Springfield City Council will have at least three new faces after the upcoming April 4 election, as 10 city residents are now certified to run for seats.
The City Clerk’s office says Mayor Ken McClure will be opposed by Galloway Village Neighborhood Association activist Melanie Bach. This is McClure’s fourth run for Springfield Mayor since he was first elected in 2017; Bach led neighborhood efforts to block a mixed-use development in a hotly contested citywide vote last year.
Campaign finance records filed in recent days with the Missouri Ethics Commission show the McClure campaign raised more than $25,000 so far this election cycle, while the Bach campaign brought in just over $7,000.
Meanwhile, incumbent Council members Richard Ollis, Andrew Lear and Mike Schilling aren’t running for re-election.
Instead, David Nokes and Brandon Jenson will face off for Schilling’s seat in Zone 3, while Callie Carol and Jeremy Dean will campaign for the seat Lear is vacating. Derek Lee and Bruce Adib-Yazdi are running for the seat Ollis is leaving.
Two incumbents on Council won’t face any opposition at the ballot box in April: Abe McGull in Zone 2, first elected in 2019, and Zone 1 member Monica Horton, appointed last year when incumbent Angela Romine resigned in favor of a failed bid for state Senate.
The seats currently held by Councilmembers Heather Hardinger, Craig Hosmer and Matt Simpson are not up for election at this time.
Springfield's city charter provides for two-year terms for the city mayor and four-year terms for members of city council.
