May 7-2026
🏛️ Issue of the Week: Unchecked Supermajority Power
Summary
Missouri is certainly a diverse state with multiple interests. We have urban, rural, and suburban communities; we have a diverse population in every way- race, religion, age, and economic. While this gives us competing interests, it also gives us strength and versatility. Recognizing all those competing differences is the genius of our representative government structure put in place 250 years ago.
What threatened the country’s birth 250 years ago, is the same thing that threatens it now- a small minority of powerbrokers take more control until the government is not run by the people it is meant to serve, but instead by lobbyists protecting their own financial interests. They create unrepresentative, and unchecked Supermajorities that have almost unlimited power over the legislative process, hurting everyone in the state.
My opponent supports this manipulation completely. In fact, she’s a product of it. Here is what you should know:
Unrepresentative Unchecked Supermajority Power Hurts Us All:
When one party has almost complete control of the legislative process, they can shut down debate, force votes, and override the will of the voters on initiatives passed directly by voters.
• Legislative processes are supposed to bring debate. The idea of a representative government was to get all the competing needs, ideas, and solutions out in the open to discuss them at length. Then hard decisions would be made to benefit the majority of the people- with the interests of the minority included in the solutions. Easy to say, hard to do.
• Supermajorities eliminate the process. When a Supermajority of law makers come from one party, there isn’t discussion. There doesn’t have to be conflicting ideas or creative solutions. They go to their bottom line as quickly as possible. It’s fast, it’s simple, and it assumes that what the powerful want is all that counts.
• As Supermajorities get more powerful, they become more extreme. Power corrupts. In representative government, if you are not representing your constituents, you are voted out. With a Supermajority, your power lies in keeping a small base of voters happy as others give up on the process.
Key District 33 Details
Our current representative won an unopposed general election after defeating the Republican incumbent on the right. The incumbent she defeated, Chris Sander,
had a 100% rating from the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2022. It was not enough.
• To call Former State Representative Chris Sander (Lone Jack) anything but a staunch “Trump” conservative would be incorrect.
• Why would Republicans put a Republican challenger up against him? Because he wouldn’t vote for any anti-trans bills unless he was able to speak about them on the floor (speaking on the floor is a common practice, especially for members of the majority party). This brought his voting record to 87% conservative in 2023.
• Sander’s website specifically stated he was against boys playing in girls’ sports and transgender therapy for minors. He was FOR a discussion about the issue to find solutions. But if common ground is found, the issue goes away for Republicans and then they must answer for cutting funding for schools, seniors and veterans.
• Representative Sander lost by 458 votes out of only 3,918 votes cast in the Republican primary election in 2024. Our current representative is just fine not debating or even discussing issues publicly. She is just fine to do as she is told by the powerbroker leadership with no consideration for her constituency. · For details of this election: https://www.kcur.org/politics-elections-and-government/2024-11-04/a-gay-missouri-republican-defied-his-party-on-only-one-issue-but-it-cost-him-his-house-seat
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A Better Path Forward
Extreme partisanship on either side of the aisle helps none of us- including those in power. We must do this differently, and it needs everyone’s involvement.
• First and foremost, voters must find out what is happening (please refer to my issue of the week from April 16 on the power of local journalism). They also must vote in primary elections, special elections, and off-year elections.
• Candidates must be held to account. I am committed to speaking to groups and knock on doors to meet my busy constituents, listen, and discuss hard issues.
• Representatives must be willing to be open to not voting party lines and be brave enough to face a primary challenger. This is not impossible when they have a relationship with the entire district and not just the voters in their party.
• I am committed to represent EVERY citizen in my district- no matter what party they belong to, or if they belong to no party at all.
Conclusion
While my opponent is not open to discussion or debate on challenging issues, will not answer to the voters, and certainly will not stand up to her own party- I will. Quite frankly, the Missouri 33rd is a widely diverse district. The average Blue Springs voter has very different needs than the average Greenwood voter. This district is so diverse due
to extreme gerrymandering. They broke it intentionally; I will find ways to bring these voters together until we can fix the gerrymandered districts in Missouri. I have every intention of doing that- starting by listening to you.