Jefferson City voters will decide between two candidates running for city council in the Second Ward on April 2nd.
Blake Markus is running for the first time against Incumbent Councilmember Shawn Schulte.
Markus moved to Jefferson City in 2009 and currently works as an attorney at Carson and Coil law offices.
Markus said he the main issue he plans to address is government transparency. He said, “One of the most important things is making sure the public knows what’s going on. I just don’t think that’s happening.”
Markus said the process used to come up with the city’s budget is also flawed. He said Jefferson City isn’t thinking ahead when it comes to the budget. He said the city is only looking at short-term solutions for the $1.68 million deficit. He said most residents don’t know why.
Markus said, “If the budget process were a lot more transparent, that would provide a longer term solution than just cutting some expenses every year.”
He said holding government meetings open to the public will allow citizens to access more budget information.
Markus said, “Fewer closed session meetings, and JC TV televises the non-closed meetings, so there’s a way for people to actually see them. Aside from that is posting more information online. There’s a budget available online but it’s very difficult to read. And it doesn’t have all the information there.”
Markus said Jefferson City business owners encouraged him to run for city council. This is Markus’ first time running for city council.
KBIA was unable to reach incumbent Councilmember Shawn Schulte.