50th Missouri House District: Kari Chesney

Party: Democratic

Opponent: State Rep. Sara Walsh, R-Ashland

Residence: Columbia

Occupation: Veterinarian and research scientist

Education: Bachelor's in biological sciences and psychology, Illinois State University; doctor of veterinary medicine, University of Missouri; graduate certification in science and public policy, University of Missouri; seeking PhD in pathobiology, University of Missouri

Previous political experience: Former vice-chair of Columbia Environment and Energy Commission; former member of Columbia Public Transit Advisory Commission; former legislative director of University of Missouri Graduate Professional Council

Family: Mother Cheri; father Robert; sister Kelli

What is your position on Amendment 3, which would roll back parts of the Clean Missouri amendment voters approved in 2018?

I am personally opposed to Amendment 3. And there are several reasons why.

So the first and foremost is that, as was said, we already voted as Missourians on ethics reform. We voted on Clean Missouri in 2018. And it overwhelmingly passed. What's happening now is there are bits and pieces of that amendment that some people didn't like. And so they want us to believe that folks didn't know what they were voting for originally. So here, we have Amendment 3 again. And the biggest piece of Amendment 3 that they're trying to get back to, is the partisan organization or group that decides on what the districts in Missouri look like.

This group is based on -- isa group of representatives and senators, and they all get together, Democrat and Republican, and get to pick and choose what parts of the state they want to represent. And neither side is unbiased in this, both parties, you know, want to keep their seat, they want to keep their job. And so we need that independent demographer that was part of Clean Missouri in 2018, to retain as law of how we design the districts in our state. And that is the biggest reason that I am opposed to Amendment 3.

How will Medicaid expansion affect the 50th District?

So District 50, which encompasses southern Boone County, northern Moniteau County, and then slivers of Cole and Cooper County, we are actually in a fairly lucky area of the state because there are hospitals both in Jefferson City and in Columbia, where the majority of constituents of the 50th District could get to one of those places without much trouble if there was an emergency situation that occurred.

However, there are a lot of opportunities with Medicaid expansion for the district. So having that influx of money into the state from the federal government increases jobs. So the individuals that work around those hospitals and clinics that we already have, they're going to need more people in order to make up for the increase in patient care that they're going to have. So there's opportunity for jobs there.

There's also opportunity for additional clinics and specialty medicine around the district. Like I said, we do have access to specialty physicians in Columbia and Jefferson City. But a lot of the district is going without. Just outside of the 50th District, we've recently seen Boonville hospital close. So all of the specialty doctors that they have there are now gone.

And there is a term in health care called the golden hour, which is that one hour right after an emergency incident. So that could be a traumatic accident or a stroke or a heart attack, where if you get care within the first hour after that incident, you are astronomically more likely to survive than if you do not get that care. And so with Medicaid expansion with allowing that money into the state, more clinics are able to open, we're able to have more emergency care, and more of the folks in the rural areas of our state are going to be able to get the care they need when they need it in the timeframe that they need it in order to have successful outcomes.

Has the state done enough to fight COVID-19?

I do not believe that the state has done enough to combat COVID-19. As a veterinarian, I know I'm not on the human health care side of things, but I still consider myself a medical professional and a scientist. So I work in research science here at the University of Missouri. As a scientist, you look at the data and you look at the evidence coming out of what works and what doesn't for combatting COVID-19 and our state has done an appalling job at trying to stem the tide of increased cases. There are places like Columbia that have instituted mask mandates, and things like that, and we are seeing our numbers go down. We saw a big bloom of cases when all the students came back to town. But with those introductions of mask mandates, social distancing, closing hours for certain restaurants and bars and things like that we are seeing our numbers go down week by week.

So that is just ... local evidence that those things work. We need those implemented throughout the entire state. We see down at the Lake of the Ozarks. They have parties, there's parties all the time, there are pictures and videos coming out of you know, every weekend, there's more and more folks down there. And luckily, now we're ... getting into the fall months, there's not going to be that many people down there anymore. But we're now rolling into the fall, in the winter, where people are going to be more cooped up inside. And so that is where mask mandates and social distancing, reduced numbers in stores and restaurants are going to be vitally important.

And we need our representatives and ... our legislators to actually stand up and do the right thing. And be role models for these types of mandates and say, "This is what the science says, this is what is important, and this is how we're going to combat this and get over this and successfully go back to a normal way of life."

The Missouri General Assembly took up legislation to address violent crime this summer and the issue is likely to come up again. What should the General Assembly do to address the problem?

Crime is a symptom of a much larger societal and governmental failing on the part of our state. And our legislators are, of course, going to point the blame at the individual and say that person is a violent criminal. But there in the vast majority of cases is an underlying issue or an underlying need that is not being provided. And that is what drives those individuals to commit crime.

So, personally, I don't believe we have necessarily a violent crime issue in Missouri, we have an equity issue in Missouri, we have a lack of mental health services issue in Missouri, we have a deficit in how we treat post-combat veterans, and homelessness in Missouri, we have these societal issues that drive up crime in our state, specifically in more concentrated population areas. And so we need as a state government, to be looking at how to solve those issues, because slapping a Band-Aid on violent crime and increasing minimums and harsher sentences and things like that, that's not going to solve the underlying root causes of what's driving all of this crime in our state. And so as a state government, we need to take it upon ourselves to say, we need to provide those three basic tenants of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to all of our constituents, and make sure that they have the things that they need in order to live a fruitful, fulfilling life. And then you will see violent crime go down, and only then,