Traffic, smart growth top list of south-side issues

Zone 4 Councilman Russell Rhodes, who has served two four-year terms on City Council, said he's not seeking a third term because of additional responsibilities with his job as a biology professor at Southwest Missouri State University.

Rhodes said stormwater issues are what prompted him to seek a council seat in 1992.

Zone 4 comprises the southeast quadrant of Springfield and includes the Glenstone/James River Freeway interchange.

The candidates for Rhodes' seat are James Moore and John D. Wylie.

Moore is a five-year resident of Springfield and owner of MyCatholicParish.com, an Internet company that provides Web site development and hosting to 12,000 of the nation's Catholic churches.

He also is the vice chairman of the Springfield Planning and Zoning Commission and serves on the board of the Springfield Community Center.

Moore said that if he's elected, he will try to enhance and improve the dialogue between city government and its citizens, between the city and other governmental agencies, such as Greene County and City Utilities, and among city departments.

"City Council needs to have someone with some good old-fashioned business sense. It needs to have a businessperson's perspective, as well as lawyers and educators. I think that's critical," Moore said.

He added that, because of Zone 4's high-volume traffic corridors, traffic and safety issues also are important to him.

Wylie is a claims representative with the Social Security Administration and former chairman of the Planning and Zoning Commission.

He has lived in Springfield 46 years and served on the commission six years.

"This is a city that I've grown up in, and I'm a fourth-generation Springfieldian. I have a care and concern for the city and its future. It's a very important future and a very exciting time in the city of Springfield," Wylie said.

"I think I have the ability to listen and reflect with a fairness," he said.

Wylie said it's important to him that Springfield's anticipated growth during the next few years is smart growth, and that City Council take a proactive approach with planning.

"I think the local government does have the benefit of being a good voice of the people and also being a good listener," Wylie said.