50th House District: Michela Skelton
Party: Democratic
Age: 33
Residence: Hartsburg
Occupation: Attorney by trade, stay-at-home mom and campaigner
Education: Bachelor’s degree in political science, master’s in public administration and policy analysis, law degree from Washington University in St. Louis
Political experience: Worked in the Missouri Senate in the non-partisan research office, halding legislation on insurance, transportation and housing
Opponent: Sara Walsh
Recent state income tax cuts have been hailed by some as an economic jumpstart and derided by others as taking money that’s needed for social services and education. What’s your opinion?
I think those tax cuts have really been a mixed bag for Missourians, because of the way that our personal income tax structure is made, it’s really regressive. If you make more than $9,000 a year you’re in the top income tax bracket and so when they cut taxes, most of the dollar benefit goes to the few that make the most money in our state, the millionaires and the billionaires, and so they get the bulk of the benefit.
The people that are making on the lower end of the income scale, they’ll get 50 bucks, maybe a couple hundred dollars back in their pocket but what they lose in services in their communities, whether that’s prescription drug benefits for seniors or home-health care services for members of their family or adequate funding for our public schools so that parents aren’t having to bring in bags full of crayons and Clorox wipes and boxes of Kleenex for their classrooms. Really for most working-class families it ends up being a net loss.
Voters will decide Nov. 6 whether to raise Missouri’s gas tax. Do you support raising the tax?
I support some raise in the gas tax but I do not support Proposition D because of the way that it’s structured. It puts more of the burden on our low-income and rural families because it has the same rate of gas tax for unleaded fuel for passenger vehicles as we have for diesel fuel, for the bigger vehicles that actually are doing more of the damage to our roads. And really I would like to see us use more of our corporate income tax money to help fund those infrastructure projects that are really necessary for businesses to function properly. And right now they’re only paying 3% of our general revenue budget, and so we need to be looking at other alternative sources of income to fix our roads.”
Voters will also decide whether to approve any of three medical marijuana proposals. What are your thoughts on the issue?
I am a proponent of ‘yes’ on 2, and ‘no’ on 3 and ‘no’ on C. I am a big fan of Amendment 2 because it is endorsed by veterans’ organizations and some physicians’ groups. It allows for a broad variety of conditions to be, have that medical marijuana prescribed and it leaves it to the discretion of doctors and medical professionals. It also has a 4 percent tax rate, which is also pretty reasonable. And that tax money is actually used to fund veterans’ health care programs.
And the last piece that is really important I think for voters to recognize in people who would be using medical marijuana, is it allows for limited home grow, so that way folks don’t end up being squeezed by the pharmaceutical industry. And I really think it’s important to consider a vote ‘yes’ on 2, because we need this as an option to help combat the opioid epidemic that’s raging through Missouri.
What other key issues do you see facing the state?
One of the big things I really see facing the state is the takeover of our government by big money in politics. It really is used as a way to drive wedges in our communities, when really the needs that are facing people in our communities, whether you consider yourself a Democrat or a Republican are very often the same, it’s trying to be able to afford health care in the face of skyrocketing insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs.
It’s getting more money to our public schools because every community places a value on quality education for their kids and your zip code shouldn’t determine the opportunities for your children. And we all need to see more investment in our communities in infrastructure spending, not just roads but also water systems, we’re having huge problems across the state with lead poisoning in our communities because of outdated and aging water systems. And rural internet is going to be important to all of our communities.
