Continuing its efforts to encourage local civic education and engagement, the Informed Voter Coalition (IVC) hosted a “Meet the Electeds” event on the Missouri State campus April 11. Missouri State’s Paws to the Polls students assisted with the event and visited with the officials.

Springfield and Greene County officials attending the event were County Clerk Shane Shoeller, County Assessor Brent Johnson, Presiding County Commissioner Bob Dixon, County Commissioner Rusty MacLachlan and Springfield Public School Systems Board Member Shurita Thomas-Tate.

The event was highly successful, said Dr. Suzanne Walker-Pacheco, Paws faculty advisor and IVC campus representative. Thirteen local organizations, including Missouri State University, make up the IVC committee.

“There was just a lot of interaction,” Walker-Pacheco noted. “You could just sit down, ask questions of the person and spend some time with them.”

IVC and its member organizations are all non-partisan, she added. As part of their activities, they conduct candidate interviews for state and local elections. Throughout the summer, IVC will conduct interviews with candidates for Springfield’s Circuit Clerk, Missouri House District 140, Missouri Senate District 20 and Missouri’s 7th Congressional District. Currently, Paws students are helping IVC in its efforts by developing interview questions and assisting with the interviews.

KSMU and OPTV will broadcast the interviews in July, prior to the August 4 primary elections in Missouri.

Photos provided by Suzanne Walker-Pacheco.

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