MOUNTAIN VIEW — Voters received a comprehensive look at the candidates vying for two critical regional offices during a candidate forum hosted by the Howell County Republican Central Committee at the Mtn. View Community Center.
Moderated by Terri Edgar, the event focused on the highly contested 154th District seat in the Missouri House of Representatives and Howell County's open Associate 37th Circuit Judge seat. The primary election is scheduled for Aug. 4.
Associate Circuit Judge Seat
Missouri statutory law requires each county to maintain at least one associate circuit judge to serve a four-year term. The position manages a diverse docket encompassing misdemeanors, traffic violations, small claims, probate files, guardianships, juvenile cases and civil matters under $25,000. In felony matters, the associate judge also presides over preliminary hearings to determine if sufficient probable cause exists to bind a case over to the circuit court.
The four candidates seeking the seat highlighted their distinct legal backgrounds:
- Lyndell Beard: Practicing locally since 1995, he trained under an apprenticeship model and has spent three decades specializing in real estate, business law, taxation and civil litigation. He is active with the American Red Cross and the West Plains Senior Center, and a father of four children. Beard proposes a voluntary work-release program engineered developed with the Howell County sheriff to allow nonviolent offenders to work off jail time at no cost to taxpayers.
- Marty Simpson: Backed by extensive experience within the juvenile court system, Simpson later transitioned his private practice to focus on estate planning, trusts, guardianships and probate court administration. Simpson, who serves on four regional nonprofit boards, emphasized that his community background equips him to balance multiple perspectives from the bench.
- Heath Hardman: A U.S. Marine Corps veteran with 11 years of service and four combat deployments, Hardman returned to the region after attending law school in New York to serve as a Howell County assistant prosecutor. Currently serving as the West Plains city prosecutor and a church discipleship pastor, Hardman argued his extensive courtroom prosecution background aligns directly with the docket's heavy criminal caseload, citing county statistics showing that 8,483 cases were filed in Howell County last year, with 64% involving criminal traffic violations.
- Larry Burton: A Mtn. View resident for nearly 30 years and a former law enforcement officer, Burton cited the broadest general practice caseload of the candidates, spanning family law, criminal defense, probate, guardianships and pro bono juvenile delinquency cases. Burton pointed to his daily courtroom exposure as a foundation for prioritizing fact-finding over mere conviction rates.
Missouri House District 154
The legislative portion of the forum featured a debate between incumbent state Rep. Lisa Durnell, Willow Springs, and challenger Travis Smith, Pottersville, ahead of the Aug. 4 Republican primary. Smith previously represented neighboring District 155 from 2021 to 2025. The winner of the Republican primary will advance to face Democrat JoJo Stewart of Willow Springs in the November general election.
Both candidates explicitly identified as pro-life and affirmed a belief that life begins at conception. Smith stated his platform opposes abortion exceptions, including cases of rape or incest. Durnell also declared a 100% pro-life voting record but noted that voters must individually evaluate the structural components of reproductive ballot measures like Amendment 3, which will appear on the November ballot.
Regarding the state budget, which has roughly doubled over the last decade to exceed $50 billion, Smith pointed to waning federal pandemic funding and his prior legislative vote against Medicaid expansion as evidence of his fiscal conservatism. Durnell countered by noting the state budget grew significantly during Smith’s prior terms in Jefferson City, stating she intends to target approximately $1 billion in existing tax credits for elimination to preserve primary funding for public education and law enforcement.
The candidates also addressed the infrastructure and environmental impacts of data centers on regional utility grids and aquifers. Durnell, calling herself “no fan of data centers,” voiced strong opposition to rapid data center expansion, praising local electrical cooperatives that have refused grid connections to protect the regional infrastructure. She also emphasized that local water supplies must not be compromised for outside corporate investment.
Smith agreed with the necessity of local oversight but noted that county-level water regulations face practical limits because neighboring counties draw from the same shared aquifer. He also highlighted the administrative challenge of managing these resources in Howell County, given the community's traditional opposition to countywide zoning regulations and strong adherence to private property rights.
On election law, both candidates voiced support for strict, multi-party verification protocols for electronic vote tabulation, mail-in voting provisions restricted to documented disabilities and skepticism toward same-day voter registration.
Both Durnell and Smith also advocated for reforming Missouri's initiative petition process to prevent urban population centers from outvoting rural counties on constitutional amendments, differing only on whether the verification threshold should encompass all eight congressional districts or a simple majority.
The last day to register to vote in the August primary is July 8. Citizens can check their voter registration and register, if needed, online at www.sos.mo.gov/elections/goVoteMissouri/register.
