TROY – After leaving one board member’s seat vacant for more than five months, Troy filled a second one in little time at a special meeting last week.

Less than a week following Ward Two Alderman David Norman’s unexpected resignation, Troy Mayor Ron Sconce nominated Quentin Laws to fill the remaining one-year term.

Three of the remaining four board members, Harold Horner, Steven Jones and Gary Leifert voted in favor of the nomination while Rachel Dunard voted no.

Laws moved to Troy in 2020 when we went to work for the county as the Emergency Services Director, a position he still holds.

And while this is his first foray into an elected position, Laws said he hopes his experience in dealing with local municipalities brings some calm to a tumultuous board of aldermen.

“I’ve seen the disconnect between the people and the city board of aldermen,” Laws said. “After David (Norman) resigned, a group of concerned citizens asked me if I would fill that position and calm some of the waters.”

Laws appointment indicates the waters may in fact be calming as Sconce failed on three separate occasions to appoint a replacement for Kay Diekemper, who resigned in October.

However, voters will choose her replacement in the upcoming April 8 election, along with Liefert’s who declined to seek re-election.

In addition to better public communication, Laws said his focus will be on two things: economic development and public safety.

“Economic development has to be the largest driver,” he said. “We are growing so quickly … we are doing a great job of getting people here, but our economy is not keeping up. Our sales tax base isn’t keeping up and when a majority of our money is spent in Wentzville, that’s a real problem.”

And Laws said public safety ties directly into economic development.

“We want a safe, well-rounded place to live and if we want these big businesses to come in and help our economy, they have to know they and their employees are safe,” he said.

Laws continued by saying while its important to have qualified and capable law enforcement, the same applies to other departments.

“We need to double down and make sure our police officers, our road and bridge crews, our sewer crews are well-trained,” he said. “As a private citizen, when I need someone out there, I want someone who has all the certifications and training they need.”

Laws was born and raised and Troy but moved to O’Fallon where he graduated Fort Zumwalt North before enlisting.