Hoppe, Thornhill win City Council races

Students showed up to support Hoppe.

By Ryan Schmitz

Published April 7, 2009

Columbia voters in the Second and Sixth wards went to the polls Tuesday to elect representatives to the City Council for three-year terms.

Jason Thornhill, a realtor, beat schoolteacher Allan Sharrock for an open seat as Second Ward Representative, which was vacated by longtime council representative Chris Janku. Sixth Ward City Councilwoman Barbara Hoppe defeated challenger Rod Robison in her re-election bid.

“I want to say thank you to everyone who voted for me and wants Columbia to stay on track,” Hoppe said at a rally held at the Pasta Factory. “I consider students to be an important part of the city, and I want some of them to stay here after they graduate.”

Robison said he was pleased with the conduct of his campaign.

“I’m proud of the race we ran, since we kept it to the issues,” he said. “I would’ve liked to win or lose more closely, but considering our lack of name recognition, I believe we did pretty well.”

Hoppe received strong backing from students and permanent residents alike. Voters said sustainability, growth management, population distribution and property management were key factors in their decisions.

“We shouldn’t spread people out all over the place,” MU senior Paul Weber said. “We need to increase the population density.”

Hoppe supporter Carol Pastoret emphasized the importance of maintaining order in the Sixth Ward, which is home to many MU students. Hoppe supported the passage of the nuisance party ordinance in the council, which levies penalties against residents who have gatherings of 10 or more people with any number of activities going on, including underage drinking.

“Barbara has helped to promote quietness,” she said. “We don’t want any wild parties in the neighborhood.”

Other voters liked Hoppe’s level of experience in contrast to Robison, a water systems manager at Riback Supply Company.

“Barbara has shown she is knowledgeable about all of the issues, while her opponent does not appear to be,” said Emma Jean McKinin, Sixth Ward resident and former MU faculty member.

Hoppe said she campaigned fairly against Robison, but his operation resorted to traditional political attacks. She said some of Robison’s supporters would have voted differently if they knew all of the facts.

“The Central Missouri Development Council ran $10,000 worth of negative ads against me,” Hoppe said. “They didn’t say anything positive about my opponent, but made wild accusations against me. I feel people who voted for Rod Robison would vote for me if they had correct information, and I want to make sure they get it.”

Robison denied any involvement with this negative advertising.

“Barbara would have to pick that up with the Central Missouri Development Council, since it has nothing to do with my campaign,” he said.

Hoppe won votes from the ward’s student population through her promotion of outdoor recreation and nature areas.

MU graduate student Daniel Conner said he wanted to see more bike paths and lower speed limits in Columbia, as well as a restoration of Stephens Lake Park.

“I was almost killed by a car while riding my bike earlier this year,” he said. “We need to expand the biking areas and make sure the roads are safe.”

Council members said it is easier for incumbents to win re-election due to their name recognition with voters. In addition to being in the public eye, they must listen to the ideas of voters in their wards.

“The attraction of serving on the council is not in the individual issues, but in the interaction between the council and constituents,” Third Ward Councilman Karl Skala said. “The secret to Chris Janku’s longevity was his receptiveness to constituents.”

Fourth Ward Councilman Jerry Wade said major issues facing Columbia are the economy and public safety, and the council must find common ground in order to move forward.

“I have to work with whoever wins,” Wade said. “We have two or three years of budget challenges ahead of us, plus having to make new energy decisions and modernize our development standards. In addition, the new police chief will have to manage on a smaller budget and find the tools to address the city’s needs most effectively.”

Robison said he would continue to attend council meetings to see if Hoppe follows through on the proposals she made during the race. If he feels she does not fulfill her promises, Robison said he would consider running for the seat again in 2012.

Thornhill defeated Sharrock by 29 votes, or 2.34 percent.

Despite the close loss, Sharrock said he feels content with his campaign and will not ask for a recount. He added he would continue to monitor council business and attend regular meetings.

“I ran an excellent campaign, and I’m happy with the outcome give my limited resources,” Sharrock said. “With a difference of only 29 votes, I’m not going to speculate on the reasons why they voters chose Jason over me.”