No Surprise: Dusenbery and Quitmeier Advance
Former Parkville Mayor Kathryn Dusenbery demolished her opponent in the Republican primary election last Tuesday, while Bill Quitmeier, also a former Parkville mayor, won big in the Democratic primary in the race for District 1 County Commissioner.
District 1 encompasses Parkville, Riverside, Weatherby Lake, Platte Woods and much of the county below Barry Road.
Dusenbery received nearly 78 percent of the vote, drubbing former Parkville resident Jeff Jones 1,283 to 363. Quitmeier captured 61 percent of his vote, defeating Michelle Wilson 887 to 546. More Republicans (1,646) voted than Democrats (1,433) in the two primaries.
The winners will now square off against one another in the November general elections, ensuring that a former Parkville mayor will take over the reins as District 1 Commissioner. Incumbent Tom Pryor, a Republican, decided not to run for re-election after serving one term.
Dusenbery, who served as Parkville’s mayor for four years, and Quitmeier, who served as mayor from 1991 to 2002, sparred briefly during the primaries. Quitmeier was opposed to the building of a new city hall during Dusenbery’s term of office and has criticized her for using campaign yard signs. Dusenbery has defended the new city hall as both necessary and an excellent addition to the city. Both Dusenbery and Quitmeier told The Luminary that they expect to compare and contrast their records in the upcoming race.
“I think we should be able to show what our qualifications are and let the voters decide and vote without mudslinging,” Dusenbery said. In conversations with The Luminary, Quitmeier agreed, saying that their records as mayor are fair game.
Looking forward, Dusenbery said that one difference between her and Quitmeier was her willingness to work full-time at the job of County Commissioner. Pryor, who runs a real estate appraisal company, was frequently criticized by co-workers for his lack of hours served on the job.
“It’s a full-time salary, so the county deserves to have a full-time commissioner,” Dusenbery said. Quitmeier, now a resident of Weatherby Lake and a partner in the Quitmeier-Martsching Law Firm, told The Luminary that he would take a leave of absence from his law firm if he were to win the election.