1. What is your position on the application of wastewater residuals on Barry County farmland, and should the practice stop or continue?

Wastewater from a slaughterhouse, concentrated animal farm operation (aka CAFO or factory farm) should only be used if their contents are tracked, and should only be released with highest regard to the local water table and natural resources. But “If it’s free, it’s probably not something you’ll want.”  The risk of forever chemicals, algae, and microplastics are too great to ignore.

2. What policies would you create or change to support agriculture in Barry County?

The big guys tend to get the attention, so Farm Bill Programs should be “scale neutral”, serving farms of all sizes. Regulate data centers- They bring in construction jobs, but then can be a bane upon agriculture. No special tax incentives for DCs, they must have a closed-cycle HVAC to limit how much new water goes in and their waste (sound/heat/chemical) goes out and transparency in their ownership.

3. What can the state legislature do to help improve access to health care in Barry County?

The number of Barry County residents without health insurance is unacceptable (14.2% according to some sources HealthByCounty.com) The need for Medicaid expansion and sick leave is clear. Another factor is tobacco use, which is higher than average here. Recently, Washington has been abandoning or reversing the antismoking programs that had bipartisan support. I believe there will also be measures we can take to roll back products such as fruit-flavored e-cigarettes, which are particularly appealing to teens and adolescents.

4. What is your position on citizen-led amendments and the efforts to change that process?

It is the right of every Missouri citizen that has been in place over 100 years. The majority of constitutional amendments have been brought forward from Jefferson City; but when a citizen led amendment passes, politicians have been far too eager to overturn them. I am proud to have collected signatures outside the Cassville courthouse as an unpaid volunteer for several campaigns. I wholeheartedly endorse Amendment 6.

5. What circumstances would compel you to vote against your party’s leadership?

While I am relatively new to politics, the needs of Barry/McDonald County come first. It is not unusual for SW Missouri to elect those to turn renegade from his/her party line, but when it can actually mean a measure passes or fails is when the pressure is on. If the Republican super-majority is broken this year, there will definitely be arm-twisting in the legislature. If there is an opportunity for a net-positive for my constituents, I will take it.