01/04/2026
While many government offices were open for limited hours this week and some couldn’t be reached for a final list of candidates running for city councils, school boards, ambulance districts and the county health board, many local entities had few people seeing office and at least one — the City of Dixon, MO Municipal Government city council — faces a write-in ballot since nobody filed by Tuesday’s deadline for two of the three aldermen positions up for election in April.
Four exceptions are the St. Robert City Council, Dixon R-I School Board, Crocker R-II School Board, and Waynesville R-VI School Board, each of which have significantly contested races.
The highest number of challengers is in Crocker, where incumbent Billy “B.J.” Medlen was the only one of three board members to run for re-election. Other candidates are Jimmy Boulware, Jason Stewart, Michael Sloan and Samantha Barnes. The other two incumbents up this year, Brian Foster and Tyler Pierce, did not run for re-election. The top three of the five candidates running will be elected.
While Dixon can’t get any candidates except Ward II Alderman Daniel Milligan to run for city council — Ward I Alderman Mike Parson and Ward III Alderman Trevor Warnol didn’t refile — the Dixon R-I School District board doesn’t have that problem with five people running for three seats. Incumbents Matt McCray and Travin Shelton are being challenged by Charles King, Ralph Boucher II and Alyssa Hogshooter. The third incumbent, Shannon Perry, didn’t file for re-election.
In Waynesville, four people, including incumbents Layne Lercher and Andy Anderson along with challengers Mike Rawlings and Richard Oxendine, filed for three positions on the school board. The third incumbent, board member Rick Harne, didn’t file for re-election as of Monday.
In St. Robert, incumbent Ward I Alderman Glen Askeland is being challenged by Keala Bennett and incumbent Ward II Alderman Linda Daniels is being challenged by Lillie Creighton. Incumbent Ward III Alderman Michael Hanks and Ward IV Alderman Michael Myers are running unopposed.
While the City of Saint Robert, Missouri city council and Waynesville R-VI School District board will see at least one seat change and possibly more, there will be no change to the Waynesville City Council or City of Richland, Missouri Municipal Government council where all the incumbents refiled. In the City of Waynesville MO Municipal Government, those are Ward I Councilman Robert Rice, Ward II Councilman Anthony Harold, Ward III Councilman Ryan Bland, and Ward IV Councilman Robert Hyatt Jr., are running for re-election and nobody filed against any of the four. In Richland, those are Ward I Alderman Jason Williams for a full two-year term, Ward I Alderman Mac Myers to fill out the remaining year of an unexpired term to which he was appointed to fill a vacancy, Ward II Alderman Mark Howlett and Ward III Alderman Dillon Zeigenbein.
The same applies to the Pulaski County Health Center board where incumbents JoEllen Ferguson, David Howlett, and Jim Patton were the only ones to file, and the Dixon Ambulance District, where incumbents Stephen Sinden filed for his Subdistrict 6 seat and Allan Kuehl filed for his subdistrict 3 seat.
For the Pulaski County Mo Ambulance District board, Richard Lemus filed for the Richland Subdistrict 5 seat now held by incumbent Arletha Light, who did not file, and incumbent Robert Taylor filed for St. Robert Subdistrict 2.
Since the same number of people filed as are to be elected for the two ambulance districts and the county health board, no election will be held this year for those boards.
There also won’t be an election for the Laquey School District board, where two of the three incumbents, Clinton Jarrett and Rachel Blankenship, filed for re-election, along with challenger Brandon Click, but incumbent Zach Shelton didn’t file.
It’s not clear whether the City of Crocker, MO Municipal Government City Council will need to have a write-in race for Ward II. As of Monday afternoon, neither of the two incumbents, Ward I Alderman Christy Leaverton and Ward II Alderman Denis York, had filed, but Jamie Jackson had filed for Ward I.
In other races:
• The Swedeborg R-III School District incumbent board members are Susan Cargill, Wayne Mitchele, and Dalton York, filling in for the originally elected board member Nick Lein. It’s not clear who filed for the election.
• The Richland R-4 School District board incumbents are Barb Warren, Jordan Walters and Bruce Goodrich. As of Dec. 22, three candidates had filed, Gina Kloeppel-McCoy, Jake Stephens and Kelsey Veasman, but it’s not clear if any of the incumbents or anyone else had filed.
• The Plato R-V School District, which includes part of Pulaski County south of Fort Leonard Wood, has three incumbents up for election, Andy Cooke, Paula Cantrell and Diana Atterberry. As of Dec. 29, all but Atterberry had filed but no others. It’s not clear if anyone filed on the last few days.
