WILDWOOD — Wildwood Mayor Jim Bowlin on Wednesday announced he will run in 2024 to represent Missouri’s 15th Senate District, setting up a competitive Republican primary for the seat.
Bowlin, a Republican, will face former state Rep. David Gregory, R-Sunset Hills, in the August primary for the 15th, where Sen. Andrew Koenig, R-Manchester, is term-limited.
The 15th district includes the west ºüÀêÊÓƵ County suburbs of Manchester, Ballwin, Wildwood, Chesterfield, Clarkson Valley, Ellisville, Winchester, Twin Oaks, Town and Country, Country Life Acres, and Crystal Lake Park.
In a written statement, Bowlin said he is seeking state office to “fight for greater transparency at all levels of government, support law enforcement, punish criminals, and eliminate waste and abuse of Missourians’ tax dollars.â€
That includes a focus on crime prevention in ºüÀêÊÓƵ with “tougher laws†and an effort to “give the voters of ºüÀêÊÓƵ City the right to recall their prosecutor, Kim Gardner, should she let one more murderer go free,†Bowlin said.
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“We need tougher laws, but most immediately, we need our prosecutors to enforce the laws already in place,†he said.
Bowlin said he would also support state GOP efforts to give parents more power to scrutinize and challenge public school curriculum and library content.
“We need transparency on who is teaching and what is being taught in our schools, how money is being spent and where it is being spent,†Bowlin said.
Gregory, who last year lost the Republican race for state auditor, did not immediately return a phone call requesting comment.
An attorney, Gregory lost the Aug. 2 GOP primary for state auditor to Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick, who easily won election to the post over Democrat Alan Green and Libertarian John A. Hartwig Jr.
Bowlin’s term as mayor of Wildwood, his second, ends in 2024. He was elected to his first four-year term in 2016 and reelected in 2020.
A Wildwood ordinance that went into effect in 2018 limits mayors to eight years in office, but exempts “service as mayor†resulting from a prior election. Bowlin said he opted not to run for a third term so he could seek state office.