Council incumbents won't be challenged

Unless one of its members is unable to complete a full term, the Maryville City Council roster will remain unchanged following municipal elections April 2.

At the end of this week's candidate filing period only Mayor Glenn Jonagan and Council Member Renee Riedel had applied to have their names placed on the ballot.

A retired school superintendent, Jonagan has lived in Maryville for 24 years and spent nearly four decades as a public school administrator. He also taught education classes at Northwest Missouri State University toward the end of his career.

Elected to the council in April 2010, he is now virtually assured of a second three-year term.

Also a shoo-in for re-election, Riedel was appointed to the council in May 2012 to serve the remainder of Chad Jackson's unexpired term.  

A local resident since 2006, Riedel and her husband moved to Maryville from Denver, Colo. They currently own Carson's Sports Grill on the courthouse square.

Prior to opening the family-run business, Riedel spent 11 years with MetLife Insurance, where her duties related to corporate finance and strategic planning.

The Maryville City Council, which normally meets twice a month, is responsible for formulating policies and providing direction to municipal staff through the city manager.

All five members are elected at-large, meaning that they represent Maryville as a whole rather than an individual ward or precinct. The governing board is non-partisan, and members serve staggered three-year terms.

The mayor and mayor pro-tem are elected by their peers on the council and serve for one year.

In other election developments, four people have filed to have their names placed on the April ballot for one of two open seats on the Maryville R-II School Board.

Incumbent Shane Sims will be seeking his third full three-year term on the education panel, having been appointed to fill a vacancy in 2006. Others in the race include Dale Reuter, Rob Sparks and Reba Hageman.

Both Sims and Reuter are Missouri State Highway Patrol officers. Hageman owns a photography studio in downtown Maryville, and Sparks is an American Family Insurance agent.

School Board veteran David Boyles, first elected in 2001, has decided not to seek re-election and will leave office at the end of his fourth term in April.