Three vie for open seat in District 28 Missouri Senate GOP Primary

Three state House veterans will face off in the Aug. 3 GOP primary in their bid to take the open District 28 Missouri Senate seat.

District 119 state Rep. Larry D. Wilson, District 126 state Rep. Ed Emery, and District 133 state Rep. Mike Parson are each trying to woo primary voters with their own brands of conservative politics. The seat is open after state Sen. Delbert Scott was term-limited from office. There is no Democratic candidate in the race, but the winner of the Republican primary will have a general election opponent in Constitution Party Candidate Bennie D. Hatfield, of Sedalia.

The district includes all of Pettis, Barton, Benton, Cedar, Dallas, Henry, Hickory, Polk, and St. Clair counties in a large swath of central Missouri.

Larry D. Wilson

Wilson, a Wheatland farmer who served as Hickory County assessor for 11 years and also has worked privately as a real estate appraiser, was first elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in 2002 — taking Delbert Scott’s open House seat after Scott entered the Missouri Senate.

He said his main emphasis, if elected, would be promoting economic development in rural Missouri and helping protect farmers and agriculture.

“Sometimes people forget that our main responsibility is to help the people in our district. I think that has been the most enjoyable part of my job — helping people that need help,” Wilson said. “Most of the bills I have passed were ideas and suggestions that came from
people in the district.”

Wilson said that addressing issues ranging from crime to education was impossible if legislators don’t “address the number one issue we face — jobs.”

“The key to everything else is jobs,” Wilson said.

He said one of the first measures he introduced after being elected was a bill that would create rural empowerment zones to help spur economic development in rural parts of Missouri by allowing companies that created at least 10 full-time jobs in designated zones to keep their state taxes.

“Most economic development bills we see are really meant for Kansas City or St. Louis. There just isn’t much opportunity for people in the central part of the state to access economic development money,” Wilson said.

He said the measure passed in a scaled-down version — covering only Hickory County — but believes the same model should be expanded and offered to rural areas throughout the state.

Wilson also stressed that agriculture is the number one industry in the state and fears that citizens and elected officials from urban areas “forget about that sometimes.”

“We have to make sure that farmers are able to work their land, produce crops, and provide food for the state while also being able to provide for themselves and their own families,” Wilson said.

He said the best way to help farmers would be to reduce some regulations which contribute to “overhead so high that it drives young farmers away because they simply can’t afford it.”
He said farmers are often some of the most “green” people because “they have to protect the land and the soil and the water in able to run their farm.”

Wilson also stressed his dedication to senior citizens, veterans, and “making sure our education system is fully funded.”

Ed Emery

Emery, of Lamar, was first elected to the House in 2002, serving Barton, Dade and parts of Polk and Jasper counties, following a 22-year career in the oil industry.

He is a staunch social conservative who believes in reducing the size and scope of government and is committed to a plan to eliminate state payroll and business taxes and replace state revenues with a statewide sales tax.

“One of biggest the aspects is that it is a major step back toward individual liberty. It takes the power out of the hands of policy makers who can’t manipulate you with the tax code.

And, it taxes consumption rather than punishing people for being productive and working hard,” Emery said.

He said he believes current state revenues could be replaced with a 6.5 percent sales tax, though he admits that previous proposals call for a constitutional cap of 7 percent.

Emery said he believes in a strict and narrow interpretation of the Missouri and U.S. constitutions and fears that citizens have “forgotten the meaning of the liberties we inherited” and rely too much on government solutions to local problems.

“There is a suggestion today that whatever problems we have close we want to pass them on to someone else, so local problems become state problems and state problems become federal problems.

“The question I ask: Why would you rely on the institutions you trust the least to solve your most important problems?”

“So many times today people in Jeff City or Washington do things outside the Constitution because they like being empowered,” Emery said.

He said such activity leads to state government becoming too involved in local affairs and creates an ever increasing number of special interest groups.

“So what you get is a system where politicians who are good at politics can get these groups to support them and use that to gain more and more power,” Emery said.

Emery said constitutions erect clear barriers to state and federal power and he believes “it is my job in Jefferson City to make sure those walls stay intact.”

Emery derided public-private partnerships and many tax credit and economic development programs as “mercantilism,” a system he said is doomed to failure.

He said he had voted for some tax credits in the past, believing the best way to reduce the size of the state is to reduce the resources it has available. In general, he called tax credits “the true enemy of tax reform.”

“The best way for government to help businesses is to get out of their way and stop over-regulating and over-taxing them,” Emery said.

Mike Parson

Parson, of Bolivar, is a lifetime farmer, former business owner, a veteran, and served as Polk County sheriff for 12 years. He was first elected to the House in 2004, serving Cedar and Polk counties.

“If you want to move this state forward you have to focus on the economy and agriculture and my background is a great fit for that,” Parson said.

He said his impression of Jefferson City was that there are three kinds of people: “Those who get things done, those who watch others do all the work, and those that look around and ask ‘What just happened?’ ”

“I get things done. Whenever I consider a piece of legislation I ask, ‘How does it work for the people back home?’ and ‘What is the right thing to do for the state?’ ” Parson said.

He said his last two years he served as chairman of the House Rules Committee, which oversees every bill that is introduced on the House floor.

He said of the issues he has dealt with in Jefferson City he takes the most pride in reducing the number of abortion clinics in Missouri from 10 to 3; and in seeing the Castle Doctrine law enacted which provided legal protections for people trying to protect their homes, property and family.

He said his business sense would be helpful as Missouri tries to encourage development and economic growth.

“If you don’t understand business, especially small business, you are missing the boat,” Parson said. “With the budget shortfall we will face, the economy and jobs will come to the forefront in the next session.”

He said he was not opposed to tax credits but feels much tighter controls need to be in place to make sure the state isn’t “just shelling out tax money without putting any real responsibilities on the businesses that receive them.”

Parson said the state would face some tough choices, and singled out social welfare programs as a drain on state revenues.

“It is not the government’s job to baby-sit or provide for people’s children. People shouldn’t be helped for life; they need to take some responsibility. Too many grow up in that mentality. We have to get away from that,” Parson said.

He said he also was dedicated to quality schools, and believes that the state should “stop mandating programs” and allow local districts to assume more responsibility for dealing with local problems.

“Local districts know the best way to spend their money and how to deal with the issues they face,” Parson said.