Missouri’s GOP Gov. Parson reflects on past wins in his final State of the State address
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri’s Republican Governor Mike Parson looked back on past victories in his final State of the State address on Wednesday, touting his achievements after assuming leadership in the chaotic absence of his disgraced predecessor, Eric Greitens.
Parson, who served as lieutenant governor at the time, took over as the state’s top executive in 2018 after Greitens resigned, rather than continue fighting potential impeachment and allegations of personal and political misconduct.
“We closed the chapter on scandals and started a new direction, because there was no turning back,” Parson said. “We have declared a new start and the return of stability.”
As governor, Parson has worked to cultivate an image of a hands-on leader focused on tangible achievements for taxpayers, contrasting with Greitens’ tumultuous and aggressive governing style.
A highlight of Parson’s accomplishments is his work to repair and improve the state’s roads and bridges, culminating last year with a $2.8 billion investment to expand Interstate 70 to six lanes across the state .
On Wednesday, he also pointed to the numerous income tax cuts under his administration and his appointment of five statewide officeholders to fill vacancies.
Parson has not shied away from taking action on more traditionally partisan issues. In 2019, he signed a law that ultimately allowed Missouri to ban nearly all abortions after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Last year, he urged lawmakers to pass legislation banning gender-affirming health care for minors, with some exceptions.
For his latest legislative session, Parson, who is barred from re-election due to term limits, submitted relatively modest budget and policy requests to lawmakers.
He wants lawmakers to make it a crime punishable by up to four years in prison, or longer for repeat offenses, to bring fentanyl near minors.
Parson also called for child care tax credits and another $52 million for child care subsidies. And he wants a $120 million increase in basic aid for schools, a 3% increase in primary funding for colleges and universities, and a 3.2% pay increase for state employees.
But the dysfunction and infighting among Republicans has lawmakers concerned that little will be done in the Legislature this year.
In the Senate, elected Republican leaders reached a breaking point this week with the Freedom Caucus, a defiant Republican faction. Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden removed several members of the Freedom Caucus from chairing the committee and reduced their parking spots, a move that targeted senators say only escalated tensions in the chamber.
“Let’s not fool ourselves into thinking that the prospects are good for many of the important issues that will pass through the House of Representatives this year,” House Democratic Minority Leader Crystal Quade told reporters after Parson’s speech.
Quade, who is running to replace Parson as governor, blamed “a small group of Republican extremists” who she said are “holding the legislative process hostage in an attempt to push through legislation that is unpopular with most lawmakers and certainly most residents of Missouri. ”
Republican Sen. Bill Eigel, a member of the Freedom Caucus who is also running to succeed Parson, said he was most struck by what Parson did not mention in his speech. Eigel noted that Parson did not outline a plan to make it more difficult to pass ballot initiatives, such as one that seeks to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution.
Changing the voting process was a top priority cited by Republican legislative leaders this year.
“The only policy goals he talked about were spending more money in this state,” Eigel said. “That is a real disappointment for me.”
Meanwhile, most lawmakers are either up for re-election or running for higher office this year. With a glut of Republican lawmakers and slim chances for Democrats to win statewide office, the upcoming elections have pitted Republicans against each other.
Parson said he has humble hopes for how he will be remembered as governor, and he hinted at plans to retire from public service as he yearned for the view of his southern Missouri farm from “behind the windshield of my John Deere tractor’.
“If we are honored enough to be considered by the people of Missouri as a ‘pretty good governor,’ ‘decent guy,’ or ‘someone who never forgot where he came from,’ then it will all be worth it,” said Parson.
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Associated Press writer David A. Lieb contributed to this report.