Month: July 2026

ABC 17 News is interviewing candidates heading into the Aug. 4 election. On the ballot for Columbia’s Ward 4 seat is Ryan King, Dave Sorrell and Sharon Jones.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

OLIVIA HAYES: We’re here with Ward 4 city council candidate Sharon Jones. Sharon, thank you for joining me today.

SHARON JONES: Thank you, it’s a pleasure.

HAYES: So we’ll start with, what is your history with Columbia? Tell me about that.

JONES: I moved here from Springfield, Missouri, when I went to college in, uh, Fayette, Missouri, which is just north of here, Central Methodist University, and as I was graduating out of there, my then boyfriend and now husband and I moved here to Columbia. So we’ve been here in Columbia full-time since about 2000.

HAYES: And what made you decide to run for this seat?

JONES: I have been on planning and zoning for about 6 years. I got interested in the planning and development because I watched Columbia grow up, and since Nick Foster was leaving, I had some people reach out to me and say, ‘Hey, you’re chair of planning and zoning. Would you like to be on city council? We’d love to support you.’ So I thought it sounded like a great way to continue my service to the community.

HAYES: When we spoke to Nick Foster shortly after his resignation announcement, he said that whoever took over the seat, he wanted them to match the same ideals that he had. Is there anything that you plan to pick up where Nick Foster left off and keep the ball rolling on?

JONES: We’ve talked a lot over the years, Nick and I, about the short-term rental ordinances and the long-range planning documents that the city is getting ready to do, and I hope that I can take some of what I’ve learned from him and the collaboration we’ve done and move that forward in my own way, uh, as we do these long-range plans.

HAYES: What do you think is the biggest challenge currently facing Ward 4?

JONES: I think the biggest challenge we have in Ward 4, because it moves all the way out to the west, almost into the county, or frankly into the county, I think our biggest challenge is that sort of western edge of the community and getting services out there. Getting utilities out there, getting infrastructure, like good quality roads all the way out as we sprawl that way.

HAYES: And you previously shared that you plan to continue your work life as a lobbyist. How do you plan to balance those responsibilities with the work for responsibilities that you would kind of take under your belt if you were to be elected?

JONES: Yes, so being a lobbyist or really it’s advocacy that I do is very interesting because it’s all sort of concentrated while the legislature is in session, and then when they’re not in session I have a lot more flexibility to work from home or from Goldie’s, which has become a habit of mine, or you know, take a day off and go and have meetings so I think it’s going to work really well. I also have a great team of employees in both of the businesses that I own who can manage things day to day if I need to step back, so I can do more city council work.

HAYES: Definitely, it’s good to have a support system behind you. Is there anything else that you want the ward for voters to know about you?

JONES: I think it’s really important to know that I come at everything from the same frame that I come at my work from, which is I am here to make sure that everyone is treated with respect and dignity. That they have a workplace where they can feel safe and respected, that they have a home where they can feel safe and proud of their community that they live in, so I really want to make sure that I’m making Columbia work for everyone.

HAYES: Alright, well thank you so much for sharing that with us and thank you for joining us. Again, we have Ward 4 city council candidate Sharon Jones.

ABC 17 News is interviewing candidates heading into the Aug. 4 election. On the ballot for Columbia’s Ward 4 seat is Ryan King, Dave Sorrell and Sharon Jones.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

OLIVIA HAYES: Today, I am here with Columbia City Council Ward 4 candidate Ryan King. Ryan, thank you for joining me today.

RYAN KING: Thank you, Olivia. Happy to be here.

HAYES: So just to start, tell me about your history with Columbia. You can talk about your personal history, work history, whatever you want to include.

KING: Sure, yeah. So I moved here in 2019. My wife is getting her PhD, and I’ve been involved a lot in the community. So I’m a board member of Columbia Track Club, community wellness is really important to me, parks and community wellness, and we’re a nonprofit. So I joined that, I’m on the board, and I even have my own race that I direct each year.

Also within the community, I’m on the Housing and Community Development commission, so we work a lot with affordable housing and some other things. We make recommendations to the city council. So, I’ve been pretty heavily involved with the community since I moved here.

HAYES: What made you decide to run for this seat?

KING: Well, I just feel that my ideas, if implemented, would make a big difference in the lives of Columbia’s residents. So, I’m a pretty independent voice. I don’t have a lot of political connections, and my career has been based in public service and community service. So I want to make Columbia’s neighborhoods stronger through fiscal responsibility, infrastructure, also access to parks and trails, and we also need to focus on affordable housing to make sure that, you know, young families especially are able to live in Columbia and enjoy all the great things about it.

HAYES: Explain what you mentioned about physical responsibility? What does that mean to you?

KING: Oh, fiscal responsibility, sorry about that. Yeah, so Columbia, we’ve been running a deficit in the millions like the last year, especially. So we just need to … we have a rainy day fund, we have a reserve fund, but you know, we need to make sure that things are balanced. We need to make sure our spending is deliberate and that what we’re spending money on is things that we actually need, so essential services and things like that. We, we just have to make sure that things are in balance.

HAYES: And what do you think is the biggest problem currently facing Ward 4?

KING: Currently facing Ward 4? I think infrastructure is a big one. I mean there are some infrastructure projects that were approved by voters in 2015, and they still haven’t been completed, so we just have tens of millions of dollars sitting in escrow. If you think about what’s happened since 2015, the rate of inflation. I don’t even know if we have enough money from those bonds to pay for these projects anymore, so we just need to be deliberate about completing infrastructure projects because they said that these lines were needed in 2006. We just need to make sure, for the future and for everyone who currently lives there, that we complete projects like this.

HAYES: Yeah, I know we’re seeing a little bit of that issue in some Ward 5 projects like the water tower situation. It’s gone up tremendously to actually do it.

KING: Right, and water especially, it’s all connected, you know. So things in Ward 5 could also impact Ward 4, and I think we’re seeing that and there’s like a proposed ordinance saying when we can and cannot water our lawns, so infrastructure is very important, and it makes a big difference in our lives.

HAYES: Definitely, and when we spoke with Nick Foster around the time of his resignation announcement, he said he wanted whoever took over the seat to kind of match his same ideals. Is there anything from the work that Nick Foster did that you would like to continue and kind of pick up where he left off?

KING: Sure, well, I’m really big on community. I already mentioned affordable housing, but on the, on the Housing and Community Development Commission, we hear a lot of proposals from nonprofits, and there’s a lot of great work being done on affordable housing, like Habitat for Humanity building a whole neighborhood, but some other things I’d like to emphasize are multi-family. Like, especially if we have empty lots in certain areas of Columbia, I’d like to try to … incentivize multi-family and you know, try to get some, some housing on these lots because with multi-family, you know, what’s better than, than one unit? You know, two units, three units. Let’s increase the supply and try to get some more housing out there for people.

HAYES: I know that two of your other candidates, or the two other candidates that you’re running against, they have some involvement in the City of Columbia government. Sharon Jones is on the Planning and Zoning, Dave Sorrell has a long history with Columbia Utilities. I know that you are on some committees through the city as well. How do you think, given your guys’ involvement across the board in the city, what do you think sets you apart as a candidate from the other two?

KING: So I’m on the Housing and Community Development Commission, but the big thing for me is my public service and community service. So I’m an attorney, I’ve worked in social services for the last 14 years. I’m also in the Army Reserve. I’m a judge advocate, and as I mentioned before, I’m on the board of Columbia Track Club. So I have all these, all this diverse experience, and I think that would serve me well in serving a diverse group of people like we have in Ward 4.

HAYES: It sounds like you serve the community with everything you’re a part of, but you’re also a part of it at the same time.

KING: Yes, yeah, the things I care about I like to get directly involved, and that’s a big reason why I decided to run for, run for this office.

HAYES: Definitely. Well, is there anything else that you want the ward for voters to know about you?

KING: Well, I’m big on community well-being, and parks are really important to me. I feel like one of the great things about Columbia, of Columbia’s character, are our parks and forests, and I think access to parks is a big thing. We need to make sure that as Columbia grows, that parks and trails are at the center of our neighborhoods and not big box retail development. You know we want to avoid sprawl. We want to keep Columbia, you know, the way that it is … with access to parks, so.

HAYES: It’s good scenery.

KING: Yeah, they’re very much at the center of the, like the life of my family. We walk there, we bike there, we picnic there, we meet people who we would never meet, you know, just walking through the parks, and it’s something that everyone should be able to experience.

HAYES: Definitely. Well, thank you so much for speaking with me today.

ABC 17 News is interviewing candidates heading into the Aug. 4 election. On the ballot for Columbia’s Ward 4 seat is Ryan King, Dave Sorrell and Sharon Jones.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

OLIVIA HAYES: We’re sitting down right now with Columbia Ward 4 candidate Dave Sorrell. Thank you for joining us today.

DAVE SORRELL: Thank you for having me.

HAYES: Yeah, so I’ll just start with, tell me about your history with Columbia, whatever you wanna talk about.

SORRELL: Well, I’ve lived here for 39 years, and my wife Dee and I have raised three children here; they’re all grown. Two of them are still in town, they’re attending the university. I served this community, I have the privilege of serving the community as a city employee for 24 years. I started out as an engineer in public works, had several different positions, and retired last year as director of utilities. So I’m very familiar with how the city operates. I know all the processes, and I had a lot of good opportunities to work on a lot of good projects during that time.

HAYES: So you’ve lived in Ward 4 then your entire time here?

SORRELL: Not my entire time, but for the last 28 years, 29 years.

HAYES: And what made you decide to run for this seat when it opened up?

SORRELL: Well, like I said, I retired last year, but my commitment to public service didn’t end when I retired, and I thought it would be a good opportunity to continue to provide service. I think I could help the city get its focus back on the basic functions, which would include strong public safety, infrastructure, planning for growth, wise use of our financial resources and accountability to the ratepayers and taxpayers.

HAYES: And what do you think is the biggest problem facing Ward 4 right now? Or problems if you had multiple?

SORRELL: Well, I think it’s really, I think we need to get our focus, like I said, back to the basics, the fundamentals, and focus on those as our highest priorities, and that’s public safety, infrastructure, planning for growth, financial management.

HAYES: When we spoke with Nick Foster after his resignation announcement, one thing he expressed to us is he hopes whoever takes over the role has the same ideals as he had. Is there anything from the work that Nick Foster did that you keep, you plan to keep the ball rolling on if you were to be elected?

SORRELL: Not necessarily. Like I said, I’m, I wanna focus on the fundamentals and get back to good government that doesn’t have politics involved in decisions.

HAYES: And after your candidacy was announced, you faced some criticism from one of Columbia’s former mayors over your time with the Columbia Utilities department, specifically, unfinished projects was one of the things he touched on. I know you responded at that time to Mayor Treece, but for any Ward 4 voters still a bit unsure about who they’re casting their ballot for, what do you have to say about this?

SORRELL: I think if you go back and look at the history of the projects that were mentioned, most of those were not approved by previous elected officials. Uh, the staff doesn’t hold the purse strings. We can’t appropriate funds, and we can’t approve projects; we can only request. So it was not for lack of effort.

HAYES: Is there anything else that you want the voters of Ward 4 to know about you?

SORRELL: I don’t think so.

HAYES: Well, thank you so much for joining us.

SORRELL: All right, thank you.