49th district rematch: Missouri House candidates discuss schools, guns and healthcare during public forum

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Candidates from Missouri’s 49th House District gave their vision for the state during a public forum on Wednesday night. Republican incumbent Rep. Jim Schulte (R-New Bloomfield) will go up against Democratic candidate Jessica Slisz in a rematch of the 2022 election. Schulte dominated the election, winning nearly 72 percent of the vote.

Jefferson City News Tribune Editor Gary Castor moderated the debate, which included candidates for Districts 59 and 60. In the race for District 60, Republican incumbent Rep. Dave Griffith (R-Jefferson City) is facing a challenge from Democrat Jamie Howard. Rep. Rudy Veit (R-Wardsville), who is running unopposed, attended the forum from District 59. Rep. Willard Haley (R-Eldon) of the 58th District was also invited but was unable to attend. Each candidate addressed a variety of questions from the public with topics ranging from public schools to gun control.

Slisz said she grew up as a farm girl. She later worked in the pharmaceutical field. Because of this, one of her main focuses is bringing more rural healthcare to the state, something she said Callaway County lacks. 

“We need healthcare,” Slisz said during the forum. “If there were to be an emergency, it would depend on the healthcare services in Cole or Boone County, which for some of us could be more than an hour's drive away.” 

Slisz says she also wants to make sure law enforcement is getting the support they need after listening to stories from her husband who works in corrections. Her plan also includes raising pay for state workers so the state can “better attract and retain workers.” 

Schulte, a former National Guard member and Highway Patrolman wants to reduce state income tax. His goal is to get it down to 0% and said that he will do so by growing the economy in Missouri and by eliminating programs that he believes are no longer needed. 

“By eliminating state programs that aren’t viable, we eliminated 7,000 jobs from state government, which allowed us to give state employees the biggest pay raise they have had in many, many years,” Schulte said. 

Schulte believes that the experience he gained in the state house over the last two years has made him better equipped to be an efficient lawmaker. 

“I found that if you go in with an all-or-nothing mentality, you're gonna generally end up with nothing, so you have to learn to work with all the other representatives,” Schulte said. “There’s 163 of them, all from different areas, and we’ve got to work together and discuss the issues to come up with something that works for everyone.”  

When asked about public schools in the state Slisz suggested reworking the funding formula in the state to reduce the amount of money parents need to spend on school supplies. Schulte believes it is time to stop pouring money into public schools and begin to embrace charter schools, citing the success of some in the Kansas City area. 

“Every place they’ve been they seem to be working and improving,” Shulte said. 

However, Howard was quick to point out that charter schools are held to different standards than public schools in the state which makes it unfair to compare the two. 

The two candidates also shared different views on public safety when asked about the number of gun deaths in the state. Slisz says that politicians need to stop making guns the focal point and focus on the issues surrounding them.  

“I see ads all the time with people ‘Oh I have an AR, I have this blah blah blah blah blah.’ Put it down quit making it okay to carry them around on TV  and shooting and flame-throwing and God knows what,” Slisz said. “Let’s make it about the people. If it's a mental health crisis, then full steam ahead.” 

Schulte acknowledged there was an issue of gun violence in the state, but believes the numbers are misleading. 

“The number of gun deaths is higher, but 60 percent of those are suicide," Schulte said. "Suicide is a mental health issue and we need to address the mental health issue."

Another question brought up was the southern border. Slisz says that since the state government has no authority over the border crisis her focus was going to be on “Missouri first”. 

“Missouri’s southern border is Arkansas,” Slisz said. “We need to be focused here. We are the Missouri legislature, not the federal legislature.” 

Schulte said he visited the border and thinks law enforcement needs more resources to minimize the effects of illegal immigration. 

While the two disagreed on the majority of issues brought up tonight, they each agreed that agriculture is a huge portion of the county and things need to be done to advance that.