Several nonpartisan community organizations have joined hands to educate voters and engage candidates ahead of the April 7 municipal election. For this election, the Informed Voter Coalition is hosting candidate interviews for those in races for Ozark School Board and Nixa City Council District 1.
The organizations that make up the Informed Voter Coalition include: Be Civil, Be Heard; Drury University's Meador Center for Politics and Citizenship; KSMU, Ozarks Public Radio and Ozarks Public Television; Leadership Springfield; League of Women Voters of Southwest Missouri; Missouri State University's Office of Public Affairs; NAACP Springfield; Ozarks Technical Community College's Social Sciences Department; Rosie; Show-Me Christian County; Springfield Business Journal; Springfield-Greene County Library District; and Springfield News-Leader.
Questions for the interviews were submitted by Informed Voter Coalition partner organizations and were not provided to the candidates in advance. The order of the candidate interviews was determined by a random drawing. Those interviewing the candidates are Adelia Horner, Jacob Fenner and Boden Fairweather, student members of Politically Active at Ozarks Technical Community College.
Jay Ortiz
Good afternoon. I'm Adelia with Ozarks Technical Community College and student group Politically Active, one of the nonpartisan organizations that make up the Informed Voter Coalition. Today we are interviewing candidates for Nixa City Council District 1. They are Nathan Daley, Jay Ortiz and Robert Jones. Council candidates will be interviewed individually and asked the same questions. They will have one minute to introduce themselves and two minutes to respond to each question. Our first candidate is Jay Ortiz thank you very much for joining us. Let's begin by having you introduce yourself and tell us why you decided to run for this office. You have one minute.
Ortiz: Yes. My name is Jay Ortiz. I've decided to run for city council, just really enjoy being involved, helping the community, make it a place where people want to raise their families, a place to be, and just excited for the opportunities that Nixa has. And yeah, just want to be a part of the community.
How important do you feel outdoor public spaces and other recreational facilities are. And what, if anything, do you think Nixa should be doing to ensure those are available to residents?
Ortiz: They're very important. People can make decisions based off of, you know, where they're going to live, maybe, not so much a job off of those outdoor spaces and public spaces. Nixa has some great opportunities with some parks — park land that's been donated. It's actually in the budget this year to start those projects and working on them. But I feel that, you know, multi-use paths and those park spaces where families can go and be outside and enjoy, you know, the Ozark outdoors is very important to a city's health, the community growing, and area businesses may be picking communities that have those amenities to develop their business, which, you know, can be very good for development within a community.
What motivated you to run for this office, and how will your experience and qualifications be used in the position?
Ortiz: You know, motivated? I'm a small business owner. Me and my wife own a small business in Nixa. When we bought that business, we got very involved with the Nixa Chamber. And so, you know, that allowed us to meet a lot of people within the community, and it kind of just went from there. You know, I was lucky enough to be appointed to the council by the mayor. I've enjoyed the seven months so far that I've gotten there, and I feel like there's so much more that we're, you know, wanting to do to make Nixa even better than it already is. Nixa's a great community. It's got great schools. It's got great business leaders. Like I said, the chamber. We're very involved with that chamber, and it's just opened so many doors for us and allowed us to be more involved in the community and, again, make it, you know, even better than it already is, so.
How do you approach decision making when there are strong differences of opinion? And how do you ensure all voices are heard? How would you ensure a variety of community voices are heard and represented when solving problems facing the city?
Ortiz: Well, you got to listen. You got to listen to all sides. You can't make snap decisions, you know. I like to listen to everybody's, you know, ideas, opinions and then from there, you know, analyze those opinions and make decisions based off of, you know, listening. You know, I don't usually just react without listening to people's ideas because there's always something that you're not thinking of when you're going to make a decision. And you know, running a business, you got to have that same type of mentality. As a business owner, you can think, you know, you have all the answers, but it's very important to listen to your people because, you know, they're the ones that are doing the stuff day to day. And they can have great ideas that can help shape what direction you want to go in.
What does effective community leadership look like to you?
Ortiz: You know, I guess it goes back to listening, effective leadership, you know, sometimes making tough decisions that maybe aren't popular but are best for, you know, either the growth or the development or maintaining what the city's already doing. But I think a lot of it goes back to just, you know, listening, respecting people's concerns and then basing your decisions off of that.
In recent elections, some municipal campaigns for nonpartisan positions have accepted money from political action committees based outside of the community. What do you think about a campaign for local office accepting outside money?
Ortiz: Yeah, it's not ideal. I've, you know, kind of new to this election game, but, yeah, taking money from outside influences to me seems like, you know, not community driven. It doesn't really seem that that is, you know, the type of leadership that you'd want for building from within the community.
If elected, how will you engage with and learn about community concerns that might be outside of your own interests?
Ortiz: You know, it's just staying tuned in to the community. You know, I volunteer a lot within the community at different events, and in that volunteering, you're running across, you know, the community as a whole so, you're going to hear other, you know, ideas, other concerns, and you're going to get involved with groups that maybe you wouldn't go out and find on your own because you're just involved in all the community events and you will hear, you know, the other side. And like I said, when you hear those other ideas, there can sometimes be opportunities there to help grow together, so.
All right. Well, that concludes our interview. Thank you very much for taking the time to talk with us. And again, I've been speaking with Jay Ortiz who is candidate for Nixa City Council District 1.
Ortiz: Thank you for having me.
Thank you so much.
Robert Jones
Hello. My name is Boden Fairweather, and I'm with Politically Active from OTC. If you're just joining us, we're talking to candidates running for Nixa City Council District 1. Our next candidate is Mr. Rob Jones. Thank you very much for joining us, Rob.
Jones: Thank you, Boden.
Would you please introduce yourself and tell us why you decided to run for this position?
Jones: Thank you. Boden. I'm a Nixa resident now of nine years. I live in Wicklow, and I'm on the HOA board. There was an opening on our council when we had an important issue earlier this year — or last year, pardon me — and I thought it was important that we be represented. So, I talked to several people in our neighborhood and listed myself as a candidate because I wanted to make sure we were represented. I think we're represented well. I really like what the city does, but I hated that there was a gap there. And so, I'm a Nixa resident and interested in making sure my community does well.
Thank you. If you're ready, I'd now like to ask you some questions.
Jones: Oh, yes, sir. Yes, Boden.
So first, how important do you feel outdoor public spaces and other recreational facilities are, and what, if anything, do you think Nixa should be doing to ensure those are available to residents?
Jones: Well, they just worked, on the council and the parks department, to authorize a grant for a trail extension, so. And then they've also added to another park, I believe, on the northwest side of town. So, in my neighborhood, I've got a lot of people outside. They walk, they jog, they ride their bikes. It's a very big deal. And then not far, they've got the X Center and a Frisbee golf course. So, people are outside, they enjoy their outside. They want a neighborhood where they can really enjoy it and raise a really wonderful family. So that's an important thing. Nixa's done a good job to address those things, and it's a part of the character of the community.
Thank you. What motivated you to run for this office, and how would your experience and qualifications be useful in this position?
Jones: Well, I've, like I talked about earlier, there was an opening last year due to some paperwork issues with the board. So, we had a concern as a neighborhood about a bar coming in, and I thought it was not good that we had an opening on city council, so I wanted to make sure that we were represented. And I've spent that time on the HOA board learning all about the neighborhood, neighborhoods coming in, concerns with water and what our neighbors like. And so, in that regard, I feel like I've got a good idea of what our neighbors are interested in, and I thought I could represent it well, and I would do my best to try to do that.
So third, how do you approach decision making when there are strong differences of opinion? And how do you ensure all voices are heard, and how would you ensure a variety of community voices are heard and represented when solving problems facing the city?
Jones: Yeah, that's a really good question. So, it's interesting, there's all different ways to gather that kind of information, from the walks we have in the neighborhood to the Facebook posts that we get with the neighborhood Facebook page. It's surprising how incredibly informative that is. We're using that right now to address some speeding concerns in the neighborhood and trying to work with the city on that. Crosswalk concerns, and so, I am retired, and I have a small business, and I've done things in our neighborhood, like cutting trees back so people can see as they exit the neighborhood onto Tracker and onto Old Castle. So being out in the neighborhood and in the area and at the gym that's close by, allows me to have touch with a lot of people. So, and the time, so that's how I would do it.
And what does effective community leadership look like to you?
Jones: Effective community leadership means that you're paying attention at the meetings. Since I decided that there, that I would be a candidate, I've been going to the council meetings, and I think they do an excellent job. My neighbor is the mayor, and he does an excellent job. He, they really done an excellent job with the budget. But it's about deciding what the vision is of our neighbors. And I think the vision is of our neighbors is to have wonderful families and wonderful neighborhoods with competitive people who are constantly seeking to make things better through their involvement, through their volunteerism, through their tax dollars and through raising children that not only do well at school, but are going to go on and do well and have done well, and Nixa has a great reputation for that. So, I got lost a little bit, but that's my perception of the vision of what Nixa is about and how I would fit in to try to help that.
And in recent elections, some municipal campaigns for nonpartisan positions have accepted money from political action committees based outside of the community. What do you think about a campaign for local office accepting outside money?
Jones: That's an interesting question. The laws are made in real time in history and are continuing to be adjusted as they go. So, to fulfill the law is the appropriate thing and to find that the consequences of that lead you one way or another, then that needs to be addressed appropriately. So, if outside money is being spent on local concerns, we need to see what that effect would be. Maybe there's, maybe it has no negative effect at all, and it's fulfilling the law. So, that's a very general answer because I don't have the specifics on that.
And if elected, how will you engage with and learn about community concerns that might be outside of your own interests?
Jones: Well, there's a lot of things that are involved with Nixa. Nixa's a very competitive place. If you, if you go there, people that go there, for example, in the high school, they do well in FFA. FFA is a tremendous program, and they do a good job representing that. The football team is good. The basketball team's good, the chess team's good. The theater's world class, and it's easy to get involved and find out what's going on because people are so friendly. And so, just the fact of being a good neighbor can let you have an understanding of how things are going, and what you'll find is things are going pretty well.
Well, Rob Jones, that concludes our interview. Thank you very much for taking your time to talk to us again. I've been speaking with Rob Jones, who is a candidate for Nixa City Council District 1.
Jones: Thank you, thank you. Boden, you did great.
Nathaniel Daily
If you are just joining us, my name is Jacob Finner. We are talking to candidates running for Nixa City Council District 1. Our next candidate is Nathaniel Daily. Thank you very much for joining us. Would you please introduce yourself and tell us why you decided to run for this position? You have one minute.
Daily: Of course. My name is Nathaniel Daily. I'm a veteran, a former city employee and currently a pastor. I'm not a small business owner, but in our district, I see areas that need work. I see areas that need someone that's not just going to spend their time complaining but is willing to put in the hard work needed to best support District 1 and to help grow the city of Nixa to what it could be.
How important would you say that outdoor public spaces and other recreational facilities are? And what, if anything, do you think Nixa should be doing to ensure those are available to residents?
Daily: So inside District 1 is our main parks area. It's called the X Center, and it's an awesome place for young families. However, in the other part of town, in the park that I grew up in, was called the Old City Park is the way we knew it, that was the place to where I was raised. I jumped off the swings. That's where I spent my time. That's where I took my crushes to flirt with them. And now you don't see traffic at those places. You see a prioritization at the area around the park. Why? To get members to go there. And I understand it. But what Nixa needs is places for young families to be able to grow together and to have the same experiences that I had growing up. So one thing that I think is incredibly important is those green spaces for people to be able to get out and actually enjoy these beautiful neighborhoods that we have.
What would you say motivated you to run for this office, and how would your experience and qualifications be useful in this position?
Daily: Well, I was an employee of the City of Nixa for 12 years. And during those 12 years, I saw a lot of changes, for the good and for the not so good. As a veteran, as a pastor, I have an opportunity here to make one of two choices. I could complain about the issues that I see as far as a lot of infrastructure coming in without a support system to help build it. I see busy roads. I see new apartment complexes coming in that are just being built on top of each other without proper water system to support it, without a public works department that is strong enough to be able to continue Nixa's growth into the future. And why do I think that I can help be a part of that or be the best candidate for it? I know how the city works. I know the city council's role in that and that, whenever we support city employees and bring the best policies forward while representing the people within our districts well, we can come together in a bipartisan way to create the best city possible.
How do you approach decision making when there are strong differences of opinion, and how do you ensure all voices are heard? How would you ensure a variety of community voices are heard and represented when solving problems facing the city?
Daily: Well, I believe that, as a representative of District 1, our job isn't to do what's best for us. It's not to do what's best for our own particular ideals. It's to be a representative and a voice for the people that we represent. For District 1, if there are different ideas for how things need to be done, every single voice deserves to be heard in the same way, Every idea needs to be respected, and those ideas deserve to be brought to the table, to be allowed the same ideas to come together in a way that we can then create the best idea possible to bring for the people.
What does effective community leadership look like to you?
Daily: Community leadership is vitally needed in a growing environment like the city of Nixa. Here in Nixa, what you see is, you see construction taking place left and right. You have large chains coming in, and you have business after new business being created. But what you don't see is community leadership applying to small local business owners, young families and the youth being represented well. So what would I love to see in a community leader is I would love to see someone who is willing to come together to find new ideas and new ways to support young people to be able to get involved in the city, to be able to create new spaces for young businesses to come out of a way that's not just meant to support large chains but to make the backbone of Nixa small local businesses that can be supported by the city government in whatever way that that looks like to create the best possibilities for every voice to be heard and every person to be seen.
In recent elections, some municipal campaigns for nonpartisan positions have accepted money from political action committees based outside of the community. What do you think about a campaign for local office accepting outside money?
Daily: I'm not interested in anything taking place outside of the city of Nixa. I'm not employed by anyone within the city of Nixa, and I'm not in this for a financial standpoint. As a children's pastor, I'm very used to not having finances. And with that, I don't want to gain anything personally from this. I believe that we should have a servant attitude towards our community to give back to the people who have given so much, whether that is the seniors that live within our city, whether that is the veterans who have served our country or whether that's a young family who's struggling to get by paycheck to paycheck. Whoever is elected in this position deserves to be a voice representing those people, not in it for personal gain.
If elected, how will you engage with and learn about community concerns that might be outside of your own interests?
Daily: We have to create new ways for the average citizen to care about what's going on locally. I think it would be fair to say that most people within District 1 of Nixa are, any district within Nixa, likely doesn't work within the city. They're likely going to Springfield for many of their businesses, or local municipalities. And what needs to happen is new channels need to be in place for people to actually feel heard. Many people don't even know who their representatives are or what the district breakup is. Why? Because we're using old traditional ways of communicating with people that aren't communicating with people in 2026. We need to use all avenues available to reach everyone so people have a voice within their own city.
Nathaniel, that concludes our interview. Thank you very much for taking time to talk to us. I've been speaking with Nathaniel Daily who is a candidate for City Council District 1. This concludes our interviews with candidates for City Council District 1. I am Jacob Finner with Ozarks Technical Community College and student group Politically Active. Thank you for joining us.
The election is Tuesday, April 7. We hope you continue to research the candidates to see how their values and positions align with yours and then exercise your right to vote on Election Day. If you have questions about where or how to vote or the status of your voter registration, please contact your county clerk's office.
This program was prerecorded. No part of the audio or video may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without the written permission of the copyright holder. League of Women Voters of Southwest Missouri.
Brent Slane served as videographer/producer for the Informed Voter Coalition candidate interviews.
