Jasper and Newton county residents had a chance to hear from Joplin city council candidates on Monday ahead of the April 7 election. The event was livestreamed through the City of Joplin’s website.
The eight candidates running for the five open seats are Josh DeTar, Natasha Klue-Michael, Brian Joseph Cowles Sr., Mary Price, Jamie Hammond, Matthew Wolsey, Rob O’Brian and Eli Moran. DeTar is the only candidate running for reelection. He, Klue-Michael, Joseph Cowles Sr., Price, Hammond and Wolsey are running for the general council member seats. O’Brian and Moran are running unopposed for Zone One and Zone Four.
The forum at City Hall was hosted by Missouri Southern State University and moderated by Lisa Olliges of KGCS. After giving opening statements, the candidates answered questions written by MSSU students about economic development, conflict resolution and the city’s homelessness crisis.
QUESTION ONE: What do you think of the current actions and policies? And what skills and initiatives would you bring to help those struggling with homelessness?
According to DeTar, there wasn’t effective communication between homeless organizations when he started his term on the city council four years ago. He applauded the forming of the Regional Commission to Address Homelessness.
“As a city, I don't think it's the city's responsibility to be running that coalition, but just to be a good partner and provide support where we can in order to help those that need it,” he said.
He also mentioned that the city has hired a new director for the commission. The previous director, Eric Arganbright, resigned in August 2025 after a little over a month on the job.
Two of the candidates have experience with working with the homelessness population in Joplin. Hammond works with Food Not Bombs and Moran works with the Lafayette House.
Several candidates brought up the 2024 Sharity report which analyzed why the city was having a homeless crisis and gave recommendations for solving it, including creating the Regional Commission to Address Homelessness.
Klue-Michael she would’ve preferred using the money that funded the Sharity report for “affordable housing in our city, instead of hiring consultants outside of our state to come tell us things that we could have known for free.”
QUESTION TWO: How do you define the role of a city council member? A delegate reflecting constituent opinions or a trustee exercising independent judgment?
And how do you approach decisions where public opinion is divided or where your personal views differ from some of your constituents?
Powell said the city council has to think about the future generations when making decisions about the city.
“I think it's vitally important that the nine people that sit up here that are making decisions based on the city work together and come to a solid agreement on what should be done and how a particular issue should be handled moving forward,” he said.
Hammond said being a city council member is about the people of Joplin.
“So I would define a city council member as a civil servant,” she said. “We sign up to serve the people. It's not really a paid position. So being a civil servant means that we have to listen to what the people say, consider what the people want.”
Price answered the question by talking about the times she spoke at city council meetings and didn’t feel like she was heard.
“But then there's times that they can't answer them because maybe the city council doesn't have the answer for me,” she said. “They can be instructed to answer the question at a later date, and maybe we can have a little more of that communication.”
QUESTION THREE: Would you apply the same scrutiny to new industries that was applied to the issue of the data center? And what would you do to ensure the city grows responsibly?
Earlier this year, a Joplin land developer proposed the re-annexation of his land to build an AI data center. The proposal was met with intense opposition. Klue-Michael said she was escorted out of the Feb. 17 meeting after voicing her opinion against the data center.
While several candidates mentioned the positive response to other developments such as Prospect Village, the new B&B movie theatre and Mi Tierra, Wolsey said the city needs to protect the land around it. He called the Ozarks “one of the most beautiful places in the country.
“We need industry to survive in this nation,” he said. “But it should be scrutinized because industry can come with a very, very high cost.”
O’Brian has experience working with the Joplin Chamber of Commerce and was a past president of the Missouri Economic Development Council. According to him, development can happen in an energy and environmentally conscious way.
“You can set the zoning so it has the minimal impact possible on the environment, a can bring good jobs to the community and higher paying jobs to the community by attracting companies that fit those needs and fit the parks,” he said.
QUESTION FOUR: What would you say or do to restore decorum and how would you deal with groups wanting to be helpful that might clash with the city? Encourage them to work independently or encourage them to work with the city?
Moran is running unopposed for Zone four. Despite representing a zone, he still represents the whole city.
“The big thing for me is, again, me and you versus the problem, not me versus you, but also in the sense of seeking to understand before trying to be understood, the kind of thing where we do communicate with citizens,” he said.
DeTar said a council meeting is professional and should be treated as such.
“Just because you're loud sometimes it doesn't mean that you're going to get heard,” he said. “You actually probably get heard less the louder you talk. So sometimes that decorum, just calming it down, being quiet is where you actually get your message across a little bit better.”
QUESTION FIVE: What do you see as the appropriate role of the city in supporting and encouraging development and preservation of affordable housing? And are there specific tools that you would recommend such as zoning changes, incentives for developers, public private partnerships, land use policies, which do you believe the city should explore and expand?
The question expanded on housing programs like JHAP - the Joplin Homebuyers Assistance Program - and JHARP - the Joplin Homeowner Rehabilitation Program.
Moran believes in the JHAP program.
“Anybody can benefit from it from the first time when it's the first home purchase or for low income, I believe that it can help young families that would not have otherwise been able to afford the home,” he said.
Klue-Michael is on the Joplin Planning and Zoning Commission and is familiar with the process of homeownership and affordable housing. Last year construction started on Vita Nova’s tiny homes for those struggling with unstable housing, which Klue-Michael applauded.
She said addressing affordable housing and encouraging development involves continuous work.
“A way to continue the good work that has been done is to make sure that we are reaching out to all of our resources, getting as many grants available, and putting any amount of money that we can into making sure that we are repairing the old homes, bull dosing, the dilapidated homes, and then making sure that we do rebuild on those lots,” she said.
QUESTION SIX: Now, an issue on the ballot we know would extend the sales tax to fund more police officers, more firefighters, improved pay, even allowed for some equipment purchases at Chamber Forum. Recently, the majority of you showed support and encouraged passage. If voters said no, what would you do to find funding to improve public safety?
The City of Joplin is asking voters on April 7 to approve a permanent funding source for the city’s police and fire departments. If passed, the proposition would be used for staffing, pay and benefits, and improvements to facilities, vehicles and equipment.
Every candidate said they believe the proposition will pass. If it doesn’t, the city’s quality of life will decrease,according to Moran. He said public safety officials impact the city’s ability to be “high performing.”
“So without our public safety officials, it is incredibly detrimental,” he said. “I dare say we will regress as a city without them.”
Candidates agreed that the city would have to cut more resources if the proposition does not pass.
The forum concluded after the sixth question.
The polls will be open on April 7 from 6 A.M. to 7 P.M.
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