Mayoral candidates ready for election

April 01--St. Joseph will know who its next mayor is on Tuesday after the polls close, and both candidates claim to be the best choice for the job.

Bill McMurray served as Buchanan County public administrator for 10 years and worked in the insurance and risk management business for 25 years. He said his experience makes him the candidate that can get the most done.

"I'm the guy with the track record, the experience," McMurray said. "(I have) 25 years in business, ten years in government, 40 years in all kinds of community organizations. I know the community and I love the community."

Beau Walker said his lack of government experience makes him the better candidate, because he represents change.

"It's obvious to me that St. Joseph is at a place where we need change, people want change and now is not the time to vote for a status quo," Walker said. "We need to vote for somebody who's going to bring new ideas and fresh vision, and that's me."

Walker said crime is the number one issue that the city needs to focus on and he has a five-step plan to reduce crime that would focus on the causes instead of fixing the issues with "band-aids."

He said the city has been run the same way for decades and the only way to make it a place that people would be proud to live in is with fresh ideas.

"If you're looking for change, if you're looking for St. Joseph to progress and be the community that we all know that it can be, then I'm your candidate," Walker said.

Walker said he was born into poverty to a single mother who worked several jobs. He started his own painting business to put himself through college.

He currently works as a hospice chaplain and is the owner of Make 12 Church and Paradox Theater in Downtown St. Joseph.

McMurray has served on over 20 volunteer boards including the Allied Arts Council, the St. Joseph Public Library Board and Missouri Western State University Alumni Association and plays the organ as a Pastoral Musician.

He plans on fixing communication between the public and the mayor by instituting a "citizens hotline" phone that will be a direct line to call him with concerns.

Working with city staff, he plans to solve major issues in the city like crime and would use his experience in finance to "cut the fat" from the budget in order to save the taxpayers money.

"I will devote full time to the office as mayor," McMurray said. "I think we have full-time problems so I will work full time to solve those problems."

Polls open at 6 a.m. on Tuesday and close at 7 p.m.

Voters can check their polling places and look for other information on the Buchanan County Clerk web page.

Brendan Welch can be reached at brendan.welch@newspressnow.com. Follow him on Twitter: @SJNPWelch.

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