From neighborhood walks to City Hall Larry Miller puts name on ballot for mayor

TaMya Bracy

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) — Larry Miller, a familiar face known for waving and smiling on his daily walks, is running for mayor.

Miller was born and raised in St. Joseph and graduated from Central High School. He worked at Johnson Controls before retiring.

Known as the “Walking Waver,” Miller said oftentimes while out on said walks, he would be asked by residents if he would run for the mayoral office.

“I told them I would. I decided about the last three years, I been wanting to run. People been asking me to, so I did,” he said.

Miller said his campaign is based on the notion that he wants more ideas to get to the mayor’s office.

“That you need to go and talk to the people to see what they want and what’s not getting done. That you can do for them,” Miller said.

Being a big “people” advocate, Miller said he would exercise an open-door policy as mayor. He also has plans to check in on the community.

“Any people that want to come and see me, they can, they gotta a problem, and we’ll see if we can fix it,” he said. “I’m planning on every three to four months, I’m going go to everybody’s district, and I’m going have a meeting with the people and see if everything is going okay or if they need something.”

If elected, Miller made mention of working in every sector, to bring more jobs and safer communities.

“I want to work with the Chamber of Commerce. I would like to get more jobs for people. I want to work on the streets, get the streets ready for them,” he said. “I want to get maybe two or more policemen on the street. I would like to start neighborhood watch again, so we can stop the crime.”

When asked about his mayoral priorities, fixing St. Joseph’s streets was at the top of the list for Miller.

“I think what they’re doing right now is putting a Band-Aid on the streets. It only lasted for a year. The people are working hard for their money and paying their taxes,” Miller said. “I think we need to start fixing streets right. Even if we only fix two or three streets a year, at least the people would say they’re trying. I want to get their trust back.”

Miller added he wanted St. Joseph to be safe again, calling on the help of residents to help him in the feat.

He also suggested an audit of the City of St. Joseph’s finances.

“To see where every dime is going. We should start from there and build from there on up,” Miller said.

As an avid walker, Miller’s eyes are keen to issues with city sidewalks. He plans to work with different departments to make sidewalks accessible to anyone wanted to enjoy them.

“The sidewalks, people can’t walk. They are all overgrown, and we need to clean the city up. We need it so you and I can go Downtown and walk anywhere we want to and have to not worry about anything,” he said. “If I’m elected mayor, once I’m in office for three weeks, I’m going to work with the city street people for a day or two. See how they’re doing and see if there’s anything I can do to help them with their jobs.”

Miller hammered on transparency, especially when it comes to letting people know when decisions are being made with the city.

“We need to tell the people when we do that. Tell them why we have to do that and get their opinion on it,” he said. “I don’t like closed doors. Closed doors to me are like we’re hiding something. Everybody should know what’s going on at City Hall.”

The primary election will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 3. Miller is running against St. Joseph’s mayoral incumbent, John Josendale, and candidates Jonathan McClain and Kenneth Reeder.