Ten former Columbia City Council members, including two who served our city as Mayor, have publicly endorsed the candidacy of Gary Kespohl for Ward 3 Councilman.

Together, the ten former city leaders have contributed some six decades of public service to Columbia in elected municipal offices. Together, they announced their support in weekend newspaper advertising for the candidacy of Gary Kespohl, a long-time civic volunteer.

Endorsing Gary Kespohl are: Former Mayor and Ward 4 Councilman Bob Pugh; Former Mayor and Ward 3 Councilman Rodney Smith; Former Ward 3 Council Members Phil Hanson, Bob Hutton and Ed Kaiser; Former Ward 4 Councilman Jim Loveless; Former Ward 5 Councilmen John John and Dick Walls; Former Ward 6 Councilwoman Sharon Lynch; and Former Ward 1 Councilman Larry Schuster. Kespohl was also pleased to announce the endorsement of Tim Crockett, son of the late Ward 3 Councilwoman Donna Crockett;

“I am grateful for the public expressions of support of these outstanding community leaders, who have told me they support my priorities of fighting crime, enabling job creation and renewing common-sense values on the Columbia City Council,” Kespohl said. “Columbia citizens have trusted these leaders’ good judgment for decades, so their backing is of special significance.”

A small businessman, Kespohl is also endorsed in Tuesday’s election by the Columbia Chamber of Commerce.

I’m so sorry to learn of the passing of our former Columbia Mayor Clyde Wilson. I wish Betty and his family and friends peace and comfort in the Lord, and I applaud Clyde’s fine legacy of service to our community through the years, as Mayor and before that as Ward 6 Councilman.

It’s wonderful that my old pal Dick Green has been inducted into the second annual class of the Missouri Recreation and Parks Hall of Fame. I have known Dick in Little League and in the community for many decades. He served as Columbia Parks and Recreation Director for 30 years until his retirement in 1998. I consider Dick and our friend Tony Antimi as twin pillars of youth recreation in Columbia. As the news release announcing this honor stated: “ During this time, he was instrumental in overseeing Columbia’s significant growth, including a doubling of the number of parks, acquisition of federal monies and in earning the National Park and Recreation’s Gold Medal Award for Excellence in 1984. He also guided legislative efforts in enabling a local option ½ cent sales tax for funding local parks and recreation services. This has resulted in well over 100 cities and counties approving tax initiatives generating over two billion dollars for parks and recreation services in Missouri.” A tip of the hat to Dick Green, a fine man, a good friend and a major supporter of youth recreation in or community.

We need to send a clear message: Columbia is Open For Business. I supported three job-creating projects my opponent voted to kill: Landmark Hospital, with 100 jobs; Cross Creek, bringing hundreds of jobs; and fixing dangerous, time-killing traffic backups on Lemone Industrial Boulevard to make its shovel-ready sites more attractive for business growth. I have been a small business owner in Columbia for more than 30 years. I know what it means to balance a budget, meet a payroll and satisfy customers with excellent service while maintaining a commitment to the community’s betterment. This is the practical experience I will bring to our City Council.

The Tribune recently published an article that discussed how candidates for Columbia, MO’s mayor and city council elections plan to use Twitter and other social media in their campaign. I will be using blogs, Twitter and Facebook in my campaign for a few reasons.

The internet allows representatives to communicate with citizens in a way that has never been possible. While I will be going door to door, making myself available during the day to meet with people personally, and other traditional campaign techniques; social media and the internet allow me to be available to anyone, anywhere, at any time. I am using these tools to open myself up and be as available as possible for anyone that has a question, comment, concern about Columbia, or just wants to hear what I have to say.

Using social media will also allow me to engage with all of Columbia. Traditonally, because of time limitations, candidates focus all of their attention on the ward that can vote for them. I am personally engaging with the 3rd ward, but a council person represents all of Columbia. Even if someone can’t vote for a candidate the city council makes decisions that affect every Columbia citizen. Therefore I feel it is important to listen to the entire community as well as my ward. Twitter, Facebook and my blog will help me hear what everyone in Columbia is saying, not just a select few.

I have never used any of these tools prior to my campaign but I recognize how many people have a desire to communicate this way. It takes time to learn and perfect these new ways to communicate so I appreciate any advice or feedback on how I’m doing. Representing a community means having a willingness to listen to others, learn new things and adapt to new ways of doing things, even if it involves time. I have time to listen, I have time to learn, I have time for Columbia.