Missouri Third Congressional District candidate interview: Bethany Mann
ABC 17 News is interviewing candidates heading into the Aug. 4 election. On the Democratic ticket for the Missouri Third Congressional seat are Bethany Mann and Tommy Holstein. The winner of the primary race will face either Republican John Fraser or incumbent Bob Onder. ABC 17 News reporter Mitchell Kaminski interviewed Mann ahead of the election. Read the transcript of the interview with Mann below.
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Mitchell Kaminski: For starters, what made you want to run for this seat?
Bethany Mann: I decided that I was going to run for the seat because I saw that Missouri politicians and also federal politicians were not taking care of the needs of their constituents. So I decided to run to be a voice to serve the people in Washington, D.C. There have been two different congressmen who have served this congressional district, and they have overturned the will of their voters. They have served their corporate interests instead of the people that they serve.
Kaminski: So kind of going off that, this is a district that has been red the last two election cycles. Obviously, the incumbent Congressman Onder has the endorsement from President Trump. If you were to make it past this primary, how confident are you that you can flip this district blue?
Mann: Sure. You mentioned that Bob Onder has the support of President Trump. Bob is the one who actually offered up the congressional map for Missouri to Trump. And that started this whole gerrymandering scheme to begin with. The reason that they are gerrymandering is because they know that the national policies are unpopular, that there are things like the Epstein Files that should be disclosed that aren't, and that those in power are protecting other folks in power. And we have an opportunity to win this seat with the gerrymandering that has happened, thanks to Bob's proposal; he has actually diluted his own support base. And that, combined with the national winds blowing politically, with people not liking their policies, and combined with the legendary organization that we have done here in Missouri and in Missouri's Third, we believe that we have the boots on the ground that we are going to be able to win this seat.
So I am being invited in because of my experience as a water chemist who specializes in water quality. Communities are bringing me in as their water quality expert to explain to their neighbors why these data centers that are getting pushed onto them are not going to … they want to know what the impact these data centers will have on their communities. I'm being brought in as a bipartisan expert, and that gives me real community connection to be able to win those voters over who may not necessarily vote for a Democrat, but they certainly are tired of their elected leaders rolling past them, not understanding key issues like the rising energy costs or the fact that data centers could be a hazard to their community. They're serving their corporate donors instead of the people they are willing to serve. And so their typical support base, they see who's been in charge for the past 20 years, and they definitely want something different. And I'm hearing that all over the district, whether it's the new MAGA map or the old legal one from 2024, they wouldn't even offer up the congressional map unless they knew they were going to lose. And we believe that we have a ground game that’s going to beat them.
Kaminski: You mentioned data centers. That's definitely been a hot topic here in Mid-Missouri, as more and more of these projects continue to pop up. How would you like to see the state handle those projects, or if you were elected, handle some of these projects, because it doesn't seem like it's going away anytime soon.
Mann: I mean, it's very simple. Missouri does need a reliable energy grid. We also need transparency and accountability from our elected officials to make sure that they're giving us the good information that we need to make informed decisions here in our district. Missouri has an energy generation problem. We do not have a data storage problem yet. And so what they're suggesting is a little short-sighted and very much divorced from what the communities actually need.
Now, that said, I'm not anti-technology development; I'm not even necessarily anti-data center. What I suggest and I propose is holding an independent AI commission that can discuss and put in some guardrails and frameworks so that when we're doing, whether it's data center development or green or clean manufacturing or clean energy production, that we're doing it in a way that first of all honors the constituents and the people who live in the district first, not the billionaires at Meta and Google, not the elected representatives in their families who are profiting financially from it. It requires buy-in from the communities that should serve the residents first before it bails out politicians and their donors.
Kaminski: How has the campaign gone for you so far at this point, and what type of things are you hearing from the community as you are going out and speaking with constituents?
Mann: It's been great. We've seen a really wonderful reception for the first time in over 100 years. Missouri Democrats put an option on the ballot in every down-ballot Missouri House and Senate race in the Third Congressional. So we have organized hard to have people ready to knock on doors and serving the whole community as it stands right now. That's going to be the momentum that I believe is going to turn this election. And we have a motivated crew from all over the district. We have people connecting in ways that have never been connected with before, and we are actually talking about the issues that matter.
So I'm running against a guy who has built his whole career, at least 20 years, separating people on a whole host of social issues. Kind of really bizarre ones, too. And it gives me the chance to talk about what matters to working families, like the price of chicken nuggets are $12 a bag, and nobody can afford to put a full tank of gas in their car. And diesel is over $4.50 a gallon, which means that our cost of goods in 6 to 8 weeks is going to go up.
This is in combination with the fact that our military is asking for $67 billion, additionally, for a war that was started with a war crime, all because our congressional leaders, led by Bob Onder, will not say no to an unchecked executive branch. Missouri voters want better. Our national voters want more. Our veterans certainly want better because they don't want to be seen as offsets and line items that we can carve out of a budget just to give more unlimited war spending to someone who won't take care of them when they come back. Missourians are mad. They don't like the representation that they see right now, and this gives us a chance to actually do some good and serve.
Kamisnki: Based on what you have heard from constituents, what would you say is the biggest issue facing the Third Congressional District right now? And if you were elected, what would be your biggest priority off the bat?
Mann: Sure. My biggest priority, it all comes down to the economy, stupid, right? Families want a strong economy that works for everybody and not just the wealthy few. So that starts with respecting our workers, making sure that all of our workers can bargain collectively for better wages, higher wages, safer job sites, and the corporations that operate here within our borders are paying their fair share in taxes.
Now, you also need to build your workforce with a strong platform of education. And what has happened is our public education systems have been very eroded. Our teachers are paid poorly. They are not treated like professionals. And this leads to students not being able to enter a global workforce prepared for what they need to succeed. So I fully support increasing teacher pay, investments in public education, especially science and math, because so many of our new jobs are going to be led by scientists and folks like myself who were raised in technology, not some of the older representative folks who struggle to save documents and a PDF file, for example.
So, workers' education and then health care. Everyone should have the freedom to be able to see a doctor when they're sick without getting a medical bill that sticks them with the decision of whether they're going to pay for their kid's birthday party or afford all of the groceries that they need, or go to the doctor for an emergency.
With not everybody having healthcare, it makes costs go up for everyone. And what these proposals to eliminate property tax and to eliminate taxes on things that would lead to an increase in goods and services, taxes on X-rays and your doctor's bill, those costs are going to get higher with the current elected representatives here at the state and federal level. So healthcare, making sure everyone can access healthcare, that there are not politicians that are standing in the way of a young woman trying to get healthcare or an older American who deserves to retire with dignity. They should have those options for healthcare without a government or a politician demonizing the way that they access that healthcare. And they should be able to access that healthcare close to where they live.
You know, my opponent, he was one of the guys who made sure that when the Affordable Care Act was passed, that we did not expand Medicaid. Right here in Missouri. And that led to 25 rural hospitals closing. It led to 21 rural nursing homes closing. And what we're going to see in January when the Big Ugly Bill goes into effect is that we are projected to lose 21 more rural hospitals, 25 more rural nursing homes, and those are going to be replaced by these healthcare monopolies that are going to raise up prices even more and then restrict healthcare based on what the religious institution that owns them thinks. So you're going to find that your costs are going to go up for basic goods and services. Fewer people are going to go to the doctor when they really need to get even just some basic preventative care that makes sure that you catch things early, so you don't have to pay a lot more later. These are really common-sense issues that we can address, but it will not be addressed with the leadership that we have right now.
Kaminski: You touched on it a little bit with the property taxes. Obviously, that's another huge issue on this upcoming ballot. Do you have any strong opinions on that property tax proposal or even just Amendment 4 or 5 in general?
Mann: Absolutely. I'm a no on both of them, and I'm very strong in those convictions.
This is not mob rule here in Missouri. Missouri has the ability to put any issue that they want, any issue that the voters want, in their state constitution. And there are rules that actually the threshold should be lowered, not increased. All politicians are trying to do is to protect their own power at the expense of the voice of we the people. And so, yeah, I'm a flat no on Amendment [4], and I'm a flat no on Amendment [5]. You know, we also have labor leaders, union leaders who fought really hard to make sure that right to work did not become a reality here in the state, and their votes have been overridden time and time again. So we need to protect the will of the people to put what they want on the ballot and to advocate for the higher wages, safer job sites, all of those things that will go away if we pass Amendment Four.
Now, Amendment Five. Yes, that's, I'm a no on that as well, because we need to make sure that we are safeguarding our financial future and not steal from a generation, a couple of generations from us to be able to -- really, what we're doing is just bailing out the ultra-wealthy who live here, and some don't even live here. They're just big corporations that are getting bailouts hand over fist. So why don't we just properly tax them? We don't need to allow them to profit. So we need to make sure that the corporations who live here pay their fair share in taxes, not nickel and dime regular voters and citizens who live here over whether they pay a little bit of tax on their car or a lot of a little bit of tax on their house, when really all that is negligible. We learn that if we, if the state of Missouri, just enforce the taxes on private planes, which they refused to do, then maybe we wouldn't be having this discussion or these budget shortfalls that we see.
We see the budget shortfalls not because of anything that us, who are working a 9-to-5 or two or three jobs to make ends meet; they're not seeing those kinds of struggles. This is a bailout for those who have an awful lot at the expense of the very few. We should be making sure that we close those loopholes that mean the ultra-wealthy get ahead at the expense of those of us who work here in the state.
Kaminski: For a voter that's maybe never heard the name Bethany Mann before, how would you best describe yourself and your platform?
Mann: Sure. I am an environmental chemist and a mom of three. I am not a career politician. I built my career fixing problems that working families need to make sure that their food, their water is safe. I started out my career helping farmers and producers test their soybean and their corn or fixing formulation products and their manufacturing line. In the past seven or so years, I've worked more on the industrial side as a water quality expert, helping families test contaminants like lead and forever chemicals from their water. So I am committed. I'm the daughter of an Air Force veteran. He served in the Air Force during the Vietnam days. And he taught me, along with my dad and grandpa, who served in World War II, that public service means that you serve everyone. So, at a time of political division where people are getting pitted against each other for a whole host of social issues, it gives us a chance to bring Missourians together and show a different way of governance. We can return to a government by the people, for the people again, where every voter, every vote counts, and every voter's voice is heard. And we have the possibility to do that here in November.
And so that's what I would say is, regardless of your political affiliation, whether you even vote at all, it's not just about voting against something. It's about voting for something. What is the future that you want to see? What kind of education do you want to see? What kind of workforce do you want your kids to go into? Do you want your kids to go to work, or do you want them conscripted to a war overseas like we've had so many decades worth of forever wars? These are fundamental questions that we need to be asking our communities and turning that inward. You know what? What's your plan to go vote? Are you going to bring some friends? What are you going to do to make sure that your voice is heard? Because the electorate, especially here in Missouri, we have a power that they are so desperate for us to guess that they're going to change the maps and refuse to count votes, and that's just so that they can maintain their power.
So let's take a minute and look around and see 20 years of the same leadership, what is serving us, the people, or is it just helping the handful of those who have, and like 13 to 15 billionaires, and the politicians they bought off to do it? Missourians, Americans, deserve better accountability, transparency, a government, an economy that works for them, and they deserve leaders who are going to talk about bringing costs down, bringing wages up, and rising all boats with an economy that works for everyone.
Kaminski: Finally, I'll leave the door open to you. Is there anything you would like to add you think would be important for people to know we might not have touched on?
Mann: Sure. I think we covered on a lot of the basics. What I would encourage everyone is make a plan to vote. Check your voter registration. Make a plan with two or three other people. Make sure that you all get to the polls. No excuses. Go and vote. This is an election where we are seeing historic levels of voter disenfranchisement from the SAVE Act to gerrymandered maps.
These are the actions of the desperate and the pathetic who would rather rig the maps to create nice little escape routes to not be accountable for their own leadership at the expense of making your family pay for more so that Elon and the DOGE Bros can can do unlimited mining in Missouri through our natural resources while a bunch of do nothing lawmakers in Jeff City and Bob Onder at the federal government will do. So we have the chance to fight back. We the people. Whether it's data center development that violates people's own property sovereignty, rights to clean water, clean air and a future for farming here in this district.
Whether it's the union worker who deserves those higher wages, they deserve record-breaking projects, and they don't deserve to be pit against their own constituency just because those politicians in power do want to divide us and they want to weaken unions and weaken our workforce and weaken our communities. So we're not going to take it anymore. We're going to come out in record numbers. We're already seeing record numbers of voter turnout in St. Charles County, which is so exciting. We believe we've turned St. Charles County blue, and we believe that with the way they've gerrymandered things throughout this district, that whether it's the old legal map from 2024 or the new illegal MAGA map that was proposed by Bob Onder and his friends, that we will beat, not just the super majority, but the ruling powers that have been at work here in the state for 20 years and we will replace it with a government that that is that will service the entire state, that will make us proud here in Missouri of who our leadership is again. And we're going to make sure that the people that we elect are servant leaders who are from the communities, invested in the communities, and not just in the next fly-by-night billionaire who flies into the state and offers a bunch of people money.
Kaminski: Thank you so much for your time.
Mann: Thank you.
