Lt. Gov. Parson brings 25 years of experience in elected office

Lieutenant Gov. Mike Parson is scheduled to become the 57th governor of Missouri on Friday after Eric Greitens’ resignation takes effect at 5 p.m.

In glaring contrast to his predecessor’s career, the 62-year-old Republican will enter the job with more than 25 years of experience in elected office.

After a 6-year stint as a U.S. Army M.P., Parson continued his law enforcement career in Hickory and then Polk counties.

In 1993, Parson became sheriff of Polk County and served until he was elected to represent the 133rd District in the Missouri House of Representatives.

Parson continued in that office through two more elections until 2010, when he was elected to fill the Missouri Senate’s 28th District seat.

In 2016, Parson was elected lieutenant governor and after taking over for Gov. Greitens, will serve out the rest of his term which expires Jan. 11, 2021.

The lieutenant governor’s platform is centered around five key issues including the support of the state’s agricultural industry, second amendment rights, abortion restriction, curbing wasteful spending and bolstering the economy.

While Parson’s agenda is largely parallel with Greitens’, the Lieutenant Gov. did take a notable step against ending state tax credits for low-income housing.

A measure to cut such tax credits went before the Missouri Housing Development Commission in a December 2017 meeting, during which Parson was one of two members who voted against it, even though Gov. Greitens called the tax credit, “a failing program.”