Politics
Democratic race for MO gov includes name recognition vs. money
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It’s highly likely that the Democrat on the ballot for Missouri governor in November will be from Springfield.House Minority Leader Crystal Quade and businessman Mike Hamra — both Springfield residents — are the leading candidates in next week’s Democratic primary.While Quade has more name recognition, Hamra has more money.Anita Manion, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, said that while Quade has name recognition among those familiar with state politics, some voters may not know either of the candidates.“It might be two new faces that you don’t know. And so, I think for both of them in a statewide race, getting their message out, letting people know who they are, why they’re running and what they will do in office is important,” Manion said.According to campaign finance reports, Hamra has raised almost $2.9 million – including over $1 million in his own money.Quade has raised over $1.1 million and in the latest report had more individual donors giving.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public RadioMissouri House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, reacts while speaking to the media alongside Rep. Richard Brown, D-Kansas City, in January 2022 after the first day of the legislative session in Jefferson City.
Quade believes experience in a super minority will aid herQuade was first elected to the Missouri House in 2016. She was the only Democrat in the southern part of the state to win their race.“I listened to folks, and I asked what they wanted. And we found common ground, even if we disagreed on some really big issues. And I’ve continued to win because of that,” Quade said.Since her initial election, Quade has won three times and served as the House’s minority leader for the past six sessions.She said being in the super minority in the House would serve as an advantage in the governor’s office because she’s learned to find common ground with Republicans.“I’ve had several pieces of my legislation passed, they just didn’t happen to have my name on it, because I have built relationships with folks on the other side,” Quade said. “And I would take those relationships that I’ve built into the governor’s office and make sure that when we’re talking about investments in Missouri, that those are things that we know citizens want and that representatives can get behind.”Quade said while the veto power would be important as a Democratic governor working with a Republican-led legislature, she believes there is a lot they could accomplish together.On a policy front, Quade would advocate for higher pay for workers in Missouri’s Children’s Division.Last September, reporting by St. Louis Public Radio revealed thousands of child abuse and neglect cases were still open due to staffing shortages within the Children’s Division.Quade said her background as a social worker has made protecting Missouri’s children a priority for her.“It’s no secret we’ve had so many reports showing not only are we losing children in the foster care system, we’ve had children unfortunately passed away due to lack of investigators being able to follow up and actually do the jobs that they deeply want to do, because we’re so understaffed,” Quade said.One issue that could end up facing the upcoming governorship is the fate of the Chiefs and Royals in Kansas City.Jackson County voters in April rejected a sales tax measure that would have helped fund a new baseball stadium and improvements to Arrowhead Stadium.In June, the Kansas Legislature passed an incentive bill designed to lure one or both teams across the state border.Quade said while she’s not totally sold on possible state incentives to keep both teams in the state, she’s open to discussion.“I’m not saying that I would vote yes, for that, or no, it would depend on what the parameters are,” Quade said.Another tax issue Quade has weighed in on is sales taxes for groceries. Quade has sponsored legislation that would have eliminated both state and local taxes on groceries.Quade said her bill also allowed the legislature to create a fund to help cities dependent on that money.“I absolutely would not want to move forward unless we knew that the municipalities were going to be able to continue to function and come up with alternative ways of funding,” Quade said.As far as what Quade would do to combat crime, she said that requires investment.“It is a huge gamut from making sure that our law enforcement officers are adequately funded and trained, and there’s money behind that, but also money around, you know, mental health care and addiction, and things that we know increase crime,” Quade said.Another solution is looking at ways municipalities can govern their own communities when it comes to guns.“I’ve had so many conversations with law enforcement officers saying that children can run around cities with guns is a problem,” Quade said. “And when they pull these teenagers over and they confiscate a weapon, they just turn around and give it right back to them. I have been asked so many times by law enforcement to help in that situation.”
Mike Hamra, president and CEO of Hamra Enterprises, entered the race for Missouri governor in October.
Hamra sees his business acumen as a benefitHamra is the CEO of Hamra Enterprises, a franchisee of restaurants across the country including Wendy’s and Noodles and Company.He says his business experience makes him a good choice for the governorship.“I’ve been able to bring people together, establish a common vision, get people aligned on that, and then move things forward even where there might be disagreements. That’s how I built the organization and I built it very effectively by working with people,” Hamra said.Hamra has never held political office. He cites that as an advantage.“We just can’t keep putting the same people back in office that got us into this mess to try to get us out of this mess. I bring new ideas and fresh ideas about how we’re going to take things on,” Hamra said.Hamra has released a policy plan that includes proposals for the economy, education, health care and state workers.One of his ideas concerning the state workforce would provide financial incentives for workers who exceed their targets.In order to recruit more state workers, Hamra said he intends to make it attractive to work for Missouri.“I will impact those different organizations throughout the state by creating environments that people want to work in, and also creating opportunities for people to grow in their careers, but also provide the services that people expect in the state of Missouri,” Hamra said.He also supports greater pay for workers within the Children’s Division.“It’s going to have to start with, you know, base salaries and compensation and making sure people are getting the benefits. They need those table stakes,” Hamra said.Another part of his economic plan is to provide incentives for both new and existing business owners.“There is nothing more effective that we can take on than supporting and sustaining businesses as well as helping people start businesses in the state of Missouri as well as making sure people that want good qualified and high-skilled jobs will get those jobs,” Hamra said.On what he would do about the Royals and Chiefs possibly moving to Kansas, Hamra said there is clearly an economic upside to having both teams in Missouri.“I would do everything I can to make sure they stay here as long as it’s in the benefit and support of the people in the state of Missouri,” Hamra said.However, Hamra does not want to simply give a blank check to the owners.“At the end of the day, it’s going to come down to sitting down and making sure that we’re not giving out millions of dollars just to help billionaires make more money,” Hamra said.This past session, the Missouri legislature passed a massive education bill that contained an expansion of the state’s existing Missouri Empowerment Scholarship Account program.The account allows families to get funding to send their children to the school of their choice, including private schools.The account is funded by private donors, who then receive tax credits from the state.The bill also includes raises for teachers.Hamra said if he were governor he would not have signed the bill.“Giving teachers an increase in their salary, but at the same time, you know, peeling away funds that are going to go to public schools out to vouchers so that people can send their kids to private schools. That doesn’t work,” Hamra said.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public RadioGriffin Vrieswiyk, 28, of Tower Grove South, holds up a sign advocating for abortion rights in May 2022 during a demonstration at the Thomas F. Eagleton U.S. Courthouse in downtown St. Louis.
Abortion vote could help Democrats in NovemberWhoever wins the Democratic primary will be the underdog in November since the state leans heavily Republican.Missouri has not elected a Democratic governor since 2012. Currently all statewide office holders in the state are Republicans.However, Quade believes Missourians are ready to elect a Democrat back into the governor’s office.“What I have found in my time, not only representing southwest Missouri and the legislature, but traveling the state is, folks are frustrated, they’re frustrated by a leadership vacuum that is happening in Jefferson City,” Quade said.One of the reasons Missouri Democrats feel they have momentum is a proposed constitutional amendment that would end the state’s abortion ban, which does not allow exceptions in instances of rape or incest.Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, the group behind the initiative, said it turned in more than 380,000 signatures to the secretary of state’s office in May. The number needed to place a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot is roughly 171,000.Though the amendment hasn’t been approved by the secretary of state’s office yet, the issue is likely to appear on the November ballot.Both Quade and Hamra support the amendment and believe it will pass.“They don’t want politicians in their doctor’s offices making those decisions for them or their families. I’m very confident that the will of the people will prevail in the situation in November,” Hamra said.The primary is Tuesday.
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Poll: Support for Missouri abortion rights amendment growing

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A proposed constitutional amendment legalizing abortion in Missouri received support from more than half of respondents in a new poll from St. Louis University and YouGov.That’s a boost from a poll earlier this year, which could mean what’s known as Amendment 3 is in a solid position to pass in November.SLU/YouGov’s poll of 900 likely Missouri voters from Aug. 8-16 found that 52% of respondents would vote for Amendment 3, which would place constitutional protections for abortion up to fetal viability. Thirty-four percent would vote against the measure, while 14% aren’t sure.By comparison, the SLU/YouGov poll from February found that 44% of voters would back the abortion legalization amendment.St. Louis University political science professor Steven Rogers said 32% of Republicans and 53% of independents would vote for the amendment. That’s in addition to nearly 80% of Democratic respondents who would approve the measure. In the previous poll, 24% of Republicans supported the amendment.Rogers noted that neither Amendment 3 nor a separate ballot item raising the state’s minimum wage is helping Democratic candidates. GOP contenders for U.S. Senate, governor, lieutenant governor, treasurer and secretary of state all hold comfortable leads.“We are seeing this kind of crossover voting, a little bit, where there are voters who are basically saying, ‘I am going to the polls and I’m going to support a Republican candidate, but I’m also going to go to the polls and then I’m also going to try to expand abortion access and then raise the minimum wage,’” Rogers said.Republican gubernatorial nominee Mike Kehoe has a 51%-41% lead over Democrat Crystal Quade. And U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley is leading Democrat Lucas Kunce by 53% to 42%. Some GOP candidates for attorney general, secretary of state and treasurer have even larger leads over their Democratic rivals.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public RadioHundreds of demonstrators pack into a parking lot at Planned Parenthood of St. Louis and Southwest Missouri on June 24, 2022, during a demonstration following the Supreme Court’s reversal of a case that guaranteed the constitutional right to an abortion.
One of the biggest challenges for foes of Amendment 3 could be financial.Typically, Missouri ballot initiatives with well-funded and well-organized campaigns have a better chance of passing — especially if the opposition is underfunded and disorganized. Since the end of July, the campaign committee formed to pass Amendment 3 received more than $3 million in donations of $5,000 or more.That money could be used for television advertisements to improve the proposal’s standing further, Rogers said, as well as point out that Missouri’s current abortion ban doesn’t allow the procedure in the case of rape or incest.“Meanwhile, the anti side won’t have those resources to kind of try to make that counter argument as strongly, and they don’t have public opinion as strongly on their side,” Rogers said.There is precedent of a well-funded initiative almost failing due to opposition from socially conservative voters.In 2006, a measure providing constitutional protections for embryonic stem cell research nearly failed — even though a campaign committee aimed at passing it had a commanding financial advantage.Former state Sen. Bob Onder was part of the opposition campaign to that measure. He said earlier this month it is possible to create a similar dynamic in 2024 against Amendment 3, if social conservatives who oppose abortion rights can band together.“This is not about reproductive rights or care for miscarriages or IVF or anything else,” said Onder, the GOP nominee for Missouri’s 3rd Congressional District seat. “Missourians will learn that out-of-state special interests and dark money from out of state is lying to them and they will reject this amendment.”Quade said earlier this month that Missourians of all political ideologies are ready to roll back the state’s abortion ban.“Regardless of political party, we hear from folks who are tired of politicians being in their doctor’s offices,” Quade said. “They want politicians to mind their own business. So this is going to excite folks all across the political spectrum.”
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Democrat Mark Osmack makes his case for Missouri treasurer

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Mark Osmack has been out of the electoral fray for awhile, but he never completely abandoned his passion for Missouri politics.Osmack, a Valley Park native and U.S. Army veteran, previously ran for Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District seat and for state Senate. Now he’s the Democratic nominee for state treasurer after receiving a phone call from Missouri Democratic Party Chairman Russ Carnahan asking him to run.“There’s a lot of decision making and processing and evaluation that goes into it, which is something I am very passionate and interested in,” Osmack said this week on an episode of Politically Speaking.Osmack is squaring off against state Treasurer Vivek Malek, who was able to easily win a crowded GOP primary against several veteran lawmakers including House Budget Chairman Cody Smith and state Sen. Andrew Koenig.While Malek was able to attract big donations to his political action committee and pour his own money into the campaign, Osmack isn’t worried that he won’t be able to compete in November. Since Malek was appointed to his post, Osmack contends he hasn’t proven that he’s a formidable opponent in a general election.“His actions and his decision making so far in his roughly two year tenure in that office have been questionable,” Osmack said.Among other things, Osmack was critical of Malek for placing unclaimed property notices on video gaming machines which are usually found in gas stations or convenience stores. The legality of the machines has been questioned for some time.As Malek explained on his own episode of Politically Speaking, he wanted to make sure the unclaimed property program was as widely advertised as possible. But he acknowledged it was a mistake to put the decals close to the machines and ultimately decided to remove them.Osmack said: “This doesn’t even pass the common sense sniff test of, ‘Hey, should I put state stickers claiming you might have a billion dollars on a gambling machine that is not registered with the state of Missouri?’ If we’re gonna give kudos for him acknowledging the wrong thing, it never should have been done in the first place.”Osmack’s platform includes supporting programs providing school meals using Missouri agriculture products and making child care more accessible for the working class.He said the fact that Missouri has such a large surplus shows that it’s possible to create programs to make child care within reach for parents.“It is quite audacious for [Republicans] to brag about $8 billion, with a B, dollars in state surplus, while we offer next to no social services to include pre-K, daycare, or child care,” Osmack said.Here’s are some other topics Osmack discussed on the show:How he would handle managing the state’s pension systems and approving low-income housing tax credits. The state treasurer’s office is on boards overseeing both of those programs.Malek’s decision to cut off investments from Chinese companies. Osmack said that Missouri needs to be cautious about abandoning China as a business partner, especially since they’re a major consumer of the state’s agriculture products. “There’s a way to make this work where we are not supporting communist nations to the detriment of the United States or our allies, while also maintaining strong economic ties that benefit Missouri farmers,” he said.What it was like to witness the skirmish at the Missouri State Fair between U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley and Democratic challenger Lucas Kunce.Whether Kunce can get the support of influential groups like the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which often channels money and staff to states with competitive Senate elections.
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As Illinois receives praise for its cannabis equity efforts, stakeholders work on system’s flaws

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Medical marijuana patients can now purchase cannabis grown by small businesses as part of their allotment, Illinois’ top cannabis regulator said, but smaller, newly licensed cannabis growers are still seeking greater access to the state’s medical marijuana customers.Illinois legalized medicinal marijuana beginning in 2014, then legalized it for recreational use in 2020. While the 2020 law legalized cannabis use for any adult age 21 or older, it did not expand licensing for medical dispensaries.Patients can purchase marijuana as part of the medical cannabis program at dual-purpose dispensaries, which are licensed to serve both medical and recreational customers. But dual-purpose dispensaries are greatly outnumbered by dispensaries only licensed to sell recreationally, and there are no medical-only dispensaries in the state.As another part of the adult-use legalization law, lawmakers created a “craft grow” license category that was designed to give more opportunities to Illinoisans hoping to legally grow and sell marijuana. The smaller-scale grow operations were part of the 2020 law’s efforts to diversify the cannabis industry in Illinois.Prior to that, all cultivation centers in Illinois were large-scale operations dominated by large multi-state operators. The existing cultivators, mostly in operation since 2014, were allowed to grow recreational cannabis beginning in 2019.Until recently, dual-purpose dispensaries have been unsure as to whether craft-grown products, made by social equity licensees — those who have lived in a disproportionately impacted area or have been historically impacted by the war on drugs — can be sold medicinally as part of a patient’s medical allotment.Erin Johnson, the state’s cannabis regulation oversight officer, told Capitol News Illinois last month that her office has “been telling dispensaries, as they have been asking us” they can now sell craft-grown products to medical patients.“There was just a track and trace issue on our end, but never anything statutorily,” she said.
Dilpreet Raju
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Capitol News IllinoisThe graphic shows how cannabis grown in Illinois gets from cultivation centers to customers.
No notice has been posted, but Johnson’s verbal guidance comes almost two years after the first craft grow business went online in Illinois.It allows roughly 150,000 medical patients, who dispensary owners say are the most consistent purchasers of marijuana, to buy products made by social equity businesses without paying recreational taxes. However — even as more dispensaries open — the number available to medical patients has not increased since 2018, something the Cannabis Regulation Oversight Office “desperately” wants to see changed. Johnson said Illinois is a limited license state, meaning “there are caps on everything” to help control the relatively new market.Berwyn Thompkins, who operates two cannabis businesses, said the rules limited options for patients and small businesses.“It’s about access,” Thompkins said. “Why wouldn’t we want all the patients — which the (adult-use) program was initially built around — why wouldn’t we want them to have access? They should have access to any dispensary.”Customers with a medical marijuana card pay a 1% tax on all marijuana products, whereas recreational customers pay retail taxes between roughly 20 and 40% on a given cannabis product, when accounting for local taxes.While Illinois has received praise for its equity-focused cannabis law, including through an independent study that showed more people of color own cannabis licenses than in any other state, some industry operators say they’ve experienced many unnecessary hurdles getting their businesses up and running.The state, in fact, announced last month that it had opened its 100th social equity dispensary.But Steve Olson, purchasing manager at a pair of dispensaries (including one dual-purpose dispensary) near Rockford, said small specialty license holders have been left in the lurch since the first craft grower opened in October 2022.“You would think that this would be something they’re (the government) trying to help out these social equity companies with, but they’re putting handcuffs on them in so many different spots,” he said. “One of them being this medical thing.”Olson said he contacted state agencies, including the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, months ago about whether craft products can be sold to medical patients at their retail tax rate, but only heard one response: “They all say it was an oversight.”This potentially hurt social equity companies because they sell wholesale to dispensaries and may have been missing out on a consistent customer base through those medical dispensaries.Olson said the state’s attempts to provide licensees with a path to a successful business over the years, such as with corrective lotteries that granted more social equity licenses, have come up short.“It’s like they almost set up the social equity thing to fail so the big guys could come in and swoop up all these licenses,” Olson said. “I hate to feel like that but, if you look at it, it’s pretty black and white.”Olson said craft companies benefit from any type of retail sale.“If we sell it to medical patients or not, it’s a matter of, ‘Are we collecting the proper taxes?’ That’s all it is,” he said.State revenue from cannabis taxes, licensing costs and other fees goes into the Cannabis Regulation Fund, which is used to fund a host of programs, including cannabis offense expungement, the general revenue fund, and the R3 campaign aiming to uplift disinvested communities.For fiscal year 2024, nearly $256 million was paid out from Cannabis Regulation Fund for related initiatives, which includes almost $89 million transferred to the state’s general revenue fund and more than $20 million distributed to local governments, according to the Illinois Department of Revenue.Medical access still limitedThe state’s 55 medical dispensaries that predate the 2020 legalization law, mostly owned by publicly traded multistate operators that had been operating in Illinois since 2014 under the state’s medical marijuana program, were automatically granted a right to licenses to sell recreationally in January 2020. That gave them a dual-purpose license that no new entrants into the market can receive under current law.Since expanding their clientele in 2020, Illinois dispensaries have sold more than $6 billion worth of cannabis products through recreational transactions alone.Nearly two-thirds of dispensaries licensed to sell to medical patients are in the northeast counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake and Will. Dual-purpose dispensaries only represent about 20 percent of the state’s dispensaries.While the state began offering recreational dispensary licenses since the adult-use legalization law passed, it has not granted a new medical dispensary license since 2018. That has allowed the established players to continue to corner the market on the state’s nearly 150,000 medical marijuana patients.But social equity licensees and advocates say there are more ways to level the playing field, including expanding access to medical sales.Johnson, who became the state’s top cannabis regulator in late 2022, expressed hope for movement during the fall veto session on House Bill 2911, which would expand medical access to all Illinois dispensaries.“We would like every single dispensary in Illinois to be able to serve medical patients,” Johnson said. “It’s something that medical patients have been asking for, for years.”Johnson said the bill would benefit patients and small businesses.“It’s something we desperately want to happen as a state system, because we want to make sure that medical patients are able to easily access what they need,” she said. “We also think it’s good for our social equity dispensaries, as they’re opening, to be able to serve medical patients.”Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield, who was the first statewide project coordinator for Illinois’ medical cannabis program prior to joining the legislature, wrote in an email to Capitol News Illinois that the state needs to be doing more for its patients.“Illinois is failing the state’s 150,000 medical cannabis patients with debilitating conditions. Too many are still denied the patient protections they deserve, including access to their medicine,” Morgan wrote, adding he would continue to work with stakeholders on further legislation.Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government. It is distributed to hundreds of newspapers, radio and TV stations statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, along with major contributions from the Illinois Broadcasters Foundation and Southern Illinois Editorial Association.
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