62nd District Nod Seems To Be Anyone's Game

SATURDAY VOTE SET

"This is old Missouri politics . . ."

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Saturday's vote to select the Republican candidate for the vacant 62nd State House district appears to be wide open with no clear frontrunner.

Twenty committeemen and women will chose among at least seven Republican candidates who are seeking to replace former Rep. Dennis Wood.

And despite the historically tribal politics of Stone County, members of the 62nd legislative committee do not appear to be united behind a single candidate heading into their 1 p.m. open public meeting Saturday.

"I don't know what the beauty of this position is that everyone's running for," said Cynthia Patrick, a Shell Knob committeewoman. "I mean, they're coming out of the woodwork for this."

Late Friday, 62nd district committee chair Layne Morrill announced a seventh candidate, Mike Bashford, would campaign for the committee's blessing.

The other six expected candidates are Kimberling City Mayor Jason Hulliung, former Taney County Commissioner Ron Herschend, 62nd District vice chair Nita Jane Ayres, businessman Jeff Justus, former Reeds Spring school board member Jeff Sims and Stone County GOP chair Tom Martin.

"I don't think there is a frontrunner," said Ruth Murray, another Shell Knob committeewoman. "I just hope that our party comes together afterward. We get a good candidate and we all get behind him," Murray said.

Most of the committee people contacted by The Notebook Friday said they were undecided and were eager to hear all the candidates speak Saturday.

"I want to hear them all," said Shell Knob committeeman Dick Nierman.

Only Shell Knob committeeman Charles Patrick said he had promised a candidate his vote on the first ballot. But Patrick declined to say who he is supporting.

"This is going to be a long, drawn out process. There are three or four favorites, but I don't think there's any frontrunner. They're all capable and have done good things and have the interest of the county at heart," Patrick said. "This is old Missouri politics, it's just hard to say what's going to happen," he added.

His wife, Cynthia, who also gets a vote, said she's not going to tell anybody how she's going to vote. But she also said that her vote may not match up with her husband's. "We've been married 54 years, but we don't always think alike," she said with a chuckle.

"Our views are usually compatible, but not always the same," she said.

Of the 20 voting committee members, 12 are married couples. Ten are women. Four are from Taney County, but one will be absent tomorrow. Morrill also said that Nellie Wood, former Rep. Wood's wife, is expected to resign her seat on the committee Saturday because she no longer lives in the township she represents.

Another factor to consider is that two of the candidates will get votes as committee members -- Nita Jane Ayres and Tom Martin. But Martin will likely begin with 2 votes because his wife, Nancy, also sits on the committee.

Not much is predictable heading into Saturday's vote. It'll take 11 votes to win. And with at least seven candidates, multiple voting rounds are expected. But since no Democrat has ever represented Stone County in the state House, Saturday's winner is almost surely the next 62nd District representative.

The meeting is set for 1 p.m. at the Kimberling City Community Center.

And going in, it's Martin 2. Ayres 1. The rest, undecided.

Now There's 6 In 62nd

A sixth candidate has entered the Republican field to replace Rep. Dennis Wood in the 62nd District House seat.

Kimberling City Mayor Jason Hulliung has told 62nd GOP Chair Layne Morrill that he'll compete for the committee's vote to carry the Republican banner next year.

While the special election to replace Wood is set for February, the real decision will be made Saturday, when about 20 GOP committee members from the 62nd legislative district will meet to select its candidate. No Democrat has ever been elected to the state House in Stone County.

Morrill said Thursday that he's decided there will be no "weighted votes," as previously discussed. Each committeeman and woman will get one vote to cast. He expects there to be around 20 votes, depending on attendance for Saturday's meeting. Overall, Stone County will make up about 16 votes; Taney County will have 4 votes.

Morrill also said the meeting's location has been changed to the Kimberling City Community Center on Kimberling Boulevard. It will still begin at 1 p.m. and is open to the public.

The other five known potential GOP candidates are former Taney County Commissioner Ron Herschend, 62nd District vice chair Nita Jane Ayres, businessman Jeff Justus, former Reeds Spring school board member Jeff Sims and Stone County GOP chair Tom Martin.

District 62 GOP Plans To Pick Its Candidate Saturday

FORMER TANEY COUNTY COMMISH ENTERS THE FIELD

Although the special election isn't until February, Stone and Taney county voters will likely know who their next state House representative will be on Saturday.

That's when the District 62 GOP legislative committee will meet and vote on the candidate who will carry the Republican banner next year.

The public meeting is set for 1 p.m. Saturday at the Branson West City Hall, according to District 62 GOP chair Layne Morrill.

A Democrat has never held a legislative seat in Stone County, Morrill noted.

Meanwhile, the field of candidates vying to replace former Rep. Dennis Wood continues to shape.

The Notebook has learned that former Taney County Commissioner Ron Herschend intends to compete for the legislative committee's vote. "I'm excited about what I can do as a state representative to provide opportunity for growth and new jobs in areas other than tourism," Herschend said in an interview.

Herschend, who served on the Taney County commission between 2001 and 2008, becomes the fifth candidate to publicly consider a campaign for the seat.

The other four known potential GOP candidates are 62 District vice chair Nita Jane Ayres, businessman Jeff Justus, former Reeds Spring school board member Jeff Sims and Stone County GOP chair Tom Martin.

All of the candidates except Sims addressed Stone County Republicans at a cook-out in Kimberling City on Saturday. "They were all well-received. They appear to be four well-grounded people," said Stone County vice chair Connie Johnson.

Morrill said one other candidate has approached him about running, but did not want his name public yet.

A separate source said that potential candidate is Corky Chiles of Branson West.

Those with longtime ties to the district believe the GOP candidate will ultimately emerge from Stone County, since it makes up most of the district. But insiders believe it's almost impossible to predict a frontrunner -- especially when the legislative committee is still ironing out the rules that will determine the vote.

Morrill said he's still figuring out how many committeemen and women will get a vote on Saturday. "There's 17 members in Stone County and two in Taney County. But there may be an additional two more from Taney County. I've not had time to verify that yet," Morrill said.

Late Sunday, Johnson also said she was pouring over the statutes that dictate how to fill such a rare vacancy. "Nothing's for sure yet," she said.

Johnson said that former Rep. Wood and his wife Nellie no longer live in the township they were elected to as committee people, and therefore, will not be able to vote.

She also said that local GOP leaders were researching whether the chair and vice chair of the legislative district will each get two votes.

Morrill said he will check with state Republican party lawyers to determine whether weighted voting is allowable. A weighted voting scenario could give Ayres a slight advantage, being both vice chair of the legislative district and a candidate.

"It not set forth in the statute," said Morrill. "We have to figure out if the party allows it to occur," he added.

Morrill's soft estimate is that there will be between 19 and 21 total committee votes. The winner would need to secure at least 11 for victory.

Each candidate will get an opportunity to make their pitch before the committee members on Saturday. Morrill said he hasn't determined a speaking time limit. "It depends on how many we have," he said. "If you walk in that day and want to be a candidate, we'll allow it. I'm not making any formal requests for submissions beforehand. I want it to be free and open," he said.

After speeches by each candidate, committee members will then question each one before casting a secret ballot. If no candidate reaches a majority of votes during the first round, the last place candidate will be dropped and voting will continue until someone reaches a majority.

Because this is vote is by a small politically active committee, personal relationships, loyalties and geography will be key in determining the winner.

Herschend made clear that while his service has been in Taney County, the issues are the the same in Stone. "I am not a Taney County citizen with blinders on. Table Rock water quality impacts all of us. I think there are some that will try to make that an issue," he said.

"At least from my standpoint, that won't be an issue," Herschend said.