Reflections: 19th District Missouri State Senate Interviews
Written by Kerry Leary (KOMU 8 News)
After conducting candidate profile interviews with incumbent Republican State Senator Kurt Schaefer and Democrat State Representative Mary Still, KOMU 8 News reporter Kerry Leary shares her thoughts on the candidates’ accessibility and campaign messages:
“I interviewed Kurt Schaefer and Mary Still for the nineteenth district state senate seat.
As the incumbent, Schaefer was well-versed in every question I had for him. At one point, he said, “fire away.” He knew every issue like the back of his hand as well as statistics. He also brought into account his background as a lawyer, an environmental litigator and as the chairman of the appropriations committee. Most questions ended up back to the funding of public schools in mid-Missouri, a topic he’s very serious about. He also brought up the fact that he works with Rep. Chris Kelly on a plethora of issues.
Rep. Mary Still was very pleasant and easy to speak to. She was firm on her promise that she doesn’t stand for “bullying” of corporate businesses and has a passion to stand for her local roots. She focused on her grassroots campaign and also spoke a lot about public school funding and healthcare. She believes her background as a small-town girl as well as living in Columbia for 30 years makes her a good candidate.
Both were easy to access and happily set up interviews with me as soon as their schedules allowed them to.”
