Missouri’s 47th House District candidates discuss curbing crime, homelessness in Boone County

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Republican John Potter has never ran for a spot in the Missouri House, while Democratic state Rep. Adrian Plank is no stranger.

The two face off in the Nov. 5 election. Both candidates ran unopposed in their respective primaries in August.  

Plank (D-Columbia) was elected to represent the state's 47th District two years ago, after falling short to former State Rep. Chuck Basye twice. Plank is a union carpenter who said his decision to run for reelection came down to a feeling that his work is not finished.

"You know, the state didn't get a whole lot accomplished last, last cycle as far as session was concerned, and there's things that need to be accomplished," Plank said.

Plank said most of that work comes down to wanting to ensure smaller communities, such as Sturgeon, Harrisburg and Rocheport are budgeted the funds needed to complete infrastructure projects. He said Sturgeon and Harrisburg have wastewater treatment plants that need to be expanded.

He also noted Sturgeon has five miles worth of asbestos waterlines that need to be replaced.

Plank said this one of his main priorities would be providing the funds needed to have those projects completed, adding that smaller communities can't raise their taxes in order to do so.

Potter has unsuccessfully ran for the Columbia School Board twice.

Potter said he has a strong passion for the energy industry and wants to move away from burning coal, and move toward using natural gas, solar and wind. However, his main passion still lies in improving education within Boone County.

"I think that's kind of the realm that I started in," Potter said. "It's the realm I'm most familiar with, really providing parents with choice in their schooling."

According to data from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, violent crimes within Columbia have been on a downward trend since 2021. However, several residents on social media have voiced their concerns over crime within the city this year, calling on city officials to do more to curb the crime.

Plank said he believes crime happens in every city. However, he said creating a better relationship between the police department and the community -- which he claims CPD has lost over the years -- could help.

"You know, if we had a more community-based police system where people could have trust in their law enforcement, because they've kind of lost a little trust over the years," he said. "I think, I think the City Council's involved and they're aware of the situation, I don't know if they can get involved much more without maybe overstepping."

Potter agreed with Plank, but claimed that people he's spoken to feel like police don't get enough support. Potter said he believes more could be done to help retain officers.

"I think you know, some of the pension issues comes from City Council...I think they understand that there is an issue but we have to be able, we right now we don't really have those extra officers," Potter said. "So, we really need to focus on on retaining officers and creating an environment that really supports them and keeps them here long term."

There have been at least four homeless encampments cleaned out in Columbia within the last year, with the most recent clean up happening in April. Potter and Plank agree that homelessness is a problem in Columbia, and say hey believe more needs to be done to address the mental health crisis in the state.

Plank made note that the Fulton State Hospital--which is known to treat those with a mental illness-- is understaffed. He said because of this, those who are mentally ill end up in jails, where he says more harm than good is done to the person because they aren't able to get the proper treatment.

Plank said the issue needs to be seen as a bigger priority.

"We have a mental illness crisis not just in Missouri, but in the United States. We don't take it seriously you know, we talk about it at the capital all the time but we really don't do anything," Plank said.

Plank also noted he believes the city has done a good job with creating resources and housing for homeless people, which Potter agrees with.

However, Potter said within his 35 years of living in the city, he's noticed panhandling has escalated. While Potter acknowledged that there are different reasons as to why a person is homeless, he said he thinks a line needs to be drawn between people helping, and enabling.

"We want to help people that are in need but there's a problem with just giving people cash on the side of the street. I think that enforces their addictions and some of their poor spending habits," Potter said.