Informed Voter Coalition - August 6th, 2024 Election
The Informed Voter Coalition is a nonpartisan group dedicated to empowering voters with unbiased information about candidates. They have approached Show Me Christian County to help communicate candidates in Christian County for the upcoming elections. This collaboration includes expanding their focus from the Springfield area to Christian County. The Coalition remains neutral and does not endorse any candidates.
Become informed before August 6 election day so your vote is cast for the candidates that align with your beliefs and standards! To help guide voters, the Informed Voter Coalition is again producing a series of nonpartisan interviews with candidates to air during the noon hour on KSMU Ozarks Public Radio (91.1 FM) between July 29-30. No registration is required - just tune into KSMU at noon that week! Candidates in selected contested races answered questions developed by the Informed Voter Coalition.
Schedule:
Monday, July 29 – Greene County Sheriff & Missouri Senate District 29
Tuesday, July 30 – Christian County Commissioner East & West
Informed Voter Coalition members include:
Comprised of 13 nonpartisan organizations and entities, the Informed Voter Coalition brings together a diverse range of perspectives and expertise to ensure comprehensive coverage of local elections.
Candidates for Missouri Senate District 29:
The Informed Voter Coalition interviewed candidates for Missouri Senate District 29: Incumbent Republican Mike Moon, Republican Susan Haralson and Democrat Ron Monnig.
Candidates were interviewed individually and asked the same questions. They had one minute to introduce themselves and two minutes to respond to each question. Questions were submitted by Informed Voter Coalition partner organizations and were not provided to the candidates in advance. The order of the candidate interviews was determined by a random drawing.
Let's begin by having you introduce yourself and tell us why you decided to run for this office.
"I've been in Missouri now for about 46 years. I met my wife, Denise, here, and we've been married 44 years on August 9th, so three days after the election we'll be celebrating that. We have five children, six grandchildren. We live on a farm in Lawrence County where we raise beef cattle. And I'm a graduate of SMS, and I have a hard time getting past the first 'S', but SMS in 1985 with a secondary physical education degree, and I've currently been in the legislature for 12 sessions. I was elected in a special in 2013, and so that prompted — it was a longer story than I have time to get into here — but I'm continuing on trying to continue that for at least one more term in the Senate to work for those folks in the 29th Senatorial district."
If elected, what do you see as being the biggest challenge you will face as a senator, and how are you preparing to face that challenge?
"I've been talking to some constituents, particularly in the new part of the district, and that includes Christian County, particularly. And there's a lot of concern about employment. And we've seen over the last four years where it seems like there are jobs available. However, something has changed in the mindset of workers. And it's not just the young folks, but it's across every age spectrum, it seems, where jobs are available, however, there's no willingness to continue working. And so I don't have the answer, honestly, but I've been talking to some folks about what they see as some potential answers. And one of the things is we need to create environments so that folks do want to work. Those include, you know, economic factors, of course, where we have lower taxation and less governmental regulations and allow people the freedom to choose the job that they can enjoy and be productive at. And so that's going to take a lot of work, I think, between those locally and also the job applicants, but I'm hopeful that we can, as a governmental entity, relieve the burden, especially the bureaucratic red tape, so that employers can start businesses, hire people, produce products, and everybody can win in that situation."
What support, if any, has your campaign received from community groups, organizations, or political action committees, and why should that support matter to voters?
"That's a question that kind of has caused a lot of kerfuffles in people's minds, actually, when people get — when candidates, I should say, get donations from a particular group, there is an appearance that they are bought by that particular group. And I used to think that way, too. When I was first elected, I made it a practice. In fact, I ran as a candidate twice before I was ever elected, won — or lost miserably in both those campaigns and in each of those I decided not to take lobbyist money. They didn't have PACs then, as I recall. I remember getting even money from a group that I'm associated with through my cattle operation. I returned the money. And I had realtors give me money. I returned that money, too, with just a simple note that I wasn't going to take the money because I didn't want to have the appearance of being bought by them. I found that that is, a lot is dependent upon the individual candidate, and if you take money from someone, I was encouraged years ago to take it and use it for the benefit of getting into office but not be beholden to that particular entity. And that's the way I've run my office and my personal life as well so that I am kind of a welcome all. Now, there are some exceptions that I won't take money from, but I've had money from attorneys. I've had money from PACs that are representing different entities across the state. And so I encourage people to look at my report. It'll come out on the 15th of this month (July). They can see where the money's come from. They can see where I've spent the money. And they can also look at my voting record, and they can determine pretty quickly that I haven't been swayed one way or the other by a political action committee."
In what ways have you actively collaborated with the communities in your district to understand their needs and integrate their perspectives into decision-making processes for this position?
"I have been in contact with county commissioners in the district, and even outside the district, who have asked me to forward or support a particular issue that they have. And also, I've been in contact with mayors and aldermen and even constituents who, they're my boss. All of them are my bosses, so I need to pay attention. There is an occasion where I found that, even just this week, someone came to me in person and said, 'I sent you an email, and you didn't respond.' So I had my staff look through all the emails, and we haven't found it yet. But I got her contact information, and we're contacting her and trying to work through the issue that she had. So keep in mind, I'm not perfect, and I have tripped up lots of times and probably will again, but I think it's important to stay in touch with the community. In fact, in Christian County, I believe it was on 18th Street, we were asked to support a road improvement program that would supply IT jobs. I think it was over 150 jobs that could have been impacted. We got on board and found out about it a little bit late in the process, didn't get it put in the budget. I don't think it would have mattered because some may have seen that our governor vetoed over $1 billion in appropriations to different entities. So we're going to continue to work on that, and hopefully we'll be successful. There'll be a new administration next year. And so we'll continue to work with local entities, individuals as well, and hopefully we can bring some good things to each community."
If you are elected to the Missouri Senate, what are the main issues that you plan to focus on?
"I've mentioned some of them already, and some of them are economic. Some of them are social, perhaps, but the economic primarily is we have seen in the last three to four years, especially through inflation, fuel cost increases, that impacts nearly every sector of our lives. And government is important, but only the amount of government that we need is what we should be paying for. And so I'm an advocate of what is called the fair tax, where workers will get 100% of the money they earn. There won't be an income tax, there won't be a tax on personal property or real estate. And the corporations won't pay a tax either, because most of those corporate income tax, especially corporations, don't pay tax. They pass that on to the consumers, so when you purchase things and consume things, you're paying that added — there will be opportunities for employers, especially if we get rid of that one, to hire more people perhaps, maybe pay them more money. They could increase their product lines. They may even keep some for themselves. But it's their business, and they have that opportunity to do so. For the income tax, if you get 100% of the money you earn and you can determine where you want to spend it, the tax will be based on the new goods you buy. And there — it's been proposed before. I hope that we can make some tweaks to it where the appetite will be more appealing to those across the state because most people I talk to are looking for tax relief, and they're looking for economic freedom, and I think if we can give that to them, and I believe we can, I believe the appetite is there where I think we can get some attention. I don't think it's going to happen in one year because we proposed it before about 12 or 13 years ago, and there was enough opposition where it was halted. But I believe that the time is now where we can make a big impact and give everybody some good relief."
Mike, that concludes our interview. Thank you very much for taking time to be with us today.
Let's begin by having you introduce yourself and tell us why you decided to run for this office.
"I graduated from Ozark High School. A little bit about myself, graduated from school of the Ozarks. I worked at an NPR station, which is really fun coming back here to another one. I have owned a company, Premier Home Health Care, for the last 32 years. And I believe because I'm a business owner, I know the ups and downs. I know how to balance a checkbook. I know how to write a check. I know that I can't spend more than I get or have in my bank account. And I really think there's a lot of people up in Jefferson City that don't realize that, so that's why I want to run. I want to bring a lot more economic development, you know, toward the area in Ozark and Nixa and Christian County, throughout the whole area. I mean, all of us need it. You know, I was in Barry County not too long ago, and they were talking about, you know, the numbers going down, so all of us need it no matter where we are, so that's going to be one of my focuses."
If elected, what do you see as being the biggest challenge you will face as a senator, and how are you preparing to face that challenge?
"Well, if I had my crystal ball, I could tell you what I'm assuming is going to be that I'm the newbie on the block and that I've not done this before and there's some things to learn, and I've learned very quickly and very, very excited about the possibilities of what can happen. But I really think that we should or when I get up there. I'm sorry. I completely lost track of thought."
What do you think would be the biggest challenge, and how are you preparing to face that challenge?
"Biggest challenge will be that I'm a new person on the block, and that I need to get to know everybody and how it works up there, but I also think that one of the biggest challenges will be just to know how I can improve the process, find those people that I can work with, that people that maybe won't want to work with me, but I can talk them into working with me because what I want is the betterment of the Christian County and Barry County, Lawrence County and McDonnell County. And if I need to cross the aisle, I'll do that, too. But I think we need to compromise, and we need to get things done instead of obstruct everything that's going on right now."
What support, if any, has your campaign received from community groups, organizations or political action committees, and why should that support matter to voters?
"I have a lot of support by mouth. Not a whole lot of money is coming in. I mean, I've got a lot of support, let's just say grassroots. You know, I just had a meeting with the superintendents. They all support me. Do they have money to give me? No. There's a lot of groups that have supported me. The carpenters are supporting me. You know, the Farm Bureau. The Missouri Chamber is supporting me, but what need the voters need to know is that when I was in Jeff City, I told every one of the lobbyists that I talked to and all the PACs, 'you can support me. That's up to you. But I will listen to you. And that's all I'm going to promise you. It doesn't mean I'm going to vote for everything that you want, but I will open my door and I will listen to reason and then I'll talk to my constituents and see if that's what they want."
In what ways have you actively collaborated with the communities in your district to understand their needs and integrate their perspectives into decision making processes for this position?
"I'm continuing to do that. I'm speaking to Nixa City Council tonight. Ozark is coming up. I've spoken to many of the Chamber of Commerce's and talk to them. I was in Sparta the other day. I've been down to Cassville, and we were at a tractor pull a couple of days ago and just asking, walking around and asking people, you know, 'what's on your mind? What do you not like about what's going on and how can I help?' I've been down to Pineville in McDonald County and one of their Republican groups, and they gave me an earful of what's not going on and some of the things that they would like help with, and one of those is the economic development. And they have a great, a great representative there, Deke (Dirk Deaton). And what he's trying to do is trying to get some things going down there, and I really appreciate that, and they love him for it. But there's so many people that I'm talking to because I want to know how best to represent everybody, whether you're Democrat, whether you're Republican, whether you're whatever you are. Once I become senator, I'm a representative to everyone."
If you are elected to the Missouri Senate, what are the main issues that you plan to focus on?
"You know, that has changed since I started thinking about this in January. You know, education is a big issue, and I've been talking to superintendents, and I have a lot of school teachers within my family, so that is going to be a big issue. And everybody wants the children to get the best education possible. Is the bill a great bill? I don't think so. I think we can do better, so what I'll be working on is, is trying to get everybody together and get a better solution for our kids and education. But I also know that health care is broken. And what I want to do is I want to help Missourians find better health care. The veterans, you know, they can't go and find good help anywhere it doesn't seem like. And that's been an ongoing problem for a long time. And with my business, we've been taking care of veterans for over 30 years. And I see that there's a problem trying to get immediate help. Sometimes they'll have to travel far and wide, and a lot of these veterans are not able to do that. I also want to work on adoption. I think our problem in Missouri is our social services. There's way too many kids out there that need good help, and we don't have enough people to take care of them. And I've been talking to a lot of people about some of the issues that they've had in the past and the system that we have now. And sometimes people, you know, take care of kids in the foster system just for the money, and I want to prevent that. I want to stop that. Our kids deserve so much better."
Well, Susan, that concludes our interview. Thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us.
"Thank you. And remember to vote August 6th."
Let's begin by having you introduce yourself and tell us why you decided to run for this office.
"My name is Ron Monnig. I moved to Barry County about nine years ago after I retired from small business, owned various small businesses throughout my life. I also spent close to 20 years on the Slater City Council, and in that capacity, I served on the Missouri Municipal League Board of Directors and was a past president of that organization. In that capacity, I worked with city officials from throughout the state, worked together to solve or come up with ideas to solve municipal problems. It's that spirit I think we need back in the state legislature one of cooperation, dialogue, compromise and to get things done again."
If elected, what do you see as being the biggest challenge you will face as a senator, and how are you preparing to face that challenge?
"I think the number one challenge we face in Missouri is education. Our schools for too long have been underfunded. Our teachers pay up until recently has been the lowest in the nation. Statistics show teacher turnover rate is great. I think we need to tackle this problem to make our schools great once again, to get the teachers the pay they deserve and the resources they need. We need to make the legislature get back to work. We need to cooperate. We need to compromise. That means reaching across the aisle. We get along with about 80% of everything we talk about, and we're letting 20% and a small minority divide us and driving the political issue and narrative. I think we can do better than that. I think it's time to once again roll up our sleeves and get to work. We need to show some fiscal responsibility in the legislature. Out of a budget of a little over $50 billion last year, the state auditor has cited, I think it was $271 billion in unaccounted for, misused, misplaced funds. We need to get to the bottom of this and become better fiscal stewards for the public's money. The third thing, but certainly not the least important, is women's reproductive rights. We need to restore them. We need to get government out of the waiting room, out of the exam rooms and out of doctor's offices. We need to return to the Missouri values that we all know and love, and I intend to bring that spirit and that cooperation to the Senate."
What support, if any, has your campaign received from community groups, organizations or political action committees, and why should that support matter to voters?
"We are concentrating on small donors. Our outreach, we have a small organization. Right now, my main focus is making phone calls and trying to raise some money. I'm not going to be able to match the huge funds in the campaign PAC money that other candidates might receive, but we will do more with less by getting the people at the local level to contribute in small amounts. I've reached out to civic groups and community groups. I'm going to fairs and parades and meeting people one on one. That is the way we can win this election, but it takes one person at a time. I know we can get this done if people will just spread the word instead of just voting an R or a D, let's look at the policies. Let's see what's been going on and what hasn't been done in the legislature. Last year was the worst record ever for passing legislation in Jefferson City. The Missouri Senate met for 10 minutes on the last day of the of the session. They didn't pass one bill in the final week of the session. It's time to start working together to cooperate with one another, come up with ideas and mutually agreed upon goals and move forward to better our citizens and to do all we can, especially critical in rural Missouri and where we need help with education, help with infrastructure, help with high speed internet, and with the changing demographics, it's going to be very challenging, but I know that we can. We are up to it as a state and as a people. We can get this done."
In what ways have you actively collaborated with the communities in your district to understand their needs and integrate their perspectives into decision making processes for this position?
"As I said earlier, in the Missouri Municipal League, I met with officials from all over the state of Missouri, cities large and small, some only a few hundred people. This is the core of what Missouri is, and it's the core of what the 29th District is. We can reach out. I've been reaching out again to civic groups, going to parades, knocking on doors and meeting one voter at a time, trying to get my message through to the voters that we can do better, that we are capable of great things again. With the inaction and the legislature and the mismanagement of funds, it's time for the people to stand up and say, 'we can do better than this. We deserve better.' And I agree with them 100%, and I will do everything I can to be fiscal responsible, not to play politics with our government, to stay out of local government and federal government. If they want to — our legislature has a bad habit of spending taxpayer money on positions or things that they have no business dealing with. We're suing the federal government for something or we're suing the president. We're sending troops to the border. These are federal issues. These aren't state issues. We need to concentrate on Missouri and Missouri's problems. Same thing with the local level. Don't be dictating to local schools, local libraries or to mothers what they can and cannot do. Those are local decisions. If you want to worry about those local decisions, I urge you to run for the school board, run for the city council. If you're worried about Washington, run for Congress, run for president. But if not, if you're in Jeff City, you need to do the work of the state of Missouri."
If you are elected to the Missouri Senate, what are the main issues that you plan to focus on?
"I will focus on education. That will be my number one priority. Teachers have too long been underpaid. Too often, I've heard stories of them having to reach into their own pocket to get the supplies needed to teach whatever class they're teaching. My grandmother was a teacher. My oldest brother was a teacher. I have two daughters that are teachers. I value education very highly. I have six children and 13 grandchildren and one great grandson. It's their future that I'm worried about. It's tomorrow that we need to worry about and stop fighting and bringing the work of the Missouri Legislature to the standstill over some particular issue. Politics is the art of compromise. I think we've forgotten that. Now we have people criticizing the auditor for this audit that came out about the unused funds. These people are in the same party. They're attacking one another, trying to make a political issue out of it when the auditor isn't even up for reelection and as far as I know, isn't running against anyone this year. But it's things like that that misdirect the public, and we need to come back and focus on what's important for Missouri and especially what's important for our citizens. I intend to go down to Jeff City to represent the people and their interests, and I'm ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work."
Candidates for Western Christian County Commission:
The Informed Voter Coalition conducted interviews with Republican candidates for Western District Commissioner: Brent Young, J. Michael White, Johnny Williams, and Brian Garrison. Sheila Michaels is the sole Democrat in this race. Garrison and Young did not respond to our invitation, and Michaels was unable to participate due to a scheduling conflict.
Let's begin by having you introduce yourself and tell us why you decided to run for this position.
"Absolutely. I'm, my name is J. Michael White, and my nickname is Mike White. And I'm running as J. Michael White for Western District Commissioner. A little background, my wife and I chose to move our family to Christian County in 1996 because we truly believe that was a great place to raise our two sons, and we were right. You know, Christian County is a great place. It's got a lot of natural beauty. It's got a little municipality to it, but it's home. It's not too big, it's not too small, so that's why I'm choosing to run for Western District Commissioner. I believe with my background as a land surveyor from since 1994, I understand land use, land needs, land planning, infrastructure improvements, so that's why I think I'm qualified to run for this office.
With only three commissioners serving a county of 94,000 residents, each commissioner's vote carries significant weight. If elected, tell us about your decision making process when evaluating an agenda item that comes before the commission for a vote.
"Sure. I believe that any decision made on any topic needs to be what's best for the county. I know so many times people want to vote down one partisan line, and I don't think that's possible in a situation like a county commissioner. If I'm western, you have to also consider what's best for the eastern, so you can't ignore one to to help the other, so it could be a difficult choice, I agree. But at the same time, if you truly want what's best for the entire county then you're going to look at the whole county as a whole. So that's why I think you've got to look what's black and white, what's right or wrong."
What support, if any, has your campaign received from community groups, organizations or political action committees, and why should that support matter to voters?
"As far as financial support? Zero. I am self-funding my campaign. I have had individuals back me in enthusiasm and, you know, promises to help me, you know, get out there and get my name shown and noticed and get votes. But as far as any other groups, no, I have not. I'm approaching the people. I'm not approaching the corporations or the businesses. I believe that if I'm going to be a commissioner for the people, I need to be with the people."
The Christian County Highway Department is under the purview of the Christian County Commission. The highway department and its 30 employees are responsible for nearly 1200 lane miles of roadway, 35 bridges, as well as road culverts, low water crossings and roadway signs. How would you prioritize road repairs and improvements?
"Great question. I get that asked a lot when I'm out talking to people. We have roads right now that are substandard. Even where I live, between Billings and Clever, we have roads that are still one lane gravel. We need to emphasize, we have to have good roads in order to provide services, and by service, I mean emergency service, police, fire, ambulance. I think we prioritize on that basis. If we can't reach people to help them, then shame on us."
The commission is responsible for appointing people to serve on several boards and commissions throughout the county. What factors would you consider when making an appointment?
"An example, I was appointed several years ago to Planning and Zoning Commission. There has been some pushback in the past year or two where a certain political party is almost demanding seats on Planning and Zoning. That board, Planning and Zoning Commission, should be totally nonpartisan, so I'm going to look at that carefully. I will only appoint people who really want the appointment or deserve the appointment. A lot of people want to serve, but when it comes down to how much time is involved, then they start backing off their commitment, so you got to be careful of who you appoint to what position, and I would look at that very carefully."
With Christian County being one of the fastest growing counties in the state, how does the commission coordinate efforts with the county's Planning and Zoning Commission and the communities within the county to have adequate infrastructure in roads, power, water and other resources needed for growth?
"That's a big issue I think we're struggling with right now in Christian County. We are seeing an influx of people coming to the area, and I also believe we're seeing the influx of businesses. I serve as commissioner of — chairman — of Planning and Zoning right now. I've been on since 2017, so I see the influx of growth. I think it's important that the three commissioners, Eastern, Western and presiding, all agree that if we have appointed a board, a commission board, planning and zoning, that we need to uphold their decisions, because there's a group of seven people who volunteered their time to study these cases and really rule on what they believe is best and what meets the guidelines. So I think we need to back up our boards that we have. But I think there's also a time that maybe the commission might have to overrule that. There's been some talk in the past about the battery factory. I wasn't involved in that, so I don't know the details. The Senate bill 190, that didn't go to planning zoning, but that went to the commission. So I think there's times where the three commissioners have to step up and maybe do something unpopular to some for the good of the all."
Thank you very much for taking time to talk with us today.
"Thank you very much for having me."
Would you please introduce yourself and tell us why you decided to run for this position? You have one minute.
"Yes. My name is Johnny Williams. I grew up in Nixa, Missouri. I have lived in Christian County my entire life almost, and I've been a police officer there for 24 years in Nixa, so community service and public — working with the public has been something that I've done my entire adult life. I'm looking forward, had a lot of people contact me and letting me know that they thought this would be a good job for me. I've been involved in a lot of different, you know, things that we do in the community, so it was kind of an opportunity for me to expand into that and really give an opportunity to give back to the public in a different way than law enforcement."
With only three commissioners serving a county of 94,000 residents, each commissioner's vote carries significant weight. If elected, tell us about your decision making process when evaluating an agenda item that comes before the commission for a vote.
"Absolutely. I think first and foremost, you have to research every item that comes forward. I know they do a lot of planning and zoning and different things. Being involved in the community and being out there is an extremely important thing, and if you can't get the feedback — you know, as a commissioner, you're only a voice for the public. If you're not out in the public and you're not visiting with people and finding out what people want and the things we do, then we're failing them in that job. And I think that's something that's been lacking a little bit. So finding out, you know, detailed information and not being afraid to reach out to people and resources that are expertise in those fields and into those different things is so important before just making a decision. I don't want to show up that day and just read a paper and go, 'what are we talking about today?' And then just and shoot from the hip. I think it's important to research those things out and not to be afraid to take time and ask questions. And if we need more time to make that time, because we are making very big decisions for the county. And so it's more important to get it right than to just answer questions and just push something through."
What support, if any, has your campaign received from community groups, organizations or political action committees, and why should that support matter to voters?
"Yeah, so I've had two endorsements. The MRA endorsed me. I know there were several candidates that went, they've had several different times where we've came and spoke. The MRA come forward and said, 'hey, we would like to endorse you as a candidate.' That's the Missouri Republican Assembly. In that group, you know, I make it very clear to any group that wants to — and the way I look at endorsements is I go and speak and talk to people, and they look at me and they say, 'hey, we like your values. We like what you stand for and who you are.' And that speaks volumes for me, letting them know that, hey there, you know that they support me and think that I would do a great job in that. But I make it very clear I don't owe anybody anything. I can't be bought. It can't be, no matter who it who it would be, you know that I speak for myself, and I'm going to do whatever's best for the county, regardless of hurting anybody's feelings. I mean, you can get a group of Republicans together, a group of Democrats together. It really doesn't matter. Those people can still disagree on items. I'm going to do what's best for the county no matter what that is. The second group was the Nixa Vision 2040 group. They're big on supporting the growth of Nixa in that area, and they came forward knowing that I was from there. And I had meetings with them, and they thought that I would be a great candidate for that in supporting the county. So that was the only two groups that, you know, that come forward and endorsement."
The Christian County Highway Department is under the purview of the Christian County Commission. The highway department and its 30 employees are responsible for nearly 1200 lane miles of roadway, 35 bridges, as well as road culverts, low water crossings and roadway signs. How would you prioritize road repairs and improvements?
"Absolutely. You know, getting in there and looking, I think in the Western and Eastern District, both sides of the county have about 50 miles of road that isn't paved in any way, shape or form. I know that's been a priority, is trying to get those roads finished out and doing. It's important to work, to talk once again as being involved in the community, be involved with these people and finding out, you know, things that they need, things that we can do better. I know one of the big topics has been the difference between asphalt and chip and seal, and I know chip and seal is about half the price of asphalt. You have different areas, you know, and those kind of things, as you move forward, you have to look at the volume of traffic on those roads, depending on which one you pick and how you do that. I know the road that I live on is chip and seal, and it's great, but there's only about six or seven houses down that road where you might have other areas that are really high volume that you need to spend the more money and do asphalt, because otherwise you're spending more money long term. So it's more about educating yourself on those things, being involved, meeting with them, going out and seeing these projects, meeting with the public that's wanting these things done and making sure that we're doing them properly so we're being good stewards of the taxpayers' money."
The commission is responsible for appointing people to serve on several boards and commissions throughout the county. What factors would you consider when making an appointment?
"Yeah, so we have nine different boards that we place people on, and the biggest factor has to be people's experience in those fields. You know, we have to be able to sit down with people and find out that they have knowledge beyond just wanting to do something in those fields, making sure that those people can be vetted and make sure that they're going to make the best decisions for the county. A lot, I think a lot of those boards and positions really should be voted on from the public, and those people can be vested in there. I know there's some hoops that you have to jump through in order to do that, but it really comes down to putting the right people in place with the right experience."
With Christian County being one of the fastest growing counties in the state, how does the commission coordinate efforts with the county's Planning and Zoning Commission and the communities within the county to have adequate infrastructure in roads, power, water and other resources needed for growth?
"Absolutely, and it is growing, you know, crazy fast. We were just talking about, you know, how many houses are going up everywhere, subdivisions and different things. And that's another thing is community involvement — showing up to meetings, being there, meeting the city administrators from every city and talking through those things because we are a big working, you know, well-oiled machine if you're working together and able to do that. And if we're not having those meetings and we're not being involved and knowing, hey, these things are going in, because if Nixon was to build something or Clever was to build something, if we don't know that in the county, you know, we don't know what kind of infrastructure and things need to go through that, so everything comes down to communication and involvement. We have to be, you know, showing up at the chamber meetings, showing up at the different things and being involved so we can see what they need."
Well, Johnny, that concludes our interview. Thank you very much for taking the time to talk with us.
"Thank you for having me. I appreciate it."
Candidates for Eastern Christian County Commission:
For the Eastern Christian County Commissioner race, the coalition interviewed Republican candidates Bradley Alan Jackson and Jess Hodges. Although Rick Parham has withdrawn, his name will still appear on the ballot. David Krewson is the only Democrat in this race and did not respond to interview requests.
Would you please introduce yourself and tell us why you decided to run for this position?
"All right, well, I ran for this position in 2020, come up just a little bit short in a five-way race to who's now our presiding commissioner. During that time, I had some time on my hands, and I decided that, you know, I got four years until the seat comes up again. And so I ran for the mayor of the City of Ozark because there were some issues that needed to be addressed. During my second year of that term, the presiding commissioner race happened, and our Eastern Commissioner ran and won that race, which created a vacancy. The governor asked me if I would fill that vacancy, and so that's where I've been for the past year and a half, is in this seat that I'm currently running for. This seat has turned over seven times in the past 14 years. It's a four year term, but for some reason, no one's staying longer than two, and I would like to help create consistency on the east side of the county by fulfilling a full four-year term, plus the two that were given to me by the governor."
With only three commissioners serving a county of 94,000 residents, each commissioner's vote carries significant weight. If elected, tell us about your decision making process when evaluating an agenda item that comes before the commission for a vote.
"Well, I think everything takes a lot of background research into a topic. You know, you've got to know exactly what you're looking at. Emotions can't really always play into your decision making. You've got to base everything off facts, so doing a lot of research, doing a lot of background investigation into whatever that topic may be. A lot of people think that the the commissioner's job is a simple little come in for an hour a week job, and it's not. We do a lot of research on the topics because we do handle a very hefty budget. We are the leaders of the elected, you know, in the county. I mean, we oversee not necessarily the functions of every single office in the county, but they rely on us to help make decisions. They rely on us to enter into contracts on their behalf, and if we're going to put our names on a contract, we want to know exactly what it is, even though it's been vetted by the other elected office, our name is the one that goes on those contracts. So it's just a lot of research, a lot of thoughts been put into it before we render that decision. A lot of times, you know, your emotions may dictate that you're going to go this way, but the facts reveal that maybe you shouldn't go that way, maybe you should go back the other direction. And ultimately, it's what's in the best interest of the citizens. You know, we could have a multi-million-dollar-a-year company wanting to come into Christian County, but if it's bad for our citizens, then it's bad for our citizens. And our citizens come first. We had that issue come up this past year, and it was it an easy decision to turn away a company wanting to come in and invest money in our community? No, but the facts were not there to substantiate that. It was a good move for our community, and our citizens were not receptive to it, and that's the decision that we had to make."
What support, if any, has your campaign received from community groups, organizations or political action committees, and why should that support matter to voters?
"Well, I think that, you know, we have a lot of different organizations that have supported me. Some will openly support me, some individual members support me. I've received a lot of encouragement from a lot of the grassroots organizations such as We the People. I have been endorsed by the Republican Assembly of Christian County, the Missouri Republican Assembly of Christian County, which carries the endorsement of the entire state. That means a lot to me because I am a Republican, and they understand that I lead from a Republican standpoint, that my views mirror the party's platform, and I'll always lead in such a way. My moral compass is set with the Republican Party. I've received endorsement from U.S. Congressman Eric Burlison, which to me is a great thing because he's been a huge advocate in our community, serving in our State House, serving in our State Senate and now serving in the Congress. And, you know, that means a lot to me that these grassroots groups and organizations have stood behind me and pledged their their support, not necessarily monetary, you know, but they've pledged their support to endorse me and help me pursue reelection, if you will."
The CC Highway Department is under the purview of the Christian County Commission. The highway department and its 30 employees are responsible for nearly 1200 lane miles of roadway, 35 bridges, as well as road culverts, low water crossings and roadway signs. How would you prioritize road repairs and improvements?
"Well, I think infrastructure is one of the main focuses that our government should have, right? Government should not be here to run your life. They should be here to provide you the things that you can't provide for yourself, infrastructure being one of those key points. We've utilized over this past year, ARPA funds to address a lot of stormwater issues that are in the county. You know, when you develop in the county, you're not held to the same restrictions that you are inside the city. So if you go in in the city and you build a lot of impervious surfaces, you're going to be required to put in water detention, water retention. In the county, not so much, you know? If you build out a subdivision of three acre lots, there's really not going to be, unless it's drastically necessary, water detention. But you're putting in rooftops, driveways and streets. That causes some issues down the road. So we have used those ARPA funds to address some of those low water issues. Since I've been in office, it's been a huge priority of mine to try to take care of as many roads as we possibly can. I'm currently working on what will end up being a private-public partnership on a road in eastern Christian County that, if we fix the road out in front of this driveway, it won't do a bit of good if the property owner doesn't fix his driveway. So we're collaborating together at the same time to pull off a project that will be beneficial to, not only them, but everyone else that lives on that road. Infrastructure is hugely important to me. From my time as the mayor of the City of Ozark, we've always focused on infrastructure improvements, making sure that we spend money wisely. Wants and needs are a huge thing, right? And needs are quality transportation for people to get from their properties to their places of employment and back. So it's a huge priority for me. Long, long story short, it's a huge priority for me that we take care of our roadways."
The commission is responsible for appointing people to serve on several boards and commissions throughout the county. What factors would you consider when making an appointment?
"So I think that we have to look at everything, and the cat's out of the bag, right? So when I took office, I made it a a major priority of mine that if the commission is responsible for selecting the board members of an organization that's using taxpayer funds, the board, or pardon me, the commission needs to be highly involved and not just rubber stamp the decision that's made by that board. So the most prevalent of that is the Library Board of Trustees in Christian County. They traditionally have just sent up a name. The county commission's always signed off on that name, and that person's been on their board. But what we've come to find out is there's a lot of questionable materials inside of our library, especially in the youth section, borderline pornography. And, yes, it's protected by the American Library Association as literature. Some of this is questionable literature, in my opinion, and no children should be subjected to that in a place like a library. That should be a safe space. You ought to be able to take your kids into the library and know that, if they're milling around in the children's section, that they're picking up books like The Mouse and the Motorcycle or a Choose Your Own Adventure book, or maybe Clifford the Big Red Dog, not necessarily a book that is pornographic in nature or visually descriptive or illustrated visually descriptive. And the Library Board of Trustees was not taking a good stance with regards to these books to protect these kids that are unknowingly stumbling across these books. And so I was not going to be party to that. I'm going to vet these candidates. Last year we vetted a group, a great group of people. We selected two individuals to serve on that board. They've done a fantastic job. This year, we've selected another person to come in. I want to know that if the decisions of the Library Board of Trustees is going to affect me because my name is standing behind their name, that they're doing things the way I would want them done and the way my constituency has expressed they want things done."
With Christian County being one of the fastest growing counties in the state, how does the commission coordinate efforts with the county's Planning and Zoning Commission and the communities within the county to have adequate infrastructure and roads, power, water and other resources needed for growth?
"Well, I think growth is one of the most important things that we have in Christian County. For over 30 years, you know, we've been one of the fastest growing counties. You know, I'm from Ozark, and I used to tell a story about growing up in a small town of a couple thousand people. And, you know, things have changed in that small town. And then usually halfway through my story, I let it out that I'm from Ozark, right? And Ozark had about 4,000 people in 1991. They have 24,000 plus now, and so we've grown a lot. And we've outstretched some of our abilities to provide adequate infrastructure, so there's been a lot of conversation about slowing down our growth, to manage our growth a little bit better. But so many people want to come live in our community. They want to share our values of our community. They want to share the serenity and the scenery of our community. And I can't blame them, I love it. I, you know, in 1991, I left for the Army. I couldn't wait to come home and put myself right back in Christian County, so it doesn't bother me that they want to come live in our community, but we've got to work with our neighboring cities, especially Ozark and Nixa, as the two fastest growing inside the county, that we're taking care of all of our residents, not just our future residents, but our current residents so that the impact of the new residents doesn't disenfranchise the current residents. It's a lot of planning and coordination. Thank goodness we've got great groups like our Chamber of Commerce, Show Me Christian County being one of those other groups, that can focus on those efforts to make sure that we're taking care of everybody and everything that's needed so that we continue to be one of the greatest places in the State of Missouri in the United States, as a matter of fact, to raise a family. And there's a lot of people that come here that are not interested in raising a family. They want to retire here and be with their children who are raising that family. So, it's just something we're going to have to continue to work on, continue to collaborate and make sure that we're all singing from the same hymnal, if you will, and that we take care of all of our citizens and all the needs."
Thank you so much for being here with us.
"Thank you for having me, I appreciate it."
Thank you very much for joining us.
"Well, it's a pleasure to be here, guys. Sorry, If I stutter or if I'm nervous. This is the first time being interviewed in probably 20 years. So a little bit about me, I grew up in Christian County, born and raised, 4-H, FFA, grew up on a farm. To me this is just a pleasure to give back to my community. That's what this is all about. It's, there was one of those uhs, but it's just about giving back to my community and the people that literally raised my family over the years."
With only three commissioners serving a county of 94,000 residents, each commissioner's vote carries significant weight. If elected, tell us about your decision making process when evaluating an agenda item that comes before the commission for a vote.
"Well, I think that every commissioner, not just the presiding or the West Commissioner or the Eastern Commissioner, I think we need to be guided by our morals, our knowledge about the issues. We are representing the voice of eastern Christian County. So as Eastern Commissioner, I want to hear what my people have to say. And when I say my people, I consider myself one of those people. So I want to know what...Chadwick has to say, Bruner has to say. Sparta has to say. Ozark has to say, you know, we even go up to Fremont Hills, and we go way over to Cheyenne Road. So I want to hear, and I think we need to reflect the people's voice, and I think we need to make the best decisions based on our morals and our knowledge that we have at the time."
What support, if any, has your campaign received from community groups, organizations or political action committees, and why should that support matter to voters?
"Well, you know, I'm glad you asked that question because I don't get any support. This is me. I am doing this because I think that someone needs to step up and say, 'hey, we're, we want to do our community' — actually, it's kind of great. I sat in a meeting the other day, and there is six candidates in Christian County that are running that have never run before. So I am not political. I don't know anything about politics. I am doing this — first off, so I am not backed. I am not, I can't think of the word right now. I don't have any political groups backing me. I have no one to answer to. So if I say something wrong, you know I have to answer to my people. I don't have to answer to no political groups. And I think that's the way to go. I am running as a Republican and I am conservative, so my conservative beliefs and my morals is going to guide me."
The Christian County Highway Department is under the purview of the Christian County Commission. The highway department and its 30 employees are responsible for nearly 1200 lane miles of roadway, 35 bridges, as well as road culverts, low water crossings and roadway signs. How would you prioritize road repairs and improvements?
"Well, that's a great question because we're not road commissioners anymore. Being a Class I county, a lot of those have to — and, now, I don't know all the ins and outs because I am new — that is better suited for a commissioner that has been in there. But the way I understand it and the way I read it, everything has to go through the engineers. We have to approve it. We do need to prioritize safety overall. And when I say that there is some roads out there that are pretty rough that people need to be able to navigate for your ambulance and your fire districts and all that, so I think safety would be the most important thing to look at first."
The commission is responsible for appointing people to serve on several boards and commissions throughout the county. What factors would you consider when making an appointment?
"So there's big, two big factors. I've been asked that question before, but it really comes down to morals and the ability to do the job. So 1.) they have to be a good person, and 2.) they have to have the background and the job. So it's just one of them deals where I'm not going to hire somebody just because they're a great guy. They need to be a great guy, and they need to know how to do their job. And that is really what I'll be looking for is people that is suited for that situation."
With Christian County being one of the fastest growing counties in the state, how does the commission coordinate efforts with the county's Planning and Zoning Commission and the communities within the county to have adequate infrastructure and roads, power, water and other resources needed for growth?
"That is a great question, and that is actually one that's not been presented to me yet. But when we, we got to look at our infrastructure and it's all going to be — and I'm kind of segwaying — because it's all going to be through economic development. If we want our revenues to grow, we're going to have to do it through economic development. You know, we're bringing in $74 million in revenues, but I think our projected budget is $96 million. And that's approximate because I don't have the numbers in front of me. You can go to our christiancounty.gov website and go to transparency portal and see all the numbers for yourself. It's a fantastic portal, but that going back, is we do need to grow our county, but we need to do it in a form that is through economic development and not raising taxes. And that being said, I don't know the best way until I get in there and see what we've already done. So we go in, and you start talking about infrastructure, and I'm assuming you're talking about gas, electric, water, sewer, all that, so that is not my strong suit. I'll be the first to tell you, but I'm a quick learner. And we'll go in there and figure it out, and we'll get it done together."
Thank you so much for talking with us today.
"Thanks for having me, guys, I appreciate it."
The video interviews were recorded by Nathan Papes of the Springfield News-Leader.
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