Azotea defeats Riley in runoff for 2nd Ward seat on Hannibal City Council

HANNIBAL, Mo. — April Azotea has defeated Tammy Riley in a landslide runoff victory to replace 15-year councilman Mike Dobson in the 2nd Ward seat on the Hannibal City Council.

“I’m ready to be proactive and jump in head first,” Azotea said in a phone call with Muddy River News after the results were made public. “I just want to be actively involved in anything and everything I can.”

In the city’s April 8 municipal election, Azotea led Riley by a mere 17 votes but failed to secure 50% of the vote out of the race’s original three candidates. The city’s charter requires a special election to take place in instances when no candidate secures at least 50% of the vote in races with at least three candidates.

Results of Tuesday’s runoff election indicated that Azotea garnered 190 votes (65 percent) compared to Riley’s 102 (35 percent). Roughly 70 people who voted in the municipal election on April 8 did not turn out for Tuesday’s runoff. 

The original race’s third candidate, Earl Hughes III, garnered 52 votes April 8. Hughes endorsed Riley in the days following, but it didn’t seem to transfer to the polls; Riley lost votes in both precincts while Azotea’s count increased in both precincts. Her gains were especially significant in the first precinct, jumping more than 20 percentage points from the regular municipal election. 

The race intensified leading up to April 8, as Dobson questioned Azotea at a candidate forum about her trustworthiness in regards to handling the city’s budget due to the revocation of her business’s sales tax license in September. Azotea learned the license had been revoked for failure to pay the correct amount of sales tax to the state’s Department of Revenue in November 2021 and October 2022. Azotea deemed Dobson’s actions as “disrespectful, disgusting and straight despicable” and called for his immediate removal from the council in the week following.

Dobson did not question Riley’s ability to make decisions regarding the city’s budget. A Muddy River News public records analysis found that Riley owes more than $100K in civil penalties — the first of which was issued nearly 20 years ago.

“I went into this campaign wanting to run a fair, clean campaign no matter what,” Azotea said. “I’m not going to lie, it was just mentally, physically and emotionally exhausting. I can’t tell you how much I cried. I keep trying to remind myself, just like any other situation I go through: sometimes, through your struggle, you find strength.”

Azotea said that recent conversations with Mayor-elect Darrell McCoy, interim City Manager Andy Dorian and various city employees have given her a sense of optimism for the council’s future. 

“It’s a fresh new start and a new opportunity for Hannibal to get on the right track to make the changes that we need,” she said.

Azotea has become a vocal opponent of the council in recent years on a variety of topics, ranging from the city’s ordinances regarding animals to its 2022 impeachment proceedings against former 3rd Ward Council Member Stephan Franke to the the efficacy and efficiency of City Manager Lisa Peck’s performance. 

Riley and Dobson were both unavailable for comment Tuesday night.