Thank you Columbia!
The election results are very humbling. Tuesday’s results showed a Columbia-wide majority agrees with our shared priority agenda:
- Enabling job creation.
- Fighting crime.
- Renewing our common-sense values in city government.
Gary Kespohl and Grandkids
I will do all I can to be worthy of the trust the voters of Ward 3 have placed with me as their next Councilman. My deepest thanks and love to my wife Patricia and my family for standing with me through another tough campaign. Thanks to all of the hard-working volunteers, who helped with signs, phone calls and door to door visits. Thanks to the Columbia Chamber of Commerce for honoring me with its first endorsement of a Council campaign in history. Thanks to the former Columbia mayors and Council members who endorsed my candidacy, and thanks for their service to our city. And most of all, I want to thank the voters of Ward 3. I pledge to do my best to bring common-sense representation on your behalf to the Columbia City Council.
Congratulations to our new Mayor, Dr. Bob McDavid. Congratulations to Daryl Dudley, my fellow freshman on the Council. Congratulations to the Keep Columbia Safe Coalition for the great victory on downtown safety cameras, which I strongly supported. Congratulations to all of us in Columbia Public Schools for the resounding approval of the school bond issue.
Elections can be tough, and the Ward 3 election was competitive. I want to acknowledge and recognize the willingness of Karl Skala to serve as a hard-working Ward 3 Councilman. I know Karl will continue to contribute to our community, and I wish Karl and Mahree all the best.
The election is over. Now comes governing. We have many decisions to make as a Council. We must help Columbia navigate rough waters of a struggling economy. I pledge my cooperation, my collaboration and a fair hearing for people of good faith who may have differing viewpoints. Now is the time for Columbia to come together, and let it begin today.
Thank you, and God Bless You, and God Bless Columbia, Missouri.
