09-04-2025
Liberty voters keep mayor in office, narrowly pass tax for law enforcement
Greg Canuteson won Tuesday's election to keep his seat as Liberty's mayor with 64% of the votes. Liberty voters also approved a sales tax for projects meant to improve public safety that Canuteson had promoted.
Canuteson ran against Giselle Fest, a Republican known in the Liberty community for her association with the Sons of Confederate Veterans, in a race that drew upon a long-standing dispute over a statue of a Confederate soldier overlooking a local cemetery.
Canuteson, a full-time lawyer in Liberty by day and former legislator in the Missouri House of Representatives, will continue to serve as the city's mayor for another four years.
While his opponent ran on a campaign promising zero tax increases, Canuteson publicly supported the city's proposed public safety tax. However, he said this will be the last tax increase for Liberty for a while.
During his time in office, Canuteson focused on infrastructure in the city such as adding street lights to downtown Liberty.
Voters narrowly approved the public safety tax with 51%, which will increase the city's sales tax by one percent per dollar for projects meant to improve public safety.
The tax will provide an additional $7.5 million for the city's law enforcement and first responders: $6 million will go toward salaries and benefits for police and firefighters, with $1.5 million annually through bonds for a renovated station police station, and the remaining costs going toward equipment.
