Competing visions of county governance

Republican Ed Robb and Democrat Scott Christianson, the candidates for presiding commissioner, present vastly different points of view when asked about Boone County’s biggest challenges.
Robb, an economist and former state representative, said the county government must spend less and manage the budget more efficiently.
Christianson, a small-business owner and adjunct instructor at MU’s business college, said the government should focus on creating jobs and generating more tax revenue.
“Christianson is taking a more forward look,” said Greg Casey, MU political science professor emeritus. Robb, he said, has chosen to “attack the budget directly.”
“When I first saw the 2010 Boone county budget, I was absolutely appalled,” Robb said at the Columbia Chamber of Commerce candidate forum a few weeks ago. “We are in a situation now where we are going to appropriate $7 million more dollars than we’ll have in revenue.”
Robb believes the county can do a much better job of managing its budgeting process. The government consistently allocates more funds than it expects to receive from taxes and other revenue streams, and its expenditure estimates are generally off. That leaves less money available for many programs during the budgeting process, particularly those that would enhance economic development, he said.
Christianson, however, doesn’t see the budget as a crisis. He noted that Boone County, though it might project dipping into its reserve fund at the beginning of the fiscal year, generally ends up using a portion of the projected amount. Except for one windfall year, Boone County’s total undesignated fund balance has hovered between $7 million and $10 million for much of the past decade.
“When you actually look at the major issues that are facing us over the next decade, the top priority has to be attracting, retaining and growing high quality jobs in Boone County,” Christianson said. “A solid economic base is critical to not only retaining the quality of life we enjoy in Boone County…but also stabilizing any number of governmental entities in terms of their revenue.”
Although both candidates agree on the need to focus on continuing local economic development efforts, they advocate different tactics.
Christianson emphasizes a regional approach that enlists help from other counties and cities in mid-Missouri. He also wants to see the county take the leading role in regional economic development.
“It’s the only entity that can bring together all the players,” Christianson said.
Robb suggested accumulating a land bank and “squirreling away money for a war chest” that could be tapped if an opportunity presented itself. He also wants to streamline county zoning and building rules after engaging in more dialogue with established developers.
Robb sees an ominous outlook for county revenues in the coming years. He pointed to the likelihood that the state will reduce funding to MU and the possibility that the Bush-era tax cuts will not be renewed. That would reduce disposable income, which he said will hit the county’s sales tax base hard.
In addition, he said sales tax growth will likely remain stagnant because Boone County is no longer the regional retail hub it once was.
“It’s going to be very, very difficult to come up with any program or any policy that will compensate for those types of losses,” Robb said. “There’s not much we can do, period, when it comes to sales tax revenue.”
Stamper, Griggs weigh in
Former Presiding Commissioner Don Stamper agreed it’s a much more difficult time to govern than when he was in office during the 1990s. During that decade, sales tax revenues were growing rapidly. But he said Robb might be putting too much focus on the budget.
“It’s not the crisis some are going to describe,” he said.
Christianson said the county has done a good job of managing the budget throughout the recession and has sought to focus on the future growth of Columbia’s technology industries.
“Ed wants to cast fear, uncertainty and doubt on our county government in order to help him get elected,” Christianson said. “But that’s not going to help bring any new jobs to Boone County.”
Former Boone County Northern District Commissioner Dave Griggs, a Republican who is currently chairman of Regional Economic Development Inc., said the commission will have to balance fiscal responsibility with timely investments. But the surest way to maintain Boone County’s quality of life is through growth, he said.
“About the only way I see that we are going to be able to raise revenues to provide the levels of service we had in the past … we have to grow our economy,” Griggs said.
The best way to economize the county budget process would be to authorize a charter form of government, Casey said. The charter could then be amended to put county governance in the hands of a county council that appoints county officials such as the clerk and assessor. State law currently requires the county to elect most of its officials, who have wide discretion in operating their offices.
Voters twice voted down an effort to switch to a charter government after vigorous opposition by many of the county’s elected officials, Casey said, and the issue has not emerged as an important one this election. But as Boone County continues to grow, it is an issue it will have to face in the coming years, he said.

Predicting a winner
The winner of the election about two weeks from now will replace Ken Pearson, a Democrat who chose not to run for reelection after one term as presiding commissioner.
The county’s increased involvement in economic development during the past several years, the revenue crunch caused by the recession and the difference in experiences and priorities of the two candidates all amplify the potential impact of the election. But several factors make predicting a winner more difficult than normal.
Boone County voters traditionally back Democrats in local races and have elected only two Republicans for presiding commissioner since 1978. But the so-called enthusiasm gap this year will likely bring more Republicans to the polls in a reaction against national Democratic rule during the past two years. The effect on local partisan races is guesswork.
Partisan bias typically doesn’t trickle down to the local level, said Stamper, a Democrat who lost a narrow race in 2002 to Republican Keith Schnarre. But, he said, “There’s a lot of it that is out of their hands.”
Griggs, the only Republican who served as northern district commissioner in the past 30 years, agreed that traditional political partisanship is relatively small at the county level.
“You can be a Democrat or a Republican, but once you get there, we’re all members of the Boone County party,” he said.
Many voters will only pick candidates in the big-name races such as the US Senate contest and leave the rest of the ballot blank, Casey said. Local candidates used to be able to ride national party momentum when ballots were designed so voters could block vote for a party, he said.
“Presiding commissioner can’t really benefit from coattails as much,” Casey said. “If you want to vote Republican up and down the ballot, you have to vote for each office.”
Familiarity and fundraising
Another factor is name recognition. After spending two terms representing the 24th Missouri House district in Southern Boone County, Robb came into the race with many voters already familiar with him. Christianson does not have Robb’s public persona, though he spent time as a leader in the Boone County Democratic Party and was a columnist for the Columbia Daily Tribune. But he had to win a well-publicized primary election, whereas Robb faced no opponent.
Based on campaign finance reports filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission at the beginning of September, Christianson had outraised and outspent his opponent. Christianson had raised $33,000 and spent nearly $25,000, whereas Robb only reported raising $7,000 and spending $5,000. But observers predicted Robb would spend big late in the election and close the gap.
“I would imagine there will be a big last-minute push for Robb,” Casey said.
Big money support for Robb, similar to the wave of money and support that carried Bob McDavid, Gary Kespohl and Daryl Dudley into the Columbia City Council, will likely become evident late in the race, Casey said. But it should be a close contest, he added, because both have a strong base of support.
Whatever the outcome, Griggs said the importance of the presiding commissioner office cannot be overstated.
“The general public has no perception as to how important and influential a county commission seat can be,” Griggs said. v
County Commission-List

Presiding Commissioner	District 1 (Southern) Commissioner	District 2 (Northern) Commissioner
Ken Pearson (D) 2006-2010	Karen Miller (D) 1992-Present	Skip Elkin (D) 2000-Present
Keith Schnarre (R) 2002-2006	Patsy Ponder Dalton (D) 1990-1992	Linda Vogt (D) 1990-2000
Don Stamper (D) 1990-2002	Donald G. Sanders (R) 1988-1990	Dave Griggs (R) 1988-1990
Frank Graham (D) 1986-1990	David Horner (R) 1986-1988	Alex Gates (D) 1982-1988
Norma Robb (D) 1982-1986	Kay Roberts (R) 1982-1986

Boone County has elected more Democrats to the County Commission for the last 30 years, but Republicans expect a larger turnout this election year, making the contest between Ed Robb and Scott Christianson a toss-up.