In their own words: Candidates for Springfield mayor, city council speak out at Ozarks Tech drop-in event

It’s a warm Wednesday afternoon on the campus of Ozarks Tech, with about 80 students and other local voters piling into a big reception room at Plaster Manufacturing Center. The Ozarks Tech Politically Active student group is putting on a candidate forum — drop-in-style, meaning voters can chat face-to-face with candidates in major Springfield-area races.

I caught up with all of the candidates running for Springfield mayor and city council, with a simple ask: Tell us your name, the office you’re running for, and why — and keep it to roughly 30 seconds or less. Here are their comments, organized by election contest and alphabetical order.

"I'm Mary Colette. I am running for mayor. I'm a longtime community volunteer. I am a neighborhood advocate. I'm running for mayor to give Springfield citizens more of a voice in their government. I served on city council from 2001 to 2009 so that's over 400 council luncheons and over 200 council meetings. So I can hit the ground running and represent all you citizens from the get-go. Please vote for me on April 8."

"Hi, I'm Jeff Schrag. I'm running for mayor of Springfield. I feel like my diverse background throughout the city makes me an ideal candidate for this position."

"So I'm Heather Hardinger, and I'm running for City Council General Seat A. I'm the incumbent. I was elected in 2021, and I'm running again for city council because I believe that we should have folks representing the community that want to make an economy that works for everyone. And so there are a lot of really cool things that I've been able to be a part of over the last four years that have helped accomplish some of those goals. But we do have a long way to go, so I'm really excited to run again and hopefully continue serving in this capacity for the next four years."

"My name is Eric Pauly. I'm running for General Seat A on the Springfield City Council. And the reason I'm I'm running is I think it's very important for everyone to go ahead and get involved with the city at whatever level they can. When I look at the City of Springfield, I'm very concerned about the ability for the neighbors to have input into the things that happen within the city of spring Springfield."

"Hi, my name is Bruce Adib-Yazdi. I'm running for City Council Zone 4. I'm an architect, a developer and a neighborhood association president. I want to see us execute the Forward SGF plan in a in a really good way, and I want to see us think more like a small city than a big town."

"My name is Matthew Simpson. I'm running for Zone 4 Council, and my reason is because I believe we have responsibility to make our community a better place for current and future generations. As a parent, as an educator, as a former small business owner, I've know the importance of safe, public safety, economic opportunity and building a better future for our next generations. And I'm proud to have been endorsed by the Springfield Police Officer Association, International Association of Firefighters union and United Springfield for my work for the community."

"My name is Monica Horton, and I'm running for re election, unopposed for Zone 1, the city council seat, which is northwest Springfield. And I am running again, because I know that as Zone 1 goes, so does the rest of the city. And there's a lot on the horizon, and we want to be a part of it. We want to make sure that the voices of northwest Springfield are heard in the mix."

"My name is Craig Hosmer. I'm running for city council, General Seat B, and I'm really running to continue the work we've already been doing on law enforcement, public safety, doing more on housing, affordable housing, and trying to make the city run more efficiently and more effectively, and hope to continue that."

Elections for Springfield city council and the mayor’s office take place Tuesday, April 8.

To hear more from Springfield City Council candidates, you can listen and view interviews led by community volunteers with the Informed Voter Coalition.