Perry County Clerk Jared Kutz wasn’t surprised by the low turnout for the April 8 election, which featured only a few contested races on the ballot, along with two propositions.
The first proposal focused on extending a ⅜ of 1 percent sales tax to fund the ongoing improvement, construction, and maintenance of county roads. In contrast, the second proposal called for making Perry County prosecuting attorney a full-time position.
This year, of the 13,392 registered voters in Perry County, only 2,098 ballots were cast, resulting in a disappointing 15.67 percent turnout.
“Well, it was about what I expected it would be based on what was coming in on the absentee ballots,” Kutz said. “I’m always disappointed in the turnout for the April elections because of how important I believe they are. These are the folks that make sure our water turns on, who run our schools, take care of our hospital and health department boards, things of that nature. They’re taking care of things right here in our backyard.”
Kutz long ago learned to accept that the turnout for the April election will always be significantly lower than the number of voters who participate in November, even though it is the local candidates and propositions that will most directly impact the everyday lives of Perry County voters.
“I always say that every time I call the White House, President Trump never calls me back,” he said with a laugh. “But if I send a message to the mayor or the commissioner, they usually stop by the house. That’s the difference in what we’re seeing here. I initially thought we might hit a similarity to what we had in 2024, but we didn't. We were more similar to what we saw in 2021, but the day went well.
“I want to credit my staff for the work they do in the lead-up to an election and preparing things. I believe that voter registration management is incredibly important at all times. It’s because of the work that we do day to day that makes things a little bit easier and the process a little smoother on election day, when people come in to vote, their addresses are updated, and things like that. So, between the election judges, my staff, and our returns team, it was just an overall smooth day.”
Regarding the election results, Kutz said, “I think there were certain elements of this election that were a continuation of what happened in our community in August. There are certainly some elements of our community that are in conflict at this time, and I think the voters of Perry County spoke loud and clear that they want to see progress and they want to see us working together more than they want to see us divided. We saw a little bit of that locally in the August election and a continuation of that here this past week.”
Proposition 1
The proposal to maintain the ⅜ of 1 percent sales tax for the upkeep and enhancement of county roads passed overwhelmingly, with 1,552 votes, or 74.94 percent of the electorate, supporting its continuation for another nine years, while 519 votes, or 25.06 percent, opposed the measure.
This was good news for Perry County Presiding Commissioner Mike Sauer, who said, “This tax is used to repair bridges in the county and to asphalt and chip seal county roads. It can pay for anything related to the maintenance, upgrading, and upkeep of these roads. It cannot be used for machinery or wages.
“If you’ve ever been to the store where you’re checking out and they ask for your zip code, a few years back, we had the stores do that to help us understand who from Perry County zip codes was spending money in our community and who was from outside our zip codes. It was determined that 48 percent of the sales tax revenue coming in is from people who do not live in Perry County.”
If the proposition hadn’t passed, Sauer said, “You would see no new roads getting asphalted, no new roads getting chip and sealed. We would go into maintenance mode trying to maintain the asphalt roads and chip and sealed roads we have, and the gravel roads we have. It would have been about a $1.3 million hit to the road and bridge budget.”
Proposition 2
The proposal to expand the county prosecuting attorney’s role into a full-time position was also approved with an overwhelming vote of 1,408 in favor, representing 68.85 percent of the electorate, against 637 opposed, or 31.15 percent of voters.
County prosecutor Caitlin Pistorio was pleased with the results, although there will be another election for the position before the proposition takes effect two years down the road.
“I’m glad to see that the voters agreed that this is in the best interest of Perry County, for the law enforcement community, victims, and the entire criminal justice system,” she said. “Perry County is the largest county by population, caseload, and assessed valuation that still has a part-time prosecuting attorney. Obviously, this doesn’t kick in until Jan. 1, 2027, so technically, it is still part-time right now. By then, we’ll finally be in a place where I think we should be, not just with caseload and population but also with assessed valuation and our ability to pay for a full-time prosecutor.”
Memorial Hospital Trustees
Local attorney Art Pistorio, who serves as the city attorney for the City of Perryville, handily won the one open seat on the Perry County Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees, garnering 1,426, or 71.95 percent, of the vote, against his opponent Roger Allen Pleus, who received 545, or 27.50 percent, of the vote.
Health Department Trustees
In the most contested election of this cycle, four candidates — two incumbents and two first-time candidates — competed to fill three positions on the Perry County Health Department Board of Trustees. When the dust settled, first-time candidates Diane M. Kohm, with 1,689 votes (32.98 percent), and Brian Cooper, with 1,442 votes (28.16 percent), along with incumbent Denise Morrison, who received 1,431 votes (27.94 percent), will be serving terms on the board. Incumbent Keith Carroll will leave the board after garnering 525 votes (10.25 percent).
Perryville Ward 2 Alderman
Long-time Ward 2 Alderman Douglas K. Martin lost his reelection bid to first-time candidate Kate Martin, receiving 120 votes (44.28 percent) compared to Kate Martin's 147 votes (54.24 percent).
