District 97 Missouri state Rep. David Casteel, a Republican, is seeking reelection Nov. 5 and facing challenger Dan Schaefer, a Democrat.
District 97 covers parts of Jefferson County.
The term is for two years. Missouri state legislators are paid a $39,264 annual salary, according to the 2023-2024 Official Manual State of Missouri.
Casteel, 41, of High Ridge is the president at C and C Seamless Guttering and founder of GutterPros. He earned a GED from the Missouri Challengers Program in 2004. He and his fiance, Jordin Lamb, have one child.
Schaefer, 65, of Fenton is a retired team manager and software developer with Exegy in Webster Groves. He earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Missouri in Columbia in 1982. He and his spouse, Elisabeth Koster, have one child, two stepchildren and two step-grandchildren
What experience do you have that might serve you well in this position?
Casteel: I was first elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in 2021 and assumed my role in January 2022. This summer, I was appointed to the Illegal Immigrant Crimes Committee and have learned about the unique challenges Missourians face as a result of the open southern border. In the next session, I look forward to working with the committee, the House and the Senate to protect Missouri and its citizens from immigrant crime.
Schaefer: I was a member of two HOA boards. Most recently, I led an effort to work with Jefferson County to adopt our neighborhood roads, saving $2 million over 20 years. As a podcaster, I conducted more than 200 interviews with politicians, activists, authors and even those the system has cast aside, all to shine a light on the stories that shape our nation.
What specific needs exist in your district, and how would you address them?
Casteel: I want to defend my constituents from fentanyl. After speaking to sheriffs around the state, it’s clear there’s been a rise in overdoses and related crimes over the past few years. The drug started flooding our country when our southern border defenses were relaxed.
Jefferson County also has experienced a rise in homelessness, and I want to work with local nonprofits to provide them with resources.
The cost of living, including the cost for food, has increased, and many can’t afford their previous lifestyles. Many are living on high-interest credit cards while hoping for an end to inflation.
Schaefer: People in our district demand passionate protection of women’s rights, fortified public education, support for unions, meaningful voting reform, better health care and safeguards against the corporate takeover of housing. As a legislator, my marching orders will be to passionately defend women’s rights, protect schools from private corporate interests, strengthen labor protections, pursue voting reforms to make everyone feel their vote counts, fortify Medicaid services and limit institutional homeownership. By prioritizing these issues, I’ll work to protect our district’s values and create a brighter future.
According to many state legislators, the latest session wasn’t as productive as they would have liked with a near record-low number of bills passed. What do you think needs to be changed to address the problem?
Casteel: Not many bills were passed, but that’s not always a bad thing. The session provided me with the opportunity to strengthen my relationship with those serving and working in the Capitol, and those relationships are important to pass good bills. There were many lawmakers in competition for higher offices, which had a lot to do with the disfunction during the last session. I expect that won’t be the case in the coming session. We will have several new senators, 30-plus new representatives and a new governor. I’m excited to work on bills for my district and all Missourians.
Schaefer: Extremism in the Legislature has turned “compromise” into a dirty word, resulting in gridlock. Legislators with rigid, extremist agendas see every issue as a zero-sum game, making productive, “win-win” dialogue nearly impossible. These are the folks who seek to eliminate the initiative petition process, as they see the voice of the people as adversarial. To address the dysfunction, citizens must bring more moderate voices to the Legislature, voices that prioritize practical solutions over political points, committed to finding precious common ground for the good of the people.
State legislation recently was passed that raises the minimum teacher salary to $40,000, with no state funding mechanism attached. Do you think the state provides enough funding for education and why?
Casteel: Teachers are underpaid compared to their administrative counterparts, and I’m proud I supported getting the teachers a raise. I think teachers in my district still need higher pay. I don’t want to sound like a typical politician, but “children are our future.” Like any other business, school districts should look at their budgets to see what can be done to become more efficient. High inflation has made it harder for districts to offer competitive pay. I’m committed to providing necessary funding in the coming session or future sessions. Several state departments carry surpluses, and funds could be reappropriated from those.
Schaefer: Raising teacher salaries without a funding mechanism forces schools to cut elsewhere, further compromising their quality. “School choice” is a ruse that seeks to privatize education, enriching elites while sabotaging educational quality for everyone else. Further, the current education funding formula traps schools in a cycle of declining quality and property values. We must update the formula to ensure equitable funding for all districts – rural, urban and everything in between – and adjust teacher salaries to match the cost of living in their communities.
State legislators have proposed bills aimed at making it harder to amend the state constitution through an initiative petition. Do you support these efforts and why?
Casteel: A state’s citizens should be the only ones allowed to fund media campaigns in favor or against an amendment to a constitution. Missouri reportedly has received millions from nonprofits for radio, TV and print ad campaigns. The money comes into the nonprofits from international sources to influence voters. Unless we stop direct and indirect foreign funding and provide legal protections, I believe the initiative process should be amended.
The Legislature is supposed to control the purse strings. In many cases, initiative petitions have earmarked revenue from these industries to state departments without the ability for future legislators to change it.
Schaefer: Words cannot describe how strongly I oppose efforts to make it harder to amend Missouri’s Constitution through the Initiative and Referendum Petition process. If the Legislature truly listened to the people, there would be little, if any, need for these measures. Over the past two decades, however, lawmakers have repeatedly disregarded and, at times, shown outright contempt for the voices of the people. This is unacceptable. The Initiative and Referendum Petition processes are the people’s final safeguards against legislative overreach. Any attempt to weaken these processes reveals a blatant disregard for the will of the people.
Why should voters elect you to this position? List your goals, if elected.
Casteel: Running a company successfully is hard, and I’ve done it for 21 years. To grow, we had to speak effectively to the public; sell; analyze risk; borrow and repay money; negotiate salaries and costs; and most importantly, stay focused. It requires grit and determination to stay in business for 21-plus years, and it takes the same grit, determination and experience to be a legislator.
I look forward to fighting to stop the flow of fentanyl into Missouri, defending Missourians from the challenges we face resulting from illegal immigration and lowering the cost of living in Missouri.
Schaefer: I will champion the rights of women and any marginalized community targeted by this overly conservative and increasingly extremist Legislature. I have specific plans to reform our voting system so no one feels their voice is ignored. I’ll fight back against financial institutions seeking to turn us into a nation of renters. And I’ll stand shoulder-to-shoulder with unions to defend workers’ rights against an increasingly pro-business Legislature. The bottom line is that I’m committed to protecting our district’s values and pursuing practical, people-focused solutions that create a fairer and brighter future for all.