Robert Sauls: Running for state Senate to create a Missouri my son wants to live in | Opinion

I am a parent, former prosecutor, proud union member and veteran running the for Missouri Senate because I believe our state is facing serious challenges that can be addressed only by serious leaders whose aim is results, not chaos.

To achieve these results, I am focused on raising teacher pay, helping more parents find and afford child care, preventing gun violence and reducing crime by supporting our police and investing in mental health care, housing and job training.

Right now, violent crime, break-ins and homelessness are a serious concern for the greater Kansas City area. We must do more to reduce crime, prevent gun violence and protect our neighborhoods. As a former prosecutor, I worked to keep our community safe by putting away murderers, drug dealers and criminals who prey on children. I saw firsthand what we need to improve public safety: supporting our police, combating homelessness, restoring commonsense gun safety laws and making sure people experiencing a mental health crisis get the care they need.

To do this, we must invest more money into mental health care, especially as it relates to the unhoused population and Missourians struggling with substance use disorders. As a state representative, I was proud to vote for the $300 million needed to build a new psychiatric hospital near Kansas City’s Hospital Hill neighborhood, which will expand our region’s capacity to provide in-patient psychiatric care to those in need.

Meanwhile, I am deeply concerned by my opponent’s views, as stated on his own blog, in which he wrote that mental illness is not a real illness, and that he opposes medication to treat it. He wrote that mental illness may actually be “demon possession” that is “more common than we may think.” He went on to write that “the only way to deal with it is to cast the demon out, not give it drugs.”

These views, coupled with his opposition to state spending, would make it incredibly difficult to bring real mental health care investments to our area if he is our voice in the Senate.

Another major difference between my opponent and me is that I support Amendment 3 to end Missouri’s abortion ban, and he has told his supporters he would work to overturn the measure — and undo the will of the voters — if he makes it to the Senate.

I also support Proposition A to raise the minimum wage and bring paid sick days to Missouri workers. My opponent has said he is against minimum wage laws, and he is firmly against raising it.

Going forward, when I think about what our state and nation will look like after this election, I view it through the lens of in what kind of place I want to raise my son in. I want to make sure that he can go to school and come home safely, without the threat of gun violence. I want to make sure he can graduate high school with the skills and knowledge he needs to pursue college or career. And I desperately want to make sure — as most parents do — that as he builds his life and starts his family, he wants to do it right here, in Missouri. I am running to put families first because while I am many things — a veteran, a former prosecutor, a labor lawyer — I am first and foremost a father.

My name is Robert Sauls and I would be honored to have your support, and your vote, for state Senate on Election Day.