One election contest has developed for Ward 2 of the New Bloomfield Board of Aldermen in the April 5 election.
Incumbent Ward 2 Alderwoman Martha S. Siegel is opposed by Wil F. Lawrence.
Greg Rehagen is unopposed for alderman in Ward 1.
Martha S. Siegel
Siegel, a Ward 2 incumbent, grew up in New Bloomfield. "I attended all 12 years of school at New Bloomfield and I am a 1964 graduate of New Bloomfield High School," Siegel said.
For the last 19 years, Siegel has been employed part-time as an administrative assistant with Barr Engineering Co. of Jefferson City.
She earlier worked for 19 years with the State of Missouri.
Siegel is seeking her third two-year term as a member of the New Bloomfield Board of Aldermen.
Siegel said one of the biggest accomplishments of the city is construction of a new water tower and expansion of the water service.
"I work part-time now and I now have time to devote to service to the city of New Bloomfield," Siegel said.
"I feel New Bloomfield has moved forward in so many ways. During the last five years I feel the city has accomplished a lot. Rosemary Augustine and Mike Rieken have done a lot to help the city move forward," Siegel said.
"For a small town, it is amazing the quality of people we have moving the city forward. I am supportive but I see my role also as someone who views things with a critical eye to make sure everything is prudent, correct, best for the city," Siegel said.
"Our police department has come a long way under the guidance of Chief John Hatfield. He and others in the department give a lot of their time to the city," Siegel said.
"I am hoping that during this spring people will walk out to the front edge of their property and give some consideration on what they can do to improve their house to make it better for themselves, their neighbors, and everyone else in the city. We have a tendency to throw something into the yard or front porch. Then we never seem to notice it again. But your neighbor sees it. I would hope that everyone takes pride in their property," Siegel said.
Siegel said the city has struggled with a drainage problem for many years. Part of that is the natural grade from the west side of the city. Everything drains down to the other side where the sewer system is located, she said.
"We have watershed issues. If we had a magic wand and a couple of million dollars we could fix all of it. Part of the problem is that some property owners also need to be responsible. They need to make sure that culverts in their driveways are cleaned out so the water will flow through them. Some people bury them and fill in the ditch and wonder why there is a problem. The city can do only so much with the limited amount of money that we have," Siegel said.
"I'm looking forward to another two years of service to the New Bloomfield community if the voters agree," Siegel said.
Wil F. Lawrence
Wil F. Lawrence has been a resident of New Bloomfield for more than seven years since he served in the U.S. Marine Corps.
"I married a girl from New Bloomfield and moved here. Katie had served earlier as an alderwoman in Ward 1. We have three children," Lawrence said.
Lawrence is employed as a security aide at the Fulton State Hospital in Fulton.
"Initially I didn't know that the an incumbent was going to run for re-election. So that is why I filed for the office. I wanted to keep a good conservative in the seat. Both of us are conservative. I decided to go through with the election even though she did file. I wanted to see how things go in this election. I figured I would test the waters to see what happens," Lawrence said.
Lawrence said he wants to run for office on the county level but first wanted to get some experience running on the city level and to gain experience in government service.
Lawrence said his main goal is to bring more business to New Bloomfield and Callaway County.
"I want to work toward securing a new building for the Holts Summit Fire Protection District. They need more space to train on their own property," Lawrence said.
"I also am not happy with storm water drainage in the city of New Bloomfield. I would like to see this fixed during the next few years if it takes that long. I think the next problem the city needs to fix is drainage. It's eroding several areas of the city. Nearly everyone I have talked with has expressed a desire to get this problem solved," Lawrence said.
"One of the big issues in New Bloomfield is that we are a bedroom community. People live here and work somewhere else. As a result there are not many businesses. If we can attract more businesses, we can become a better quality town that will enable the city to grow more," Lawrence said.
"It also will generate more revenue to operate the city government. We need to get this done within the next five years. New Bloomfield has been a sleeper community for far too long," Lawrence said.