former U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan Archives

Missouri’s complete count committee aims to submit final report by November 30 (AUDIO)

October 5, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The chairperson of a committee working to ensure an accurate count of all people living in the state is pleased with Missourians’ response to the U.S. Census, which determines federal funding and congressional maps.

former Branson Mayor Karen Best chairs the Missouri 2020 Complete Count Committee (photo courtesy of the Complete Count Committee website)

Former Branson Mayor Karen Best chairs the Missouri 2020 Complete Count Committee, which is a collaboration of Missouri government, business, non-profit and community groups like the United Way of Greater St. Louis.

“Very happy to report that the last report I saw was that Missouri was trending at 99 percent completion, whether that was self-responding, whether that was group quarters responding or whether that was door-to-door response,” Best says.

The U.S. Census Bureau says group quarters are places where people live or stay in a group living arrangement. Examples include group homes, nursing homes, college housing and correctional facilities.

The 2020 Census aims to count every person living in the United States and five U.S. territories.

Former Mayor Best says this year’s Census has been unprecedented, because of COVID-19. She says safety has been the top priority.

“I feel we’ve done a really good job of overcoming that hurdle and that obstacle and making sure that we have the best count that we can have for Missouri, because it’s so important for funding and for representation both at the state level and the federal level,” says Best.

The complete count committee’s mission is to ensure an accurate count of everyone living in Missouri to secure federal funding and fair representation for Missourians during the next decade. She is hopeful that Missouri can keep its U.S. House representation in Washington, and someday re-gain the seat the state lost in 2010.

The 2010 Census essentially eliminated the district of then-U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan, D-St. Louis. Missouri currently has eight U.S. House seats.

State Rep. Peggy McGaugh, R-Carrollton, a committee member, worries that not everyone has been counted in rural northern Missouri and in St. Louis and Kansas City.

Former Mayor Best says the committee’s goal is to submit a final report to the governor by November 30. She says there’s been a few challenges there as well, noting the committee’s liaison with Governor Mike Parson’s office has taken a job in private practice.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with former Branson Mayor Karen Best, which was recorded on October 2, 2020:

Medicaid expansion is top priority for Missouri Democratic Party’s new acting chair (AUDIO)

July 8, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The Missouri Democratic Party’s new acting chair is focusing on the August Medicaid expansion ballot measure and the November elections.

Former State Rep. Clem Smith, D-Velda Village Hills, speaks on the Missouri House floor in Jefferson City on May 18, 2018 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Former State Rep. Clem Smith, D-Velda Village Hills, was elected to the Missouri House in 2010. He served eight years in the House, from 2011-2018, before being forced out by term limits. Smith became acting chair of the party on Thursday.

He says access to health care is critical. He’s pushing for Amendment Two, which will be on your August 4th ballot.

“We believe the state has an appetite for it (Medicaid expansion),” Smith says. “I think the governor saw that too. We saw some jockeying of dates for that ballot initiative being moved to August.”

Medicaid, which is officially known as MO HealthNet, is a federal and state program that assists with medical costs for residents who have limited incomes.

Medicaid expansion supporters, including the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, say it will create more than 16,000 new jobs annually during its first five years. Supporters also predict it will increase personal income by $1.1 billion annually.

House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, opposes Medicaid expansion, saying it would take dollars out of the classroom. He notes it requires a ten percent match, for the 90 percent draw down. House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, says Medicaid expansion will blow a hole in the state operating budget.

As for Clem Smith, he’s confident that Missourians will approve Medicaid expansion at the ballot box next month. He says some GOP lawmakers who oppose Medicaid expansion also supported right-to-work, which Missourians rejected during a 2018 referendum.

“We saw that with the right-to-work that went through (signed into law by then-Governor Eric Greitens in 2017),” says Smith. “The people came and spoke and said we don’t want that, after members of the Legislature voted for it.”

67 percent of Missourians voted against right-to-work, at the August 2018 referendum.

Smith is also focusing on the November elections. He’s hopeful former Vice President Joe Biden (D) will carry Missouri this fall. The last Democratic presidential nominee to carry Missouri was Bill Clinton, who won here in both 1992 and 1996.

Smith is also focusing on the gubernatorial race and the statewide races. State Auditor Nicole Galloway, the presumptive Democratic gubernatorial nominee, is currently the only Democratic statewide officeholder. Smith also wants to see Democrats pick up seats in the Missouri Senate and Missouri House.

Republicans currently have supermajorities in both chambers. They control the Senate 23-8, with three vacancies. The GOP controls the House 113-48, with two vacancies.

Smith is also encouraging residents to fill out the U.S. Census, which takes place every ten years. He tells Missourinet the census is a nonpartisan issue.

“That’s very important because that determines the federal dollars that are coming into our state, how they’re allocated,” Smith says.

Each year, billions of dollars in federal funding goes to hospitals, fire departments and schools based on census data. The Census results also determine the number of seats each state will have in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Missouri now has eight House seats, and has lost two since 1980. That happened in 1981 and again in 2011, when the districts of then U.S. Reps. Wendell Bailey, R-Willow Springs, and Russ Carnahan, D-St. Louis, disappeared.

Smith replaces former Missouri Democratic Party Chair Jean Peters Baker, who is the Jackson County Prosecutor.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and Missouri Democratic Party acting chair Clem Smith, D-Velda Village Hills. It was recorded on July 6, 2020:

Clay to host Census job fair Saturday in St. Louis

February 14, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Noting that the U.S. Census Bureau is short of workers, U.S. Rep. Lacy Clay, D-St. Louis, and the bureau are hosting a job fair Saturday afternoon at Harris-Stowe State University.

U.S. Rep. Lacy Clay, D-St. Louis, (left) speaks to U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt (R) at November’s NGA groundbreaking ceremony in St. Louis (November 2019 file photo from Missourinet’s Ashley Byrd)

Congressman Clay, a senior member of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, says the job fair is aimed at helping St. Louis get a complete count.

Saturday afternoon’s job fair is from 1-3 at Harris-Stowe, inside the William L. Clay Early Childhood Center on North Compton.

The Census Bureau conducts the Census every ten years. The Census determines federal funding and also determines congressional maps, with population shifts. The 2010 Census essentially eliminated then-U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan’s district.

Clay notes more than $650 million in federal funding is annually allocated by the census data.

The bureau is actively seeking to hire neighborhood workers, and the Census jobs pay more than $20 per hour.

Congressman Clay describes the positions as the “best part-time job in America.”

“Not only are you earning good money, you’re helping our community get its fair share of federal funding and political representation at all levels,” Clay says.

2020 Census job applicants must be at least 18, have a valid Social Security number, be a U.S. citizen, have a valid e-mail address and be able to speak and write in English.

They also must undergo fingerprinting and pass a criminal background check. They also need access to a computer with internet and an e-mail account.