Nicole Galloway: As governor, my focus would be Missourians, not Jeff City insiders
The most important thing the next governor of Missouri will have to do is contain the COVID-19 crisis and rebuild the state’s economy. The question is: Will we rebuild in a way that helps working people get back on their feet? Or will we continue to ignore the science, distract and rebuild only for well-connected special interests?
My record as state auditor is one of fighting corruption and waste. I’ve uncovered hundreds of millions of dollars in government fraud and inefficiency. I’ve worked with law enforcement to get 63 criminal counts brought against corrupt public officials of both parties. I’ve looked under the hood of state government to ensure that tax money is spent wisely.
As I travel the state, Missourians ask me why Gov. Mike Parson kicked 100,000 kids off their health insurance. Why politicians opposed expanding access to health care during a public health emergency. Why powerful interests want to overturn our vote on Clean Missouri. Why school funding keeps getting cut. Why Missouri is ranked near the bottom in nearly every major national ranking.
The corruption of our politics is why. Insiders get what they want while regular folks struggle.
Corruption is how Parson got to where he is. He rose through the ranks of the Jefferson City establishment, feted with gifts from lobbyists and donations from industries seeking state business, introducing legislation for insiders without even knowing what his bills actually did. By 2018, he found himself in the right place at the right time as scandal engulfed his former running mate, Eric Greitens.
Within months of his transition to the governor’s office, lobbyists and industries with state business threw a party in Jefferson City and proclaimed Parson their “Statesman of the Year.” In Parson, they had someone they could count on to do their bidding on the second floor of the capitol.
When voters approved medical marijuana, Parson immediately looked for what was in it for him. Industry players seeking valuable cultivation and dispensary licenses raised money for his election effort. Parson’s favored lobbyist exercised outsized influence over rulemaking that would ensure the number of licenses available would be limited. If they could control the size of the market, they could corner it. And corner it they did. The rollout of the state’s medical marijuana program was so flawed that a Republican-led House committee and the FBI launched investigations. What’s worse is that revenue from the program that was supposed to go to help care for Missouri’s veterans is instead being diverted to pay the Parson administration’s legal fees in a mountain of lawsuits alleging the entire program was rigged by insiders.
The very same favored lobbyist under investigation is also the lobbyist for a company that makes illegal gambling machines popping up at gas stations and truck stops throughout our state. Operators of these machines have contributed handsomely to the governor’s PAC. These machines remain unregulated, and as a result, unlike other gambling in our state, not a single dime goes to education. Parson wants to keep it that way, even as he cuts school funding. How do we know? Because this summer he cut the money that funds state investigators charged with finding and shutting these illegal gambling machines down. Under Parson, powerful insiders win and Missouri kids lose again.
These are the forces spending millions to keep Parson in power so they can keep getting what they want while everyone else struggles with the rising cost of health care and the ongoing economic disruption caused by this public health crisis.
This election comes down to whose side you’re on and who you’re fighting for. Parson is in it for himself. His campaign is offering the status quo, a continuation of the same old broken politics.
I’m offering a new way. Where the needs of working people are at the center of everything we do, with working people at the table. My career is built on taking on corruption. As governor, I would demand accountability and transparency. Gone would be the days of insiders making deals in backrooms to get what they want. Because when working families succeed, Missouri succeeds.
I would act with urgency to overcome this COVID-19 mess. I’ve put forward comprehensive plans to contain the virus and stabilize our economy, make health care more affordable and accessible and give economic opportunity to more Missourians. I would follow the will of the voters and implement Medicaid expansion, put protections for pre-existing conditions into state law, lower health care costs and bring down the price of prescription drugs.
It’s not good enough just to go back to where we were on the eve of this crisis, because where we were wasn’t good enough for too many people. As governor, the health, security and well-being of every Missourian would be at the center of everything I do.
Nicole Galloway is the Democratic candidate for Missouri governor.
This story was originally published October 30, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Nicole Galloway: As governor, my focus would be Missourians, not Jeff City insiders."