JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A familiar face around the capitol is looking to make the jump from staffer to elected official. Sherri Kempf, the legislative aide for Rep. Caleb Jones, R-Columbia, is running for collector of revenue in Cooper County.
Kempf is looking to fill the seat left open by the death of her friend Carol Nauman.
“I never though in a million years I would run for collector,” she said. “I never thought I would lose my friend Carol. But God opens doors sometimes that you don’t know are going to be there.”
For Kempf, who’s also worked with Catherine Hanaway, Dave Spence and Sen. Kurt Schaefer, seeking office is a sudden role reversal. Through the election process, Kempf has gained a greater sense of what she asked those candidates to do.
“I kind of feel bad that I pushed those people,” she said. “It’s a whole lot different when it’s you.”
Unlike when when she was working for them, she can’t make it through everyday tasks without working anymore.
“In a small community especially, you always need to be ready to meet people,” she said. “Even when you go to Walmart or the grocery store, you need to be willing to talk to people. You’re always campaigning.”
Luckily, she’s also able to turn to those people for advice and inspiration. It’s come in handy knocking on doors during the summer’s heat waves.
“[Jones is] always giving me good campaign advice,” Kempf said. “The last advice was, ‘Work hard but have fun.’ Sometimes in 100 degree weather when you’re a little fatigued that’s hard.”
Hanaway, in particular, has been a steady inspiration for Kempf, who had been Hanaway’s central Missouri northwest representative until she had to step back to focus on her own campaign. Kempf says she relates to Hanaway as a woman and a mom.
“She’s had to deal with family issues and having to do a lot of things that only a woman would know. You don’t know what a woman has to deal with before she goes out on the campaign trail,” Kempf said. “She balances being a mom and I think that’s pretty courageous.”
On the campaign trail, Kempf talks about bringing her constituent service experience to the collector office and hopefully modernizing it a little too. She said continuing Nauman’s customer service work is one of her main goals.
“What I’ve learned about connecting people with places and services that they need within the state and finding answers to problems that I’ve had working with Rep. Jones, I think that’s going to make me a really good team player at the courthouse,” she said. “Because I don’t want to be just collector, I want to be part of the team and try to help us do things in a better way.”
One way Kempf sees being able to do that: updating the courthouse’s outdated computer system, which still uses DOS.
“Unfortunately in Cooper County, we have lost a lot of industrial jobs, and people are being forced to work outside of the county,” she said. “I want to be more accommodating to them so that more things can be done online.”
Running has made Kempf realize more people should seek to become public servants — that’s what she see’s herself as, a public servant not a politician.
“You really put yourself out there for people to voice their opinion about you,” she said. “It is not an easy job to run for office. But I really encourage people to think about being a public servant.”
As she’s campaigned for office, Kempf has had to get used to some of the downsides, especially in a smaller county like Cooper. She knows a lot of the same people as her opponent and has had to get used to some of the personal stings that come with seeing an opposing yard sign in an acquaintance’s lawn or having someone tell you their support is elsewhere.
“It’s trying not to get caught up in your own feelings and just focusing on the task at hand and knowing that you’re going to do a good job and not worrying about those that don’t come and vote for you,” Kempf said. “Just focus on those who want to hear your message.”
But running has also made her realize how many lives she’s touched just being an active part of her community. She was a 4-H volunteer for more than 20 years and she taught Sunday school. By campaigning she’s been able to meet and remeet some of the people she’s come in contact with throughout her life in Cooper County.
It’s been an energizing experience for Kempf throughout the draining process of the campaign.
“Especially when you’re getting a little more tired and it sort of gives you a little more energy,” she said. “Win or lose it’s been a huge blessing just to have people’s support that I’ve had.
“But I don’t plan on losing.”
