Misty Buscher isn’t just running against an incumbent; she’s challenging a dynasty.
The Springfield city treasurer wants to replace Jim Langfelder as Springfield’s mayor.
When she first announced her bid against the two-term incumbent, political prognosticators were skeptical, but after far out-fundraising her opponent and private polling showing the race in a dead heat, those skeptics are reappraising the situation.
“I would label myself as a moderate Republican. I’m very tight with money. I think that stems from me being in finance my entire life,” said Buscher. “But when it comes to social issues, I’m very moderate. That is based on just my own beliefs. People put stuff all over social media about me that is untrue – they call me a MAGA Republican and this and that.”
Buscher said she did attend a Donald Trump speech in Springfield when he was running for president.
“I went to hear Trump speak at one point. But I also went and heard Barack Obama speak when he announced his run for the presidency. I went to both of those events in Springfield because I wanted to witness history.”
While municipal elections are officially nonpartisan, both political parties play a role behind the scenes in backing candidates. In fact, during her first bid for treasurer, she was supported by the Democratic Party.
“I did go and get interviewed by the Democrat Central Committee for their endorsement and they endorsed me. And I was happy to have their endorsement,” Buscher said. “I did not get interviewed by the Republican Central Committee, but that would make sense, because they already had their candidate. So, I didn’t consider myself a Democrat. Had I known going and interviewing would’ve made people think I was just a Democrat I probably wouldn’t have gone. I’m not saying being a Democrat is bad – but it’s not my party affiliation. I was naive.”
Buscher’s march toward city hall began when she was a teenage bank teller.
Buscher, 52, grew up in a working-class family. Her father was an Army non-commissioned officer stationed at Camp Lincoln and they lacked the money for her to attend college full time. So, upon graduating from Rochester High School, she took a job as a teller at Magna Bank on Sixth Street.
She didn’t know it at the time, but she was beginning an ascent that would take her into the upper reaches of Springfield’s banking industry, a remarkable achievement for someone without a college degree.
But something else happened at the bank that changed the trajectory of her life. A single dad and aspiring real estate agent came into the bank.
“(Mike) was a customer when I was working full time at the bank, and he came in and asked me to go to lunch with him, and I told him ‘no’ because I had a boyfriend. So, he just kept asking,” Buscher said. “And finally, six months into it, I had broken up with my boyfriend and accepted the lunch date with him.”
The two have been married for 23 years and have two adult children, Anthony and Courtney. Her husband, Mike, has risen from driving a Pepsi truck to heading The Real Estate Group, the largest real estate firm in the city.
Buscher was a vice president when she left Marine Bank eight years ago to run for city treasurer.
“I wanted to challenge myself and do something different. At that time in 2014, the current mayor was treasurer; he was termed out. He had done 12 years in that office. I knew it was an open seat, so I started talking to my husband and said, ‘Do you think I have the qualifications to do the job as treasurer?’ My husband’s like, ‘Absolutely, you could do that job.’ So, I decided to run for office.”
During her time in office, one of the people she met was Frank Vala, a businessman who heads the Springfield Airport Authority and has become her campaign’s biggest financial backer.
“She’s willing to have a conversation with people, and she’s a good listener, but she’s also an educated person. She doesn’t fly off the handle. She thinks things through,” he said.
Vala described Buscher as someone who has received her education outside of the classroom.
“In this day and age, does a formal education mean more than the school of hard knocks?” Vala said. “We’ve all seen these people who run around with PhDs, they’re in Outer Mongolian basket-weaving. Tell me, how does that contribute to the community? She worked with the community when she was in banking. She’s worked one-on-one with people trying to get mortgages for first-time homebuyers.”
Buscher says she is used to dealing with people from all different backgrounds and walks of life.
Mike Buscher describes his wife as an advocate for the LGBTQ community.
“She’s very fiscally responsible, but socially she probably leans really hard Democratic. It’s a really good mix for her. Misty’s thing is live your life. She’s not condemning anybody. It’s not our position to judge. So, she’s very socially welcoming.”
Misty Buscher said the folks working on her campaign include both Republicans and Democrats.
There is an old saying in politics: “There’s not a Republican or Democrat way to fill a pothole.” And Buscher’s agenda appears to be more pragmatic than partisan.
• Debt forgiveness has taken center stage with the decision of the Langfelder administration to forgive a $243,000 utility debt for the Wyndham City Centre and $42,000 in housing fines to politically connected Springfield lawyer George Petrilli. Buscher wants an ordinance requiring a city council vote for forgiveness of debts $10,000 or more and a monthly public report for all other debts written off.
• Staffing shortfalls have forced the police department to mandate 12-hour workdays for many officers. Buscher wants to end this practice by hiring additional officers. She said, “I talked to a young wife of one of our Springfield police officers, and she said, “Please tell me that when you’re mayor, you will make sure that my husband doesn’t have to work a 12-hour shift because when he works 12 hours, he’s exhausted, he’s drained. He can’t really engage with the children or me because he’s worked a grueling 12-hour shift.”
• Buscher is calling for revitalizing the dormant beach house and surrounding park at Lake Springfield and making it a haven for food trucks, concerts and outdoor activities. “We would just take a small bite of the apple each year,” she said. “The most expensive phase would be the dock. But everything – the picnic tables, the building, the renovations, the dock – would be a total of $1 million.”
• Buscher said she wants to build better relationships between the mayor’s office and the labor unions representing city workers. “I have deep respect for the unions because they give people who do not necessarily want to continue their education a good-paying job to support their families.”
Some of those closest to Buscher say her best preparation for the mayorship is not her time in city hall but working as a community volunteer.
Capital Area Realtors CEO Kathy Nichelson said that Buscher has been active with the group’s philanthropic endeavors for years. She noted that Buscher helped raise $22,000 last year for Wooden it be Lovely, a Springfield nonprofit that helps women transition from lives of poverty, addiction and abuse.
Nichelson said Buscher is receiving considerable support from Realtors and others in the development community because there is a perception that the current administration is difficult to work with.
“She is willing to listen, and understands that we need more money for Springfield. What city doesn’t? But one way to do that is to support businesses and try and get more businesses into the area,” said Nichelson. “And I know that under the current administration, some of our developers have a difficult time getting through and getting jobs done. We’re hoping that with a change in administration, developers would be a little bit more interested in Springfield.”
Nichelson said she has heard this complaint from numerous developers but none are willing to speak publicly because they fear retribution from city hall.
Mike Buscher noted that his wife was president of the Springfield Area Home Builders Association and ran the annual Home Expo.
“She ran the home show for six or seven years. She built that up. They actually moved from the Orr Building at the fairgrounds to the convention center,” he said. “She worked really well when dealing with a bunch of builders and a bunch of vendors. She’d walk around with a clipboard and they’d want a better spot or be mad about this or that. … And that’s where that skillset came in, because she’d look them in the eye and say, ‘You know, here’s what you paid for. Here’s what you get.'”
Scott Reeder, a staff writer for Illinois Times, can be reached at sreeder@illinoistimes.com.
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