Candidates for the Missouri House District No. 62 seat in the state legislature were asked four identical questions. They were asked to limit their responses to 50 words. The questions, and their answers, appear below.

• Tell prospective voters how your business/careers have prepared you for participating in budget preparations at the state level.

• Share your stance on Amendment 3. For or against — taking into consideration that if this amendment is approved this will undo constitutional regulations already approved by 62 percent of Missouri voters.

• What is the most important issue facing Missouri to you?

• Working across the isle in politics is happening less and less. What will you do to find common ground and pass laws with bipartisan support?

Nancy J. Ragan, Democrat, Vienna

• My experience as a senior enlisted petty officer in the U.S. Navy, and afterwards as a civilian working for Department of Defense, taught me to handle end-of-year budgetary shortfalls and still maintain assigned equipment. My company did complete overhauls and emergency repairs on Aviation Ground Support Equipment for the Navy, mostly onboard carriers. I bid the jobs for the company, and supervised the rebuilds for my team. We were required to meet the cost estimates, or be below the budgeted bid.

• Regulations concerning redistricting rules were approved two years ago by 62 percent of Missouri voters. We are readdressing this issue again because the current state government did not like it. I will be voting ‘NO’ on amendment 3, because I believe legislative districts should be formed by a nonpartisan group. Take a look at the current map of the districts, one of them looks like an earthworm across the state!

• On this particular day the covid-19 pandemic is on a sudden upswing and schools are closing for two weeks (possibly longer). Rural areas NEED broadband internet so that our students can actually continue their education on line in the midst of this pandemic. We can not complete until we start, I say we start today! In that same vein we need more covid testing not less to prevent outbreaks becoming widespread.

• Working across the aisle requires an attitude of respect and civility, as well as a willingness to listen to differing viewpoints, even if one disagrees.  It is possible to disagree without hating one another, and is essential to discovering our commonalities; enabling representatives to provide solutions and good governance. I am an American first!

Bruce Sassmann, Republican, Bland

• Financial management and accounting are skills I learned in college.  I have been successful in managing the family businesses, a convenience store, and personal finances. I have had the responsibility of overseeing public funds in city government. I sit on a local bank advisory board. I have most recently been the president of a charitable foundation. I am uniquely prepared to participate in budgeting at the state level.

• Amendment 3 is an opportunity for voters to re-examine the Clean Missouri amendment passed in 2018. The 2018 Amendment changed the priorities for drawing legislative boundaries as an attempt to gerrymander the legislative districts. The 2018 amendment also changed the selection process, responsibilities, qualifications, salary and retention of the demographer. My conservative friends and I have compared the two amendments and we are voting YES on Amendment 3.

• Agreeing on priorities and solving the budget problems are the most important issues facing Missouri. Balancing rising cost with declining revenues is a losing proposition. If we are talking about roads, schools, expanding broadband, parks, or paying for Medicaid expansion, creative financing will be the central focus of those discussions.

• Some issues, like the right to life, 2nd Amendment, and religious liberty, are non-negotiable. Other issues might be solved by compromise. As much as some political pundits would want you to believe otherwise, the truth and the solution to most problems are not owned by either party. Sometimes we can agree and sometimes we can respectfully disagree.