Archive for December 2021

Missouri’s Senate minority leader sees both the campaign ambitions of legislators and the task of redistricting as factors that will shape how the 2022 session goes.

On the latest edition of Politically Speaking, Senate Minority Leader John Rizzo spoke with St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Sarah Kellogg on how the once-a-decade task of redistricting and the 2022 election are likely to overshadow the upcoming legislative session.

Rizzo is a Democrat whose district includes Independence, Sugar Creek and parts of Kansas City. Voters reelected him to serve in the Senate in 2020.

Here’s what Rizzo talked about on the show:

• His expectations for the upcoming legislative session. Rizzo believes the 2022 election will create a desire for candidates to garner media attention and create attention-grabbing legislation.
• Opportunities for bipartisan cooperation. One area where Rizzo sees a possibility to work across the aisle is in developing a “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” which is legislation he has already filed for the upcoming session. 
• The budget for the coming year, including how to spend billions of dollars from the federal government in COVID-19 relief and infrastructure funding, and whether he thinks Medicaid expansion will be a point of contention in the Senate. 
• Missouri’s mitigation strategies against COVID-19 and how a lack of a statewide mandate affects the state’s ability to fight the pandemic. 

Rizzo was first elected to represent District 11 in the Senate in 2016. Prior to his work in the Senate, he served in the House from 2010 until 2016. Outside of his duties as a lawmaker, Rizzo is a marketing consultant.
Follow Jason Rosenbaum on Twitter: @jrosenbaum

Follow Sarah Kellogg on Twitter: @sarahkkellogg

Follow Sen. John Rizzo on Twitter: @JohnJRizzo

On a first-of-its-kind episode of Politically Speaking, St. Louis Public Radio’s Sarah Kellogg and Jason Rosenbaum answer your questions about Missouri policy and politics.

Kellogg and Rosenbaum solicited queries from various social media sites, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and, most successfully, Reddit’s Missouri Politics page. The questions the two reporters tackled include:

• What led to the decline of the Missouri Democratic Party over the past 10 years? It has a lot to do with a collapse in the party’s support in rural and suburban parts of the state. Also, changes to campaign finance law and national voting trends played a role in the disintegration of the party’s coalition.
• What happens in Missouri if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade? A measure the legislature approved in 2019, which is under litigation, would ban all abortions with the exception of medical emergencies if Roe v. Wade is overturned. 
• How will congressional redistricting in Missouri shake out, and is Congressman Emanuel Cleaver vulnerable to being drawn into an unfavorable district? It’s not likely Republicans who control the legislature will create an unwinnable district for Cleaver, but it’s not out of the question that the new 5th District could be less Democratic than it is now — and more competitive in a very strong election cycle for Republicans.
• What issues are out there in Missouri on which Republicans and Democrats work together? The two parties appear to work together on issues that affect children. Democrats and Republicans also came together to pass a prescription drug monitoring program, which was finally approved after years of stops and starts.

This episode also delves into some lesser-discussed aspects of Missouri state government, including how the Conversation Department works — and why the Missouri Senate has superior coffee to the Missouri House’s.

Follow Sarah Kellogg on Twitter: @sarahkkellogg 

Follow Jason Rosenbaum on Twitter: @jrosenbaum