On the Missouri state seal, you will find the words “Salus populi suprema lex esto.” Translated from Latin, the words mean “The welfare of the people shall be the supreme law.” This has been the official motto of the State of Missouri since 1822. Today, with an agenda that slashes and burns education, healthcare and social welfare to favor the profits of their corporate donors, it is a pretty fair bet that the state legislators of the party in power don’t know the Missouri motto.
There is whole new generation of Democratic candidates hoping to change the direction of our state and give new meaning to that state motto. The West County Democrats hosted four of these candidates for state office today, who spoke eloquently to the issues that we face in Missouri– and the Democratic principles for which they stand.
Nicole Galloway has done a fantastic job as the Missouri State Auditor, and has uncovered more than $100 million in waste, fraud, abuse and mismanagement. She is asking for another term in office. Her audits have changed the way State and Local government officials do business on behalf of taxpayers. She made the point today, that for any statewide office, particularly hers, elected officials would not be effective at all if they were beholding to dark money political donors.
Erica Hoffman is a first time candidate running for State Representative in the 96th District. As a career teacher and a mom, she understands the education issues we face in the State of Missouri and believes strongly we should be investing in our public educational system, not cutting essential services in favor of for-profit institutions.
Genevieve Steidtmann is a small business owner who feels our representatives in District 101 have gone unchallenged for too long, and it is now time to refocus our legislative efforts on healthcare, affordable education, good jobs with fair wages, civil rights and the environment. Her competition may think that tort reform is the top issue facing the state, but the working men and women of Missouri don’t.
Mike Walter is running for the Missouri House in District 95. He has been an Ameren employee and an IBEW member for 35 years. Like the others, he sees the benefit to working families of investing in education, jobs, healthcare and public safety. Mike believes working people need to get motivated, and the most recent defeat of Proposition A is an indicator that the sleeping giant is ready fight back against Republican anti-labor efforts.
These are regular folks, like you and I, who are standing up to corporate, big money-backed forces to change the status quo and restore Missouri to a state where the welfare of the people is the supreme law. If you are interested in flushing dark money corruption out of Jefferson City and helping drive reforms that benefit all Missourians, you should support these candidates and vote Democratic in the fall.
— Mark Toenjes, WCD Member