The Issues

• Education
  • Consider This
• Higher Education and MU
• Health Care

• Economic Development
• Environment
• Reproductive Health and Family Planning
• Good Government

EDUCATION

I believe public education is still the great equalizer in our state and our country. We should never overlook the important role our public schools play in unifying our country and supporting our democracy. As our country and our state become more diverse, that need is even greater. I do not believe the citizens of this state are ready to throw in the towel on our public schools.

In Columbia, we consider our quality schools one of our greatest community strengths. Our schools have been a major selling point in attracting businesses and professionals to our community.

My daughters attended public schools in the 25th District – Benton Elementary School; Jefferson Junior High; and Hickman High School, from which they graduated. I credit outstanding teachers in Columbia’s public schools with my daughters’ success in college and as they begin their careers and attend graduate school.

I do not support Republican attempts to tear down public education through divisive proposals like the “65% Solution” or private school vouchers. These proposals may sound good on the surface, but consider these shortcomings: lack of accountability and a lack of local control, the erosion of the principal of separation of church and state, and the false promise to disadvantaged parents that this will allow them to afford a private education. There is also the often-overlooked point that many communities in our state do not have private schools.

Missouri is shortchanging our public schools:

• Our public schools are currently $600 million below what is constitutionally required to adequately fund public schools.
• Missouri ranks 47th in average teacher pay.

These statistics must change if we are to move our state forward. We know what works – well-compensated teachers, good principals and smaller class sizes. We must make this a priority.

I am also concerned that our state spends so little on preschool education, falling far behind even our neighboring states. To give all children a fighting chance in school and to be competitive in the future we must be serious about education at all levels.

A Federal Reserve Bank study called public funding for preschool a cornerstone of economic growth. “The return on investment from early childhood development is extraordinary, resulting in better working public schools, more educated workers and less crime,” the Fed’s report stated.

HIGHER EDUCATION AND MU

I will be a champion for the University of Missouri, our state’s flagship university, not just because I live in Columbia and MU is my alma mater, but because the land-grant mission – teaching, research and service – is so important to our state.

Did you know that the University of Missouri-Columbia attracts 75 percent of the federal research money that is awarded to public colleges and universities statewide? I want our state leaders to better understand what the rest of the country already knows. We are a top-rated research university that brings extraordinary value to the economy of our state.

MU leads the state:

• Only six universities in the country are as comprehensive as MU.
• MU is one of only 62 distinguished members of the AAU – selected for “maintaining a strong system of academic research and education.”

Current funding levels for higher education are stuck at the 2002 funding level. The Springfield News-Leader reports that Missouri ranks “dead last” in the country in terms of the percentage increase in higher education funding for 2005-2007.

At the University of Missouri, state funding now makes up only 17-18 percent of the university budget. When I worked at the university in the early 1990s, almost half the funding came from the state.

Our spending on higher education fails in comparison to every border state. Over the past two years, Missouri increased funding by 2.7 percent compared to 11.9 percent in Kentucky; 13.4 percent in Nebraska; 14.6 percent in Arkansas; 3.9 percent in Illinois; 8.2 percent in Iowa; 10.2 percent in Kansas; and 10.6 percent in Tennessee. Oklahoma now ranks 19th in per capita spending on higher education compared to Missouri’s near-bottom ranking of 47th.

The lack of state support has resulted in a dramatic rise in tuition – the average undergraduate tuition at the University of Missouri is higher than in any other Big 12 school.

The bottom line is that too many working families can no longer afford to attend our flagship university.

I believe if you are working and paying taxes in this state and your child is qualified to attend MU, you should be able to afford to send him or her to the state’s flagship university. Teaching the sons and daughters of Missouri is an essential part of our land-grant mission.

The future prosperity of our state depends on a better investment in education and in our flagship university.

HEALTH CARE

I support immediate restoration of the Medicaid cuts. This is the right thing to do and it is the financially responsible thing to do. Too many of the sick, disabled, elderly and even children have been hurt.

We also have lost more than $1 billion in federal dollars due to these shortsighted cuts – money that is leaving our state and going to other states to provide health care.

The Kansas City Star reports that loss of federal money has cost our state at least $1.4 billion in economic activity, including 20,000 new health care jobs. Such myopic policies are especially harmful to Columbia’s economy with our concentration of outstanding hospitals and clinics that draw patients — and dollars — from across the state and nation.

I support a real effort to broaden the ability of our citizens to afford health insurance. We need to put our best minds and most-accomplished professionals to the task of making practical recommendations for this state.

The State of Kansas has appointed a professionally staffed health care authority and that entity is staffing a board of professionals to make realistic and practical recommendations to address the health care crisis facing Kansas.

Missouri needs to immediately correct our misguided approach by restoring Medicaid – a program that is efficient in providing health care services for some of our most hard-to-insure Missourians. We then need to take politics out of the equation and get solid professional advice on how to provide as much insurance as possible with the money available and how to expand beyond Medicaid to programs that will help the uninsured and the underinsured have coverage.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

While I am not an economist, I can see that prices are going up and wages are not.

The late Milton Friedman said, “don’t think jobs, think wages.” Too many Missourians are working too hard and still have too little. They can’t afford insurance, they can’t afford to send their children to college and they are only one operation away from bankruptcy. This is a recipe for decline. We need a plan for progress.

We must have an educated and healthy workforce, and we must acknowledge that the right government policies can play a role in lifting people up. Unfortunately, our recent policies have been geared to increasing prosperity at the top. My goal is to broaden the prosperity for all Missourians. Just as with health care, we must take politics out of these important issues and put the best minds to work advising and creating strategies that help all Missourians.

I also believe that quality-of-life issues – including safety, arts, recreation and the environment – are essential to the economy of our state. Young people in particular are attracted to a community that is livable and walkable, with urban plans and designs that promote community.

Creative, educated young adults from all ethnic backgrounds seek communities that are open, welcoming and diverse. The ability to attract and keep this highly creative and well-educated population is key to the success of our community.

ENVIRONMENT

I began my career in Missouri as an information specialist for the Missouri State Parks and went on to become the Director of Communications for the Department of Natural Resources. We must return professionalism to that department. Too many of our top professionals have left and been replaced by political cronies with no interest in, or knowledge of, the environment.

I am concerned about confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) in our state, and I support the right of local governments to create and enforce ordinances – health and odor laws – that will protect the quality of life in our small towns and rural landscapes. And I support laws that protect our state parks from the pollution by CAFOs.

I support strong enforcement of our laws to protect clean air and water.

In a state like Missouri, where tourism, recreation, hunting and fishing are valued, environmental protections and a strong economy go hand-in-hand.

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND FAMILY PLANNING

I support the reproductive freedom of all women. I support sex education and programs for positive self-esteem as the best way to prevent premature teen sex and to avoid unwanted pregnancies.

I think all of us agree that we want fewer abortions and fewer unwanted teen pregnancies. If that is our common goal, then we should work especially hard for sex education, family planning and programs to build self-esteem for our young women and men.

GOOD GOVERNMENT

Public service is about serving the common good and not the special interests, who too often serve only a few at the top.

I have seen government run efficiently and effectively for the good of society, and I have seen government programs devalued and destroyed by those who represent only special interests and the views of only a select few with a far-right ideologue.

Recently, I have seen government leaders attempt to divide our state by religion, region and background. They have attempted to turn back the clock and hurt our ability to capitalize on life science research to benefit the health of our loved ones and the economic health of our state.

I know first hand that government run by leaders committed to the common good appoint professionals who are experts in public safety, health, education, the economy and the environment. This type of leadership can make a positive difference in the lives of all citizens.

If we return to this philosophy of service we will be well on our way to broadening the economy for all Missourians, reducing poverty and preparing for the competitive economy of the future. My goal is to serve the 25th District and the state of Missouri in a professional manner that will help our state get back on the track to progress.