Missouri’s 60th House District candidates discuss stances on abortion, school safety

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Dave Griffith is looking to return to Missouri's 60th House District for a fourth and final term, while his opponent, Jamie Howard is hoping to change that narrative in his first run.

Griffith was elected to his first two-year term in 2018.

Prior to that, he served as the Executive Director of the American Red Cross, served in the U.S. Army and has a background working for a broadcast television station. Currently, Griffith serves as the Chairman of the Veteran's Committee and has a platform which focuses heavily on providing resources for veterans.

Griffith is also a commissioner on the Missouri Veteran's Commission and said, if elected to a final term, he hopes to find a more sustainable source of funding for the commission. He also hopes to increase the number of veterans service officers across the state.

Jamie Howard is a veteran of the Missouri National Guard and former law enforcement officer.

Howard currently serves on the Jefferson City Human Relations Commission and the River City Habitat for Humanity Board of Directors. He also helps run Jefferson City's downtown independent book store "Downtown Book and Toy."

Howard graduated in 2022 from the University of Cincinnati with a degree in medical coding. His top priorities include creating affordable housing, child and health care, investing in education, and protecting reproductive rights.

Howard said he supports Amendment 3, which would reverse Missouri's abortion ban.

"We have to protect people's individual rights and people's access to privacy when it comes to health care decisions," Howard said. "it's just none of, none of the government's decisions when it comes to what somebody makes privately in their doctor's office, that's a personal decision."

Griffith is against reversing the ban.

"It's not about women's health. It's about abortion plain and simple and I think that I'm pro-life. I think that the baby doesn't have a voice in this," Griffith said.

He said he believes cases of rape or incest are justifiable reasons for a woman to get an abortion. Griffith said he finds problems with the initiative petition process, as well as the language used on the ballot, claiming the language allows for anyone to perform an abortion.

"I think it's wrong because we have a state we're a state of over 6 million people. So, we have 450,000 people that are being a voice for those 6 million that may not reflect what their what their thoughts are," Griffith said. "If you read and go in depth, this petition anybody could perform an abortion...and if something went wrong and the mother died, there's no legal recourse for you and I think that that's wrong on so many levels."

Howard pushed back on that claim.

"That's not what that that section of the the bill says. It prevents politicians from coming after like family members and friends who help somebody make those decisions, it has nothing to do with the people who are performing that care," Howard said. "It still has to be done by qualified doctors and they are still held to the same federal and state standards of care and management."

Several Mid-Missouri schools, including Ashland Middle School and Blair Oaks High School experienced threats in September. The threats followed a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Ga where a 14-year-old allegedly killed four people on Sept. 4.

Howard and Griffith agree that the issue regarding school shootings in America is one that typically stems from mental health issues. Griffith said he believes creating better relationships between students and teachers is essential.

He said he believes teachers taking the next step of having conversations with students when they notice something is wrong, and letting children know they have someone they can talk to is crucial.

"They're not doing well at school and they're very frustrated and I think mental health issues are where we need to get the core reason that what was causing these and once we get to the core reason, we can treat it," Griffith said.

While Howard said he agrees that Missouri needs to do more in terms of funding mental health services, he also said there are issues with Missouri's gun laws.

Howard said he feels Missouri's guns laws are "recent" and said he believes there used to be a time where the state both respected the second amendment, while also ensuring the safety of communities.

He said he would like to see Missouri reverse some of its "extreme measures" that were taken in the last few years in terms of gun laws.

"We've heard Republicans talking about respecting five-year-olds second amendment rights to carry firearms in public...start having real conversations about common sense laws," Howard said. "You know, training, making sure that people are mentally sound and that the right people are able to have their hands on firearms while keeping the wrong people from having their hands on firearms."

You can watch the full interview with Howard here.

You can also watch the full interview with Griffith here.