Missouri 50th House District candidate interview: Gregg Bush

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

ABC 17 News is interviewing candidates in the August primary ahead of the election. Below is an interview with Gregg Bush, one of two Democrats seeking election to the 50th House District seat being vacated by fellow Democrat Doug Mann, who is stepping down because of health issues.

The district includes much of south Columbia and areas of Boone County that border the city on the south and east.

Bush's opponent in the Democrat primary is Jeff Basinger.

Mitchell Kaminski: First off, thank you for joining us. Can I just have you start with, why do you want to run for this seat?

Gregg Bush: That's a really good question. You know, after Representative Doug Mann asked me to run for the seat, I had to really kind of take a good hard look, living in a public life. And being a nurse I'm a trained advocate and professional rapport builder. And looking around at what being done in the capital, I saw that we have a lot of skills, nurses, we have a lot of the skills to be able to be a good legislator to make those relationships and as an advocate for any health care and patient education and professional development, basically, all I'm doing is expanding my circle of advocacy.

Kaminski: You mentioned being a nurse, and I saw on your campaign website that would make you the only nurse to be in one of those seats. I guess can you kind of expand on what traits you think translate over from being a nurse that would be beneficial for running for office?

Bush: Yeah, absolutely. Well, you know, people see me sometimes on the worst day of their life. And nurses, we have to take care of the patient in front of us. We're advocates. Again, being a med surge nurse, you start off, kind of start off with one patient. And then being a charge nurse, you're advocating for a whole floor, and then being in leadership I’m advocating for a whole system. Also, nurses are professional rapport builders. People come to me, we take their clothes, we give them a funny gown and we stick needles in their arms, you know, at all times of the day and night. You have to build rapport with people almost immediately. And those are skills that actually serve legislators really well, listening to people and making sure that they're, you never forget that there's another person on the other side of every encounter.

Kaminski: What would you say the biggest issue facing the 50th District is that you would think would be the top priority?

Bush: Sure. There's a lot. It's split right now probably between health care, access to health care and public education. With respect to health care, obviously, there's almost a total abortion ban here in Missouri. Women are really scared that they go to see if they have a pregnancy, they go to see their physician that their physician not only has to call an insurance company but then also has to call a lawyer too. That's a really difficult thing for women often in their most trying time.

The other thing is public education. We've seen kind of a persistent, reckless attack on public schools, particularly targeting Columbia public schools. And there's a lot of fear with respect to teachers leaving the profession. We're a farm league for both St. Louis and Kansas City. And also Columbia has so much to offer. We have a great Rock Bridge High School right here in the 50th as well.

Kaminski: Going off education, I know there's been a big push for charter schools, which is something that a lot of people from Columbia Public Schools have come out against. Where do you think the state of Missouri education is? And what's your stance on charter schools and anything you would like to see done differently in education?

Gregg Bush: Sure. Well, charter schools. Any time you're going to be taking public dollars and putting them into a private enterprise, you're going to have to have a lot of oversight. And personally, I don't like charter schools, particularly with an accredited district like we have. Most of the educators that I've talked to and virtually everybody on the doors that I've met is not in favor of charter schools. Our teachers actually need support. They need investment so that they can in turn support our children in their teaching. So in terms of that's how the 50th is, in terms of the state, I mean, education kind of is in a real rough strait. There's an unfunded mandate that just got passed and signed into law by the governor in May, and it remains to be seen kind of how that plays out over the next year and a half. It's really challenging. It's going to be some difficult decisions need to be made at all levels of government.

Kaminski: So seeing that you believe the public schools can use a little bit more support and I know you brought education up as one of the top issues that you think the district is facing. Would you say that's where your biggest spending priority would lie?

Bush: Sure. The budget process is a really complicated process. And Democrats are in the super-minority and we're not setting the agenda at all. We actually have to build coalitions to see that anything gets done. So obviously, health care is going to be a huge priority. I mean, look, mental health that they haven't been able to process all of the Medicaid paperwork. Why is that? Is there not enough investment there? We have some of the lowest-paid state employees in the country. So that's one part. The other part in terms of education is there's going to need to be, again, like I said, some really difficult choices. There's these rural districts are going to be getting a little payment, but we don't know where that money is going to come from yet. Is it going to come from the university? Is it going to come from somewhere else? Is there going to be a tax increase? We have no idea.

Kaminski: As far as health care goes, another interesting thing I was reading on your campaign website is you think a lot of lawmakers in Jefferson City are kind of having a negative effect on health care. I guess can you kind of elaborate on that and what you would like to see done in that space?

Bush: Sure. Well, there needs to be an investment in the next generation of health care providers. Missouri Nurses Association was part of a consortium of interests that actually beat back three anti-DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] bills in the last session. These would have put our nursing school accreditation and our medical school accreditation at risk. These are significant things that are going to come back and we're going to have to build that coalition to make sure that those kinds of terrible things don't come back.

Plus, of course, the almost total abortion bill that's been going on. We've had rural hospitals that have closed. We've had rural clinics that have shut. We have physicians fleeing the state because they're not being supported. These are the kinds of things that you know, it takes somebody who's actually walked the walk to go down there and tell the stories, people to try and, again, gain support, build that coalition to try to reverse that trend.

Kaminski: You mentioned an abortion ban with Roe v Wade being overturned. I guess how would you like to see Missouri handling that? What do you think is the proper way to go about that, to make sure everyone's getting the best access to health care if they do have to make a difficult decision like that?

Bush: You know, my exam room is a sacred space and it's between a patient and her provider. We don't need extremist politicians in the exam room dictating what kind of care a woman decides for herself and for her family. So that is a total reversal of the ban and trust in health care professionals trusting women. That's why I've had the endorsement of AA [Abortion Action] and the National Organization for Women. 

Kaminski: Kind of shifting gears a little bit, crime has been a hot topic. What would you like to see done to either address public safety concerns or fund public safety concerns? Do you think crime concerns are overblown?

Bush: Well, you know, it doesn't feel like it's overblown. And I can show you statistics showing that crime is actually down. Right? But that doesn't change the way that people feel about crime. People are afraid. I think a lot of that has to do with the course of the political discourse. And so what can we do about crime is get to know who your neighbors are, because if they know who you are, they know who you're not and then we're all looking out for each other. That which can befall my neighbor can befall me. And if we're all looking out and being together on that, it's better for everyone.

There's also a fentanyl crisis and, you know, opioid epidemic. This is a public health issue. The criminal justice aspect of that is in the trafficking and the violence associated with that. But this is a public health issue and actually needs real investment. My predecessor, Representative Mann, actually had a bill that I testified about making sure that there's more access to Narcan. And also, you know, in terms of other public safety, I think roads and bridges, well-lit streets as parts of public safety. These are things that we actually need investment in. These are things that there's the money for there’s just not been the political will for from the extremists down in Jefferson City.

Kaminski: With fentanyl, I know a lot of people on the other side of the aisle will blame that on illegal immigration. I know Governor Parson has been big on sending resources down to the border because it is an issue that does affect non-border states. What are your thoughts on immigration? And do you believe there is a direct correlation with a lot of the fentanyl deaths that we're seeing in Mid-Missouri?

Gregg Bush: Yeah, I haven't seen kind of that direct correlation. The reality is that the current administration in Washington, D.C., has had more interdictions than the one previous. That's actually a good thing. We need to make sure that we are stopping bad actors from getting across the border, and we need to actually take the extra resources and invest it here in our community.

Missourians are dying in terms of from opioids. I talked to one person who told me that his son was "murdered by fentanyl," and I'd never heard that kind of term before, but it really struck a chord with me that he felt so strongly and he had gone to different providers who've gone through different clinics, have gone through rehab. And as we know, it's a long road to recovery. But we have to invest in people to make sure they actually get to recovery and become a taxpayer and that it takes investment and political will.

Kaminski: Homelessness is another thing that we've seen kind of talked about, not only just in Mid-Missouri but across the country. Specifically here in Mid-Missouri, I guess what do you think the best solution is to handle some of the homeless issues that have popped up?

Bush: Yeah, well, there's two different kinds of homelessness. There's chronic homelessness and acute sense, and they both have very different solutions. Acute homelessness is somebody who maybe wasn't able to make their rent that month or had a medical bill that kind of put them out on the street for a little bit. They require a different kind of intervention.

Chronic homelessness, particularly among our veterans, takes a different kind of intervention. We actually have to find them services, get them into programs and things. I'm so glad that we have the V.A. here, make sure that they have access to those substance abuse, if that's required, or mental illness. What we don't want to do is like treat them as if they are outcasts in our society. These are our neighbors. And like I said before, what can befall my neighbor can befall me. And I want to make sure that they are cared for in an appropriate way. But we've got to actually fund those resources, get them out to the individuals and help them get on the road to become a taxpaying citizen.

Kaminski: With the recent events at the Trump rally, gun control is another thing that's kind of popped up once again. Missouri has some of the loosest gun laws in the country. Do you feel like those should be tightened up a bit or I guess what are your stances on the Second Amendment and what that right to bear arms looks like to you?

Bush: Well, the Second Amendment talks about a well-regulated militia first off and the right of people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. We do have really, really lax gun laws here. I am a gun-sense candidate. I believe that we do need to have more regulations, make sure that we get illegal guns off the street, and to make sure that individuals who have firearms are storing them properly.

Right now, there's prohibitions on physicians even, you know, asking and talking about this. This is a public safety issue. The American Nurses Association has been advocating for this for 20 years to try to make sure that we start saving people's lives. Children are being killed with firearms in the home, sometimes, oftentimes accidentally. Sometimes they are, you know, just victims of a targeted shooting that happens outside the home. This is, we're awash with guns. And at the same time, we don't have access for mental health providers. You know, I live with someone who actually had their lives saved by some of these red flag laws where, you know, people that had been diagnosed with mental illness or that sort of thing don't have access to firearms because of the volatility of who that person is. And so this is something I take really personally. I've seen what guns can do to a human body, and I want to prevent that.

Kaminski: So, kind of building off of that. Say there is red tape aside that you had to cut through, in your mind, what would ideal gun legislation look like? 

Bush: Sure. I mean, obviously a background check, you know, at all levels. And then making sure that there might be a need for insurance as well. I mean, I have a vehicle, I have to have insurance. That's something that's definitely on the table, making sure that there is, you know, adequate training that we are storing firearms safely. These are all things that actually can be done that the extremists down in Jeff City won't even take up the argument about this and I think that that's wrong.

Kaminski: Finally, I'll leave the floor open to you. Is there anything you would like to add you feel like would be important for people to know or any issues that might be important to you that we might not have touched on?

Bush: Sure. I mean, you've hit on all of the things for the most part. The reality is this campaign has been a lot of fun going out and meeting voters. I've personally rang more than 2,000 doorbells and contacted more than 2,000 voters, about 1,500 verbal, and guided more than 600 unique conversations on people's front steps. People are interested in sending a health care professional down to Jeff City.

We have a great carpenter. We have a great civil rights attorney in Representative Smith, and we have a great educator. Then I'd be the first-ever health care professional out of Boone County in at least the last 30 years. And it's going to take, you know, a variety of voices to make sure that we keep checking all the boxes and making sure that we move Missouri into the future and supporting the good voters of the 50th.