Rick Johnson's seat

Deb Peterson

Breaking Schmooze:HOOP HOP: Count former Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards is among those on the march to the Final Four. Edwards squeezed in a campaign stop in Jefferson County earlier this week to help state senate candidate Rick Johnson...

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/columnists.nsf/debpeterson/story/06BBE26E9D87DF5486256E600016796F?OpenDocument

Here is a Letter to the Editor that I wrote that was published in the Jefferson County Journal on 3/23:

To the Editor:

In the upcoming special election for the 22nd district Mo. State Senate seat, the Republican candidate Bill Alter has easily and incredibly amassed a $750,000 war chest.  And with the never ending money mill funded by the influence peddling lobbyists that are firmly entrenched around Gov. Matt Blunt – Alter can readily procure much, much more.
  
What could the Republican Party possibly stand to gain by pumping this unprecedented amount of money into the campaign of Bill Alter?  
Anyone who witnessed the performance of Mr. Alter during the March 4th candidate’s forum at Jefferson College would be hard pressed to find a single intelligible answer to any question posed to Alter – and these were pre-screened questions (a pre-requisite demanded by his campaign staff).

In a direct and stark contrast, Rep. Rick Johnson answered each of his questions intelligently, thoughtfully and articulately.  Johnson’s vision, decency and passion to serve the 22nd district were evident.  His record as a state representative is a proven, solid one of working for the common good of all the people in his district; protecting the disadvantaged, the elderly and the best interests of the middle class.

In addition to bankrolling a moral victory for the Republican Party by installing a GOP senator into a historically Democratic stronghold – the real reason for their zeal to place this empty suit into the Senate is to insure one more helpful hand to aid in Gov. Blunt’s systematic destruction of each and every safety net, lifeline, and regulatory protection that lower and middle income Missourians have depended on for the last fifty years.

The residents of the 22nd district need to look no further than the cruel and indecent cuts called for by Governor Blunt to decide which candidate would best serve their interests and needs.  Rick Johnson’s record, integrity and service should speak for itself on April 5th.

Tim Hendrickson
Barnhart, Mo.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/editorialcommentary/story/CB6B863DC68CAF5F86256FCE0037A878?OpenDocument

'...In the 22nd District, four candidates are vying for the seat formerly held by Democrat Steve Stoll, who resigned in January. The best choice is Richard K. "Rick" Johnson, 35, a lawyer from High Ridge. Since 2001, Mr. Johnson has served northern Jefferson County in the Missouri House, where he was minority leader in 2003-2004. He is a strong advocate of increased education and transportation funding, closing loopholes that increase the tax burden on middle-class taxpayers and improving access to quality health care for all Missourians. He calls Mr. Blunt's Medicaid cuts "devastating."...'

I have heard a lot recently about Jefferson County becoming more conservative.

Although it is true that the electorate there has changed and we may have lost some ground, 2004 election results show that Jeff Co is still firmly ours.  We just need to put in more resources to keep it and grow it.

All of the Democratic statewide candidates:  McCaskill, Cook, Robin Carnahan, Powell, and Nixon won in Jefferson County in November 2004. 

All seven state representative seats were won or retained by Democrats (and only one of the seven ran unopposed)

In 2002, Steve Stoll handily won reelection to the 22nd Senatorial seat by 20% of the votes.  And Jean Carnahan firmly won in Jefferson County despite narrowly losing statewide.

Democrats need to stay fired up to keep what is still Democratic turf. 

Let's keep the 22nd Senate seat a DEMOCRATIC seat.