Republican candidates for 62nd House seat respond to campaign questionnaire

Posted 7/29/20

The Gasconade County Republican, Maries County Advocate and Osage County Unterrified Democrat asked candidates for the 62nd House District Primary Election questions on how they would proceed if …

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Republican candidates for 62nd House seat respond to campaign questionnaire

Posted

The Gasconade County Republican, Maries County Advocate and Osage County Unterrified Democrat asked candidates for the 62nd House District Primary Election questions on how they would proceed if selected as their party’s nomination on Aug. 4 for the November General Election.

Candidates were instructed to limited their answers to 50 words. If answers exceeded the limit, their answers have been edited due to space constraints.

Nancy Ragan (D-Vienna) did not respond to the questions. She is unopposed on Aug. 4 and will face the Republican winner in November’s election.

Answers in their entirety are found online at gasconadecountyrepublican.com. Here are the questions and their responses.

State Representative candidate questions

• How do you feel about implementing a gas tax for roads and bridges?

• How do you feel about mail-in voting? Do you feel there is a better way to encourage more people to vote?

• If elected, how do you plan to acquire allies, work across party lines and compromise to achieve what is best for District 62?

• Do you support Medicaid Expansion as proposed by Constitutional Amendment No. 2 on the Primary Ballot. Why or why not?

Chris Beyer (R-Linn):

I am opposed to a gas tax for Missouri families. Everyone, including myself, knows that our roads are in desperate need of repairs. I believe there is enough money in our state budget to better fund road maintenance so that we do not have to take money from Missourians each time they go to the pump.

• I am strongly opposed to mail-in voting. It will throw current election integrity out the window and open the door to widespread fraud and abuse. If Missouri wants to improve elections, then we need stronger Voter ID in our state, which I support.

• I am a strong constitutional conservative, with pro-life, pro-gun, and pro-liberty values. I know in Jefferson City I’ll be joined by people who will agree with me and people who won’t. I’m sure that there are compromises and common-sense solutions we can find. However, I will never compromise on our values and our Constitution.

• I am strongly opposed to Medicaid expansion because it is Obamacare by another name. Medicaid already accounts for 40 percent of our state budget. Expanding it to able-bodied, working age adults will remove resources from the children, disabled, and elderly on the program. Worse, expanding it will cost taxpayers billions with no way to pay for it.

Bruce Sassmann (R-Bland):

• Infrastructure should be one of our highest priorities. Missouri gas tax hasn’t increased since 1996.     Complicated ballot language was the major reason the gas tax failed in the past. Too many people had their hand in the pot. I would look forward to an honest and straight forward tax proposal.

• I am not in favor of a more liberal mail-in ballot process. The question shouldn’t be about encouraging more voters. We should be asking, how do we get better informed voters and how do we attract the very best candidates?

• I have already begun to create alliances with the speaker elect and the candidates for floor leader and assistant floor leader. I have often visited the Capitol and attended House and Senate committee meetings to strengthen my knowledge of the processes and the connections with the members and staff.

• Medicare expansion is not a free lunch. Someone always has to pay. We do need a reduction in the cost of healthcare. Advance statements of goods and services, itemized costs, and the selective purchasing of health care services could go a long way to make healthcare more affordable.

Tom Reed (R-Owensville):

• I have numerous businesses that would be affected by the gas tax. The higher the gas tax is or fuel prices, the fewer people travel for tourism. Not knowing how the budget is funded to different departments would be hard for me to answer. My main concern would be if they got a tax increase for this voter-approved on a ballot, would their regular budget be cut which put us in the same problem we already have.

• I’m not a fan of mail-in voting, but some people that are disabled are a different story, and that system is in place already for them.

• I feel that employers need to address the issue a little more with their employees to encourage them to vote. The worst thing we have is an uninformed voter, and every employer needs to give their employee the knowledge before an election and or the time for them to vote. 

• I currently work between party lines and allies now. A lot of my customers also have their own repair shop, which is a direct competitor. I have been in contact with numerous state reps and have developed a communication line already. I can work alongside different party lines as long as any of them have common sense, and understand we need to keep Missouri working and control a balanced budget.

• I do not support this expansion; we cannot rely on federal money, and we need to be self-sufficient in the state as much as we can. We need to keep people working and get them educated for a better paying job. Instead of expanding Medicaid, we need to look at the current Medicaid program and protect the right people on the program and make sure they are getting the benefit they need and protect Missouri taxpayer’s money.