Patterson picked as Speaker of the Missouri House
COLUMBIA Mo. (KMIZ)
Republican state Rep. Jon Patterson, of Lee's Summit, makes Missouri history as the first Asian American Speaker of the House after a slight hiccup in the voting process.
The Missouri House of Representatives and Senate met Wednesday in its first day of session of 2025. But before any committees are made or bills are passed, lawmakers had to agree on leadership in the chambers.
Patterson won the vote for Speaker of the House, 152-10 against Republican Rep. Justin Sparks, of St. Louis County. Sparks has opposed Patterson in the past and disagreed with Patterson's views on abortion and transgender care.
Rep. Chad Perkins (R-Bowling Green) was voted as House Speaker Pro-Tem.
During Patterson's speech, Patterson rallied to make Missouri the most anti-abortion state and to help fund foster care programs. Patterson also plans to fund child mental health, child care and public safety programs.
In his speech and during a press conference, Patterson plans to pursue tax cuts in a "smart way" to manage funding opportunities and to support legislation to help recruit and retain police officers.
"I really wanted to get the message out that the Missouri House is really going to be about families, we are going to put Missouri families first and try to make legislation that makes life safer, better and more affordable for Missouri families," Patterson said.
Minority Floor leader Ashley Aune (D-Kansas City) acknowledged the Republican majority.
"While Speaker Patterson had a very successful election today and he had bipartisan support, he built a very conservative coalition to get where he is today," Aune said. "He had to appease the folks on the far right of his caucus to earn their trust so he will be expected, I think, to move further to the right than we've seen him before and I'll be interested to see how that takes shape the session."
House Democrats support child mental health programs and reducing child care costs. The Democrats also want to prioritize on improving the economy, education, health care and public safety with a focus on the cost of groceries and rural hospitals.
During a press conference, Majority Floor Leader Alex Riley (R-Springfield) told the press that the House plans to get to work as soon as they can.
"We are trying to position ourselves to move as quickly as possible, so later this week we're going to be having the rules package go through committee, hopefully voted out of committee later this week as well," Riley said. "That would then position us to take up the rules and debate them on the floor very early next week."
