Mayor Seeks Re-Election

Mar 25, 2011 | Elections, Headline News

A long-time resident of Trenton, she attended North Central Missouri College, earning an associate of arts degree, and earned a bachelor of science degree from Truman State University and a master’s degree from Northwest Missouri State University. She served as chief deputy juvenile officer for the Third Judicial Circuit for 19 years and chief juvenile officer of the Third judicial Circuit for 10 years. She was the founding director of the North Central Missouri Children’s Advocacy Center located in Trenton.
She and her husband, John Sam, who taught 27 years at the Grand River Technical School in Chillicothe, are the parents of two sons. Jonathan is a licensed professional counselor and serves as a federal probation and parole officer. He and his wife, the former Rena Rothermich, reside in St. Joseph with their two children, Zane, age 13, and Samantha, age 10. Christopher is a librarian for two elementary schools in Springfield and previously taught at the S.M. Rissler Elementary School in Trenton as well as the Bishop Hogan School in Chillicothe. Both men earned associate degrees from North Central Missouri College in Trenton before continuing their education and earning bachelors and masters degrees.
Mrs. Smith has served on various state and regional boards for juvenile justice and children’s advocacy centers. She serves on the Probation and Parole Citizens Advisory Board for the local district, the St. Joseph Catholic Church Altar Society, St. Joseph’s Finance Committee and is a past Sunday School teacher. She has been appointed by the two prior governors and Gov. Nixon to serve on a Child Abuse and Neglect Review Board for the state of Missouri. She is a member of the Dorcas Richardson Chapter of DAR, a lifetime member of the Wright Memorial Hospital Auxiliary and a member of the Friends of the Library.
Why are you running for this position?
The City of Trenton has been my home for over 40 years since my mother moved here after the death of my father. My husband and I have raised our family here and have a deep commitment to this city. I wish to give back to this community some of the goodness it has given us. As mayor for the past four years I have been able to help set in motion many things that are moving Trenton into the future. Things such as over $60 million in new building and renovation projects, new leisure time activities and improvements in city infrastructure but, there are still many things to do to secure Trenton’s future and I would like the opportunity to help Trenton continue to move forward.
What do you feel are the concerns facing the residents of Trenton that you would like to see addressed as related to the position for which you are a candidate and how would you deal with them if elected?
We must continue to upgrade transportation, especially Highway 65, to be able to move products in and out. Highway 65 is important for us to be able to attract new business and industry and expand our existing businesses and industries. I would continue to work with the Highway 65 Corridor group, the transportation committee of the Regional Planning Commission, the Transportation Alliance and the Missouri Department of Transportation to achieve better and safer roads and other transportation modes for Trenton.
We need to maintain affordable services and utilities for the citizens of Trenton. To do this I would work to maintain our present facilities in good working condition so they will operate efficiently. It is necessary for us to continue to meet the standards set by the EPA and DNR however; I would work diligently to make those standards meet a “common sense” test. I will encourage departments to continue to set up long range improvement plans to keep upgrading our system on an affordable schedule.
We must continue to increase the quantity and quality of jobs in our town. I would, through our community developer, have an aggressive plan for assuring that our business and industry presently located in Trenton have what they need to prosper and seek new business and industry for the area. A plan to “market” Trenton must be set up and followed and would include such things as the incentives and infrastructure Trenton has to offer companies, the quality of life opportunities in our community and the numerous health and educational opportunities in Trenton.
I will continue with the goals of the DREAM City Program which will add to the quality of life in our town and make it more attractive to existing and new businesses which will also add jobs to our area.
As resources continue to dwindle, communities are finding it harder to come up with funding sources for its basic needs. Trenton has been fortunate, for the most part, to be able to meet the needs of its citizens but, as a candidate, do you have any ideas in regard to what steps the city should take in order to continue to financially meet the citizen needs?
There are really only two things that can be done to address funding needs and they are cut spending and/or increase revenue. We have been very conservative in our spending and will continue to be conservative especially with the national and state economy as it is and with the effect it has on Trenton. To look at the revenue side of the equation. I will insist that we continue to aggressively seek grants to assist in the projects we must complete to keep Trenton in good repair. We will seek new business and industry to increase our tax base and hope we see a turnaround in the overall economy.
Other Comments.
It has been an honor to serve the citizens of Trenton as mayor for the past 4 years. It has also been very educational. I have gained even more respect for the citizens of Trenton and am cognizant of the many advantages that Trenton has to offer. I look forward to the opportunity to serve as your mayor for another 4 years and contribute to the “great things happening in Trenton.”