Cheating and oppressing: Trump and Kehoe want to silence Missourians’ voice | Opinion
In an unprecedented move, President Donald Trump and Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe are conspiring to draw my congressional representative out of his seat — something I believe is illegal. With our representatives serving as our voice in the U.S. Capitol, my voice and Kansas City’s voice are under threat.
As a single working mom and a leader with Stand Up KC, Kansas City is my home. If cities such as Lee’s Summit, Columbia and Kansas City are split into other congressional districts, it would be a major step backward in our fight to build the political power Missouri’s working people need to be represented fully by our government.
Especially against the backdrop of Kansas City’s history of racial and economic segregation along the Troost Avenue divide, this gerrymandering maneuver to redistrict the state, if carried out, would disproportionately disenfranchise Black and brown voters in our 5th Congressional District.
So let’s call this what it is: an intentional rigging of democracy, because Trump knows that his deeply unpopular policies will lose the Republicans the 2026 midterms, and their ability to continue attacks on poor and working people. He’s scared. And he knows he needs to cheat to win.
Redistricting is not just about dividing us — it’s about silencing us. They know that working people have built power to combat the billionaire elites, and they are all furious. This attack on our democracy is a deliberate attempt to silence our powerful movement.
Their goals are twofold: They want to cheat, and they want to oppress.
But this illegal gerrymandering plot is not Missouri lawmakers’ first attack on our democracy. Let’s not forget their repeal of Proposition A. Back in November, Missourians voted in favor of Prop A, establishing a $15 minimum wage with yearly cost-of-living adjustments and guaranteed earned paid sick time. I gathered signatures to put Prop A on the ballot, and knocked doors with my kids to get it over the finish line.
As an employee of a multibillion-dollar fast food chain, I am certain that the company can afford to give us raises and paid sick time. My son was hospitalized with pneumonia for a week last year. Without paid sick time, my choice to be by his side cost me a paycheck. Working people should not have to decide between paying bills and caring for our children.
Despite most Missourians supporting Prop A, our state politicians chose the billionaires and corporate greed over the welfare of the people. The repeal of a voter-approved measure was a slap in the face to me, to working people across races, genders and political affiliations, and to democracy.
Here in Missouri, we have a state motto: “The welfare of the people shall be the supreme law.” That means we, the people, get to shape Missouri based on our needs — not the other way around.
With Kansas City’s voice under attack, I’m going to Jefferson City as part of a mass demonstration on Sept. 10. We cannot allow the redistricting scheme to snowball. First it was Texas, and now it’s us. It is our responsibility to stop this right here in Missouri.
Otherwise, we land ourselves in a dictatorship where every one of our so-called elected representatives is a puppet who will bow down to authoritarianism. Poison to democracy affects us all. We need to take our power back — and the best way to do that is by standing together and fighting back.
Ashley Ball is a Taco Bell worker and leader with Stand Up KC and Missouri Workers Center.