The race for the 112th District in the Missouri House of Representatives in the Nov. 8 general election has more drama than most local campaigns.
To begin with, there’s the rematch factor. Republican Rob Vescoco and Democrat Robert Butler squared off for the same seat two years ago, with Vescovo prevailing by about 1,800 votes.
The competition was ratcheted up earlier this year, after Butler filed suit in Jefferson County Circuit Court, alleging that Vescovo was not eligible to run because he owned delinquent taxes for companies that he has owned.
A Dent County judge ruled that Vescovo was not personally responsible for the companies’ taxes and could remain on the ballot.
District 112 covers portions of north and central Jefferson County.
State representatives serve two-year terms. The pay is $35,915 per year, a weekly allowance for miles traveled going to and returning from meetings, and expenses for each day the General Assembly is in session.
BUTLER, 52, lives at 4594 Klable Road, Barnhart. He and his wife, Miriam, have four children. He is an attorney. He received a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a law degree, both from the University of Missouri in Columbia. He has served on the board of the St. Louis Economic Council, served on the parish council for Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, including terms on the finance committee and as president. He is also a member of the Missouri, Illinois and St. Louis bar associations.
Social media: Website: butler4thehouse.com Facebook: butler4thehouse
VESCOVO, 39, lives at 2731 Riebold Drive, Arnold. He and his wife, Amanda, have five children. He works in business development. He attended Southeast Missouri State University. He has been a committee chair of Cub Scout Pack 830 at Guffey Elementary School since 2013 and a former assistant Cubmaster, He is a member of the Epsilon Phi chapter of Sigma Chi at Southeast Missouri State University and was on the Jefferson County Port Authority’s board from 2011-2014.
Social media: Website: RobVescovo.com Facebook: Rob Vescovo Twitter: @RobVescovo
What role, if any, should the General Assembly take on regulating abortion?
Butler: Life begins at conception and I am pro-life. We need to help young expectant mothers and families care for their own children or to choose adoption over abortion. As a Catholic and person of faith, I will vote my conscience and defend life. However, decisions involving the life of the mother should be left in the hands of a family and their doctor. But we cannot simply look to ban abortions; we also need to enact policies that will work to reduce unwanted pregnancies, especially among young teens, and encouraging women chose life over abortion.
Vescovo: I was adopted as child, and that experience, as well as the experience of raising five children together with my wife, has shaped my belief that every single life is precious. I am 100 percent pro-life and believe that the General Assembly should work in every way possible to protect life and to promote a culture of life within our state.
What should be done to address partisan nastiness in the Legislature?
Butler: There has been a radical shift in the Missouri Legislature away from working together to solve common problems to trying to make every issue about national politics and partisanship. This is driven largely by national special interests that use state legislatures to drive their agendas and bring an influx of big money into local races. It is the same partisan gridlock that infests Washington, D.C.. We need to return to a common-sense Missouri way of problem-solving. We may not agree on every issue or the approach to solving problems, but rather than pursuing the most divisive partisan issues, all sides should first sit down and draw up a list of goals on which they agree.
Vescovo: People are sick and tired of too many of our elected leaders bickering with one another while jobs are lost, spending skyrockets and our national debt spirals out of control. I ran for office because I know that people of both parties must work together and solve the very real problems we face. In the Legislature, I work daily with people of both parties to craft bipartisan solutions that strive to make Jefferson County a better place to live, work and raise a family. While my opponent is taking partisan nastiness to a new level in this election, we can and must do better.
What programs or services should be cut to balance the state budget?
Butler: The state Constitution requires a mandatory balanced budget every year. I agree with this conservative fiscal policy and believe it serves Missouri well. The best way to balance Missouri’s budget is:
■ Grow and attract new businesses.
■ Prosecute tax cheats.
■ Reduce inefficiencies that exist within many departments.
Vescovo: We must put an end to the tax credit giveaways that don’t benefit our residents, don’t create jobs and take critical funding out of our public schools and away from improving our roads. It is time to prioritize our schools and our highways, instead of subsidizing wealthy developers like Stan Kroneke.
Explain your position on Medicaid expansion.
Butler: The refusal of the Legislature to expand Medicaid is simply partisan gamesmanship. Raising the income level of who qualifies for Medicaid brings hundreds of millions of dollars of reimbursements into Missouri for our hospitals, nurses and doctors. Right now the money we as Missourians pay for Medicaid and which is earmarked for Missouri is going to other states. We are left holding the bag of paying higher medical costs because of those who can’t afford to pay or have insurance. The lack of compromise in this area shows a lack of common sense that I hope to return to legislative decision-making in Jefferson City.
Vescovo: Missouri’s Medicaid program is a broken system. It is not providing the access to care or the positive health outcomes that low-income Missourians need. Common sense tells us we should fix the program we have now before expanding a broken system. Missourians want less government interference between loved ones and their doctors, not more.
Should the General Assembly impose limits on donations to political campaigns? What changes would you advocate, if any?
Butler: I support limits on campaign donations and lobbyist gifts because your voice needs to be heard over all the high-priced lobbyists and millionaire political donors. My opponent has received $100,000 from a single donor [Vescovo’s most recent campaign finance reports with the Missouri Ethics Commission lists a total donation of $175,000 from David Humphreys of Joplin], a millionaire from the other side of the state who wants to push his own agenda. Big campaign donations have been directly tied to the actions of my opponent. Right after his last election, one of his first pieces of proposed legislation directly benefited a company from outside of Jefferson County that gave him $20,000. A representative of this same company was the only outside witness to show up and testify for passage of his bill in a committee hearing. I want to end pay-to-play government in Missouri.
Vescovo: Contribution limits at the federal level have given birth to multimillion-dollar campaign expenditures from “dark money” committees that hide the sources of money from voters. Voters have the right to know from where and from whom campaigns are being funded. I prefer the Missouri system of complete transparency over the broken federal system of limited transparency and dark money.
Do you support your party's nominee for president? Explain why or why not.
Butler: Regardless of who is president I know can make a difference in Jefferson City and that’s why I am running. I disagree on several issues with the nominee of my own party. But regardless of who is elected president, I won’t change any of my fundamental or core beliefs. I support the Second Amendment and have an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association, of which am a five-year member. I will vote to protect life. I also disagree with the way the U.S. has negotiated its trade deals and believe we need to bring back American jobs. My opponent supported favorable deals for Chinese companies to buy up Missouri farmland.
Vescovo: I support Donald Trump for president because he isn’t just another career politician who has failed us and put us in the mess we are in. Donald Trump will put an end to the bad trade deals that cost our area the Chrysler plant and other good manufacturing jobs. He will work to bring back good-paying jobs to America and I believe that’s what we need most.