Over the past year, my fellow candidates and I have been asked to answer the question "Why are you the best qualified candidate to be our next Congressman?" This is a question that more and more voters will be asking and seeking the answer to as we enter the last eight weeks before casting their votes in the Republican Primary on August 3rd.
What I have heard from most of you over the past year is that you desire the following in our next congressman. First, he must be a person who is a focused, dedicated and creative thinker, used to seeking out new solutions to existing problems while remaining true to conservative principles. He needs to be a person with a proven track record of public service- working constructively within the framework of government and with citizens, businesses and nonprofit groups- to tackle the serious issues that confront us. He should also be a person that has demonstrated that he cares not just about holding office or implementing policy, but cares about how his performance in office and the policies pursued actually impact people in a positive way by increasing their personal opportunities, responsibilities, general wellbeing, health and safety.
If those are the qualities you seek in your next congressman, then I am the best person to be nominated as your next congressman. During the past eleven years as the elected prosecutor of Greene County, I have reorganized the office into effective teams prosecuting crime and holding offenders accountable, especially career and dangerous criminals. I have hired quality people to serve the public as prosecutors, investigators, paralegals, secretaries, technicians and supervisors in carrying out the primary mission of the office to be ministers of justice. Working with the Courts, law enforcement and MADD, we established one of the top four DWI (driving while intoxicated) courts in the country, which is reducing recidivism among repeat drunk drivers through a combination of punishment, accountability and treatment. Under my leadership, the office has maintained a high DWI conviction rate- over 98% in the past year. The office partnered with the Victim Center and others in creating Kids Court- which helps children who are victims and/or witnesses of crime to understand, be more familiar with and relaxed in a courtroom environment. We implemented new prevention/intervention/prosecution policies to encourage parents to keep their children in school, joining with the Springfield Public Schools and many nongovernmental organizations to encourage children to have at least a 95% attendance rate and graduate from high school. Why? Because at one time a study indicated that 80% of inmates in the Department of Corrections were truants and did not graduate from high school.
We have partnered with many governmental and nongovernmental organizations in focusing on improving the quality of life of abused and neglected children by prosecuting offenders and pursuing better intervention programs. In the past two years, working with The Center for Dispute Resolution of Missouri State University and others, we started the first Restorative Justice Program in the state of Missouri for adult offenders, and are recognized as a leader in this significant evolution of how some misdemeanor and low level felony property offenders can be handled outside the traditional courtroom norm. Restorative Justice leads to better offender accountability, the opportunity for more victim input on what corrective measures the offender needs to take to make the victim whole, more immediate and meaningful restitution to the victim, and a better understanding by the offender of how his conduct hurt the victim. Studies show that where the restorative justice model is used, offender recidivism is reduced and victim satisfaction increased.
These are just a few examples of how I have fulfilled the responsibilities of my office in a focused, determined and caring manner to improve public safety and health while remaining true to conservative principles.
I have also shown my commitment to improving the quality of life of people through my service on many nonprofit organizations through the years, including the Salvation Army Advisory Board, the Ozarks Fighting Back Advisory Board, the Interagency Task Force on Gangs and Youth Violence, the Underage Drinking Task Force and the Ambassadors for Children Advisory Committee of the Council of Churches of the Ozarks. Serving the public, whether as a private citizen or in a public office, is my calling in life.
Please cast your vote for the candidate who has demonstrated through the years the necessary focus, determination, and principled caring creative thinking that is needed to face the challenging issues of our time. I would be honored and humbled to serve as your next congressman.
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