‘From day one.’ Missouri Gov. Mike Parson focuses on past in fight for political future

At campaign stops and official events, the most important day on Missouri Gov. Mike Parson’s calendar is day one.

“We’ve took a balanced approach from day one,” he said of COVID-19 during a debate this month.

“We’re very focused on getting those licenses out there, getting medical marijuana up, and it’s been in the plan since day one,” he told reporters in September.

Missouri has been “on the frontline from day one and doing the best we can to take care of people,” he said Thursday.

As Election Day nears, the Republican governor often talks about the past when questioned about the future. His pitch to voters for a full four-year term relies almost exclusively on his record in the two years since the former lieutenant governor from Bolivar took office following the resignation of Eric Greitens.

While many incumbents tend to focus on their past performance while making vague promises about the future, it’s especially true of Parson. His campaign message offers only scattered evidence of a forward-looking agenda. The website contains no issues or policy page. Instead, a “Meet Mike” page includes a section on his record as governor.

By contrast his Democratic opponent, State Auditor Nicole Galloway, has released a series of plans for addressing crime, healthcare and the pandemic – for instance, promising to issue a statewide mask mandate if elected.

The exact agenda of a 2020-2024 Parson administration is difficult to determine. Broadly, the campaign suggests voters shouldn’t expect significant changes to his COVID-19 response or efforts to combat violent crime if he is elected. Long-running priorities, such as improving Missouri roads, are likely to remain.

“I would say kind of a continuation of some of his policies,” James Harris, a Jefferson City-based Republican strategist with ties to Parson, said in describing a possible full Parson term.

Parson has a two-year record of governing to show Missourians how he views the world, Harris said. “That’s better than just rhetoric,” he added.

But Galloway has attacked the governor over the lack of detail.

“Governor Parson has no plan, no vision, I don’t know that he even cares,” Galloway said in a message to supporters soon after she secured the Democratic nomination in August.

The Star sent Parson’s campaign questions about his objectives for a full term, including what he plans to do on COVID-19 and violent crime. In response, campaign manager Steele Shippy provided a statement saying Parson remains committed to the Show-Me Strong Recovery Plan, his administration’s current COVID-19 response plan, and will focus on workforce development and infrastructure.

Shippy’s comments, like the campaign as a whole, emphasized Parson’s accomplishments and suggested he will continue many of his current priorities. Shippy also attacked Galloway, saying she had been endorsed by politicians who support defunding the police. Galloway has said she doesn’t support defunding the police.

“From day one,” Shippy said, “Governor Parson has led Missourians, placing the people of Missouri first and focusing on the priorities that move our state forward.”

Fight over virus rules possible

The most pressing issue in Missouri, the pandemic, illustrates how Parson relies on past actions when asked about how he would govern in the future. Since March, the virus has infected more than 152,000 residents and killed 2,459.

Parson has held firm against a statewide mask order, despite pressure from Galloway, Democrats and health professionals. While he has used a state of emergency to marshal resources to assist hospitals, nursing homes and coordinate other parts of the state’s virus response, he has largely left decisions about COVID-19 restrictions to local jurisdictions.

At Missouri’s only gubernatorial debate earlier this month, the moderator asked the candidates what additional steps, if any, should be taken in responding to the virus. Of the four candidates on stage, only Parson answered without proposing any changes.

“And we are on the right track on this state, but we have to do a combination of fighting a virus, fighting (for the) economy, and getting our kids back in school,” he said.

Parson may be pushed to shift course in the coming months if elected, however. He could eventually have to decide whether to support limits on the power of local governments to set local COVID-19 restrictions.

Sen. Mike Cierpiot, a Lee’s Summit Republican, hinted that legislation will be introduced that brings “pressure to bear” on health departments. Cierpiot and other conservatives contend some local health departments have exercised too much power during the pandemic.

Some of the agencies “don’t seem to have any concern on public opinion or public sentiment,” he said. While acknowledging they need to be able to make decisions based on health, the departments should also keep in mind the effects on people’s lives, he added.

For his part, Parson has so far allowed local governments to set their own rules, even as he has refused to impose a mask order at the state level.

Heidi Lucas, director of the Missouri Nurses Association, has pushed for a statewide mask order. She said Parson was wise for allowing cities and counties to implement their own rules.

“It would be devastating to go against that,” Lucas said.

Still, she said it will be hard for Missouri to truly get a handle on the virus without a statewide mask order.

Sen. Lauren Arthur, a Kansas City Democrat, said control over COVID-19 restrictions may depend on who is elected.

If Galloway wins, she said she wouldn’t be surprised to see bills in the Republican-controlled legislature that resemble efforts in Kansas to restrain Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s emergency powers.

If Parson is elected, Arthur predicted enough lawmakers from both parties would oppose proposals to limit local power that the measures could be stopped.

“I think those kinds of attempts would be thwarted if Parson is re-elected,” she said.

Bipartisan work on crime?

Violent crime is the other issue that has dominated the governor’s race. With a Thursday night shooting in Northeast Kansas City, 2020 became the city’s deadliest year on record with 156 homicides, according to statistics tracked by The Star, which includes police shootings. In St. Louis, more than 200 have died

On Wednesday, the governor’s office released a statement outlining steps Parson has taken to fight violent crime. They included the two bills passed during a special session this summer, his support for Operation Legend and various grants to civic groups.

“We know we have a serious problem with violent crime that must be addressed,” Parson said in the statement. “This has been a priority of ours since day one, and we will continue doing everything we can to fight violent crime, support law enforcement, achieve justice for victims, and make our communities safer.”

The statement didn’t outline any future measures. Shippy said Parson “will continue to back the blue by giving them the tools they need to do their jobs, including the largest public safety budgets for the Department of Public Safety.”

Parson will continue to seek partnerships with federal, state and local agencies for initiatives such as Operation Legend to combat violent crime, Shippy said.

The General Assembly is almost certain to take up the crime issue when it reconvenes in January, regardless of who is governor. That may include taking a fresh look at proposals left over from the special session focused on violent crime that Parson called this summer.

The governor’s most controversial idea will probably remain at a standstill if he wins, according to Rep. Jonathan Patterson, a Lee’s Summit Republican.

When Parson recalled lawmakers to Jefferson City, he put forward a package of bills to address the issue. Among them was a measure that would give the Missouri attorney general the power to intervene in murder cases in St. Louis.

The bill received support in the Senate but a chilly reception in the House.

“I don’t think there’s support in the House for that particular piece,” Patterson said.

But Parson, if elected, appears to have an opening to advance other pieces of his anti-crime agenda with bipartisan support.

The House previously approved a bill to allow otherwise inadmissible witness statements in criminal cases if a judge finds enough evidence that the defendant took steps to make a witness unavailable and the witness failed to appear. Another measure says an individual endangers a child by knowingly causing the child to engage in weapons or controlled substance offenses.

Both bills passed the House with large majorities during the special session, suggesting lawmakers could resurrect them come January.

Beyond COVID-19 and crime, Parson has long emphasized economic issues, including infrastructure and workforce development. In his January State of the State address, before the pandemic engulfed Missouri, Parson invoked both topics over and over.

Lawmakers in 2019 gave the governor permission to borrow more than $300 million to fix bridges. He also advanced a $50 million incentive plan to lure a GM plant to Wentzville, near St. Louis.

Parson’s campaign site says he’s been “laser-focused” on workforce development and infrastructure.

For how long?

“From Day One,” it says.