By Derek Spellman

dspellman@joplinglobe.com

NEOSHO, Mo. — Four people are vying for two seats on the Neosho City Council that will come up for election next year, but the field could become larger.

The field is composed of the two incumbents, Jeff Werneke and Warren Langland, and challengers Chris Wright and Tom Workman.

Potential candidates have until Tuesday to file to run for the seats, each of which carries a three-year term. The election will be in April.

Both Wright and Workman used to work for the city.

Workman, 46, spent a total of 18 years with the city until earlier this year. He was among the nine people who were laid off last month in budget cuts. He said he had decided to run even before the layoffs.

“I’m not saying anyone who has been there (on the council) hasn’t been doing a good job,” said Workman, who worked in the Parks and Recreation Department.

“I just want to give back to a town that has given me so much,” he later told the Globe.

Workman also has been the owner of Workman’s Mini Mart, 722 W. Spring St., for the past two years.

He said he is not pursuing a single agenda. He said he would like to “make sure we have a good employee base” and “maintain and take care of what we have.”

Wright, 28, worked as a Neosho police officer from July 2002 to June 2006. Since then, he has operated a power-washing business called Niagara Power Spray. He also is a member of the Missouri National Guard and a veteran of the Iraq War.

“I’m real big into saving money,” said Wright, who cited better fiscal management and more project oversight as key issues he would raise.

Wright has reiterated some of the criticisms that arose during the City Council primary and election earlier this year, which saw challengers Richard Davidson and Heather Bowers ultimately oust incumbents Sherry McCormack and Howard Birdsong.

Wright questioned the oversight level on previous projects that included the installation of streetlights on a stretch of Spring Street and the expansion and renovations to the Senior Center. More recently, he questioned the use of grant money to acquire the former Frye & Gray building as a future home for the city’s Farmers Market during a budget crunch.