Chaffee High School Foundation, Chaffee Chamber of Commerce, Chaffee Historical Society, Alpha Kappa Psi and St. Jude’s Hospital silver sponsorship.

Minner: My name is Steve Minner, I have been a farmer for 50 years. I am a graduate of Thomas W. Kelly High school. In 1991 I married my wife Beth and had two sons, Michael and Steven, as well as three granddaughters, Brooklyn, Ryann and Miley. I sit on the board as vice chairman for the Scott County Soil and Water District and recently was the head chairman for the University Extension Council of Scott County.

Vandeven: My name is Rick Vandeven, and I am the Democratic Party candidate for Scott County Associate Commissioner, District 2. I am 52 years old. I was born and raised in the Chaffee area, which is where I live. I have been married for 32 years. I am a father to three beautiful daughters and am a proud grandpa. I have worked in the paper industry for 26 years. I am also a musician and longtime political activist.

What do you think the biggest issue the county is likely to face during your term if elected?

Asmus: I feel like the biggest issue that the county is facing and will continue to face is money and lack of funds in the budget. For years, we have gotten tax after tax passed and, still, we continually see that we do not have the money to maintain the infrastructure and the needs and maintenance of the county. I want to bring my own money to the table by utilizing grants that we have failed to get over the years. I will pay them on a commission-type basis to enable them to make more as they generate funds for the county.

Glastetter: The biggest issues we are likely to face are continued loss of businesses and loss of revenue for the county and also continued degradation of our roadways and drainage.

Graviett: I believe the biggest issue the county is likely to face during the next term will be funding. I feel that being smart with how and what money is spent on and making sure to prioritize where the most need is, to get the most done in the county, while looking to the future and planning for upcoming needs will benefit the county as a whole. Inflation not only has hit families hard but it also impacts county spending; our tax money doesn’t go as far as it did in past years due to the high inflation rate.

Hinkebein: The biggest issue our county will likely face is to retain and employ a workforce necessary to maintain and improve our infrastructure. The county must provide proper equipment, training and support and resources to ensure our roads, bridges and county facilities are successfully maintained and improved.

Minner: The county faces many challenges but something that needs to be addressed first is our county budget. We need to allocate the tax dollars into the appropriate places, to ensure our county has enough money to operate without raising taxes.

Vandeven: The Republican-dominated Missouri State Legislature continues to cut funding for programs and services that Scott County and our communities depend on. Our GOP delegation to Washington, D.C., also refuses to bring money back to Missouri and the Eighth Congressional District. This results in tighter budgets and potential funding shortfalls. The county commission cannot continue to burden the taxpayers with sales tax schemes that disproportionately hurt our middle-class and low-income citizens to compensate for the failure of Republican politicians in higher office to do their jobs. No more Republican tax hikes!

What issues do you think are the most important to the county?

Asmus: The issues that I think are the most important to the county are allocating the tax money wisely, training programs and pay incentives for the county employees, annual infrastructure/ equipment inspections, a grant writer and more public transparency. To sum this all into one, I believe in paying what an employee is worth, not what they say they are worth. When an employee feels compensated, they tend to produce more. I feel like we need to enforce a higher code or “standard,” to say, to keep our county in the best shape we can. Your employees are your greatest asset.

Glastetter:The issues most important to the county are keeping a balanced and efficient budget, proper and timely repairs of roadways, keeping existing business and bringing in new businesses to the county, utilizing potential grants to provide adequate staffing and volunteering for our law enforcement, fire departments and medical departments and lastly is greater community involvement.

Graviett: I think some of the most important issues to the county are our roads, bridges, having proper water drainage during extensive rain falls and ditch clearing which would help with the drainage. Again, all this would have to prioritized by immediate need all the way down to what we would like to see accomplished. We must always put the greater good of the county as a whole and not look to just one section.

Hinkebein: Other important issues necessary for the successful operation of our county are emergency services (law enforcement, ambulance services, fire departments). It is likely that every Scott County resident will use one of our emergency services at some point in time. Our emergency services must be properly staffed and funded for the safety of our residents. By retaining, employing and supporting our workforce and emergency services, we will continue to be on a path toward a successful county operation that can attract new businesses, new residents and homes and new sources of income.

Minner: As stated before, our budget needs to be addressed, but others include repairs to many county roads and bridges. We have county roads that are neglected and are in terrible shape. Certain bridges that are near being condemned by the state. Next is our courthouse; it is in dire need of some major repairs, and with the solar panel farms coming into our county, we need to implement regulations and rules to ensure our residents our safe and aware of the harm they can bring.

Vandeven: Scott County has a 3% unemployment rate. Unfortunately, we also have a 19% poverty rate. We don’t just need jobs. We need union-scale paying jobs with solid benefits and good retirement plans that will be here for generations. Economic development is a job duty that I will take very seriously. Republicans in Jefferson City have failed many of Scott County’s low-income families by refusing to process Medicaid applications in a timely manner. Missouri is worst in the nation in processing Medicaid applications. This is unacceptable! I will address our Republican representatives, and demand immediate resolution and accountability.

If elected, what are your goals?

Asmus: If elected, I want to produce a long-term agenda for Scott County. Something that we can lay out and show the public what we are working toward for an end goal. In my business, I know the current condition of all my equipment and share a personal relationship with all my employees and contractors. That is the way I would conduct business for the county. We are always having major unexpected expenses occur just because we do not know the current condition of everything that lies in the county. Until this problem is fixed, I feel that we will always be working from behind.

Glastetter: If elected, my plans would be to dissect the budget looking for inefficiencies or needs for reallocations, lobby to keep businesses in Scott County and bring new business to the county, work with our local volunteer fire departments to obtain grants or other means of funding to increase staffing and improve response times, make sure our county workforce has the necessary means and training to efficiently perform their duties, and also to help clean up our communities so that the citizens of Scott County can be proud of the towns and cities that we live in.

Graviett: My goals if elected will be for road and bridge integrity. Fixing roads and bridges in priority order, updates to the courthouse, looking into more grants and utilizing those grant monies to help make improvements that might otherwise be put lower on the priority list.

Hinkebein: My goals are to use a common-sense approach to budgeting and spending for the county, prioritize emergency services, and improve county roads, bridges and facilities. Additional goals are to retain, employ and support the county workforce, establish a positive working relationship with all county offices and seek new businesses, residents and homes and sources of income for the current and future needs of our county.

Minner: The No. 1 goal is to let the county residents know that I work for them. They can come to me with any problem and I will address it with the other commissioners to find a solution. Next, we have to fix our budget. Without a maintained budge,t the county doesn’t run. I’d like to help encourage residents to shop local in Scott county to keep our tax dollars local.

Vandeven: My goal is to make the Scott County Commission more accessible and accountable. When elected, I will propose the following…That all approved county commission meeting minutes be published on the county website; that the county budget be published on the county website, including past budgets; that all open county commission meetings be live-streamed; that two open-county commission meetings per month be held in a different community at 6:30 p.m.; that a government e-mail for the county commission be created. Democracy works when all the people are represented and can be involved.

Why should the voters pick you (experience or other)?

Asmus: I believe that voters should pick me for several reasons. For one, I am the youngest candidate in the race. My decisions will be based on current generations, but most importantly, the future generations to come. I am the most qualified for the job, due to the nature of my business and endeavors. Daily, I build roads, bridges and ditches, all while maintaining a large budget. I started my business on $2,500 and have made it into the business it is today by hard work and a destination of where I knew I wanted to be. I would do the same for this county. I want this position because I am very open-minded to new ideas and want to bring some of my current ideas and business practices to the county. I want you to invest in me to build a long-term plan for Scott County that future generations can enjoy.

Glastetter: I believe that I would be a great choice for the Second District Commissioner due to my years of experience in business management overseeing the safety and efficiency of large numbers of employees and overseeing multiple departments with multimillion-dollar budgets, along with running a successful small business for 16 years and counting. I believe myself to be a man of strong morals, great work ethics and loyalty. Efficiency, critical thinking and decision-making are among my strong suits, and that is why I believe I would be a great asset to the current Presiding Commissioner, Mr. Danny Tetley and to the citizens of Scott County.

Graviett: I think the votes should pick me because with being retired, I will have the necessary time to dedicate to the county by going to all the meetings and being available to the residents of Scott County District Two. I will also be immediately available for any emergencies that could arise within the county.

Hinkebein: I have worked for and worked with many Scott County residents as owner and operator of Hinkebein Construction for 40 years. I will apply my business experience and knowledge of the county to ensure its successful operation. I am committed to focusing on the current and future needs and interest of Scott County residents. My qualifications/experience includes: operating a successful construction company, negotiating contracts and bids, estimating construction costs, processing billing and payroll, monitoring project phases and deadlines, and working alongside employees. My business experience will be an asset in my role to develop a county budget and administer county government services. I will LISTEN, REPRESENT and ACT as your second district Scott County Commissioner.

Minner: I would appreciate any votes for me and I feel like I would be a perfect candidate for the county. Since I’ve been farming for 50 years, I know how to maintain a budget and keep a business going. I want to make sure that our taxes aren’t raised, but that we are allocated all funds in the appropriate places. I have the experience this job needs. I will take every challenge head-on and I won’t cut corners. I want to be a voice for the citizens for Scott County, and if there’s any problems, I want to know about them, so I can work on getting them handled.

Vandeven: The county government is not being managed in a way that our modern, changing and diverse society demands. The status quo doesn’t cut it in the 21st century. When elected, I will demand the level of professionalism and good stewardship that the taxpayers expect. I’ve never been a member of a “good ol’ boys club,” and I don’t intend to join one now. MAGA Republicans in Jefferson City have written, sponsored and voted for a total abortion ban that is hurting women; restrictive voting laws that are hurting minority, elderly and low-income voters; and discriminatory legislation that hurts the LGBTQ+ community. These are our fellow Scott County citizens, and they deserve someone in the county government to speak up for them. Climate change will continue to stress our county resources. Now is not the time for climate change denialism from our county commission. When elected, I will seek grants from both public and private entities to help combat climate change at the county level and be better prepared for its consequences. It’s our government. I believe that we all deserve a place at the table. As your county commissioner, I will ensure that your voice is heard! Google Project 2025.

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Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 6.