Ken Waller, 62, a Republican from Herculaneum, has announced plans to seek a second two-year term representing District 114 in the Missouri House of Representatives.
Waller said his past governmental experience – as county treasurer, as county clerk and eight years as Jefferson County’s first county executive – has afforded him a lot of insights.
“But it’s different being in the legislative branch rather than the executive branch,” he said. “Over the past year, I’ve had to learn to be patient, to learn the policies and procedures, how to get a bill on the legislative calendar and get it out of committee.
“When I went up there (for his first legislative session, which ran from January to May), I knew I wasn’t going to set the world on fire. I knew I had a lot to learn. But I think I was fortunate. A lot of people are elected and don’t know anything about how government works. And I had that knowledge. But I knew I wasn’t going to go up to Jeff City and file a bunch of bills just because I could.
“Relatively speaking, I didn’t know much about anything, and now, while I’m not saying I know everything – far from it – I do know a lot more about how things are done.”
Waller said he plans to spend the second year of his first term consolidating his gains of the first.
“Depending on how things go and who else is interested, I’d like to seek a leadership position in the House, maybe as the assistant floor leader, which is two steps down from the Speaker of the House,” he said. “I’ve been asked to look into it by some people. They said my past government experience is something that a lot of people don’t have.”
Waller said while he “talked with other people about other opportunities” outside of a House seat, he said he feels like he has a lot to accomplish.
Among his goals, he said, are to strengthen the state’s workforce education and development initiative.
“When I was growing up, the message to us was, ‘Go to college,’ but in today’s world, that may not be right for everyone. Why get a marketing degree when you want to be a welder and you can make a good living doing that? I think the state needs to get behind that even more, and I know the governor (Mike Parson) wants to see more workforce education.”
Waller said he also would work to improve legislation this year that allows counties to relieve seniors from increases in their real estate tax bills.
“I think what was passed was better than nothing, but I think because it was so difficult to get anything approved with the problems of getting it through the Senate, it wasn’t looked at as closely as it could have been and there are problems with unintended consequences. Hopefully, we’ll get something passed that definitely will help clear up some of the confusion.”
Waller said he also wants to work to “fight federal overreach into Missouri’s elections, business and investment regulations.
“When you talk to people about politics, they tell you they don’t want the federal government involved in any local or state issues. People are tired of the federal government being involved in their lives,” he said.
Even armed with more knowledge about the nooks and crannies of Jefferson City, Waller said he is pragmatic about how much can be accomplished in the second half of his first term.
“It’s an election year, so there’s probably not going to get a lot done,” Waller said, as all 163 House seats are up for grabs, as are half of the 34 Senate seats. “But that won’t stop me from trying to get things done. I can’t control what other people do.”
Waller and his wife, Trina, have three children and a grandchild.
State representatives are paid $37,711 a year plus $125.60 each day the House is in session.