Term-limited Rep. Rick Brattin announces candidacy for Cass County Auditor

State Rep. Rick Brattin’s eight-year term in the Missouri House of Representatives is coming to an end because of term limits, but he’s not finished with his political career.

Brattin, 38, initially was elected by Cass County voters to the state legislature representing the 55th District in 2010 and subsequently reelected in 2012, 2014 and 2016. He was chosen as the body’s Freshman Legislator of the Year in 2011.

Now, he plans to return to Cass County and will seek the office of Cass County Auditor.

“It has been the honor of my life to serve Cass Countians in the Missouri Legislature,” Brattin said in a release announcing his candidacy. “Together we have defended family values, fought to expand our Second Amendment rights, and worked hard to make government more accountable to the people. Now we are bringing our fight home to make sure the government of Cass County is transparent and accountable to its citizens.”

Brattin, who took over his family’s construction company after serving in the U.S. Marine Corps post-9/11, served as chair of the House Special Committee on Government Oversight and is a founding member and vice chairman of the Missouri House Conservative Caucus.

“As your next Cass County Auditor one of my first missions will be to create the Cass County Transparency Portal so citizens can easily see how government is spending their money,” Brattin said. “I will work hard to ensure every taxpayer dollar is being spent efficiently. I will go out of my way to discover and destroy wasteful spending and potential fraud.

“As a Marine, voters can be assured that the taxpayers will have no better friend, and the tax and spend politicians will have no greater enemy. I am looking forward to meeting with voters over the course of a vigorous campaign to discuss our vision for making sure that the government of Cass County is held accountable to the people it’s supposed to serve.”

Of course, Brattin’s tenure hasn’t been without controversy. In fact, the Greenwood, Mo., native and Lee’s Summit High School graduate has courted it throughout his tenure.

Brattin proposed a bill requiring a woman seeking an abortion to first get permission from the man responsible for the pregnancy in 2014.

He proposed and quickly pulled a bill in 2015 that would strip athletes at state schools of a scholarship if they engage in a boycott.

Brattin also tried to end tenure at state colleges and universities for professors last year.

He also has labeled LGBTQ individuals as subhuman, saying “there is a distinction between homosexuality and just being a human being” during debate about a bill that rolled back employee discrimination protections last year.

Most recently, he voted against a bill designed to stem lax Missouri laws regarding child marriage, once again citing his personal religious beliefs as the reason.

Brattin and his wife, Athena, have five children and live on a 40-acre farm north of Harrisonville.

Current Cass County Auditor Ryan Wescoat, who also has served on the Raymore-Peculiar Board of Education, has filed for reelection. Both are Republicans, so there will be a primary runoff in August for the party’s nomination.

This story was originally published April 4, 2018 at 2:34 PM with the headline "Term-limited Rep. Rick Brattin announces candidacy for Cass County Auditor."