Author: Mark Holguin

State Rep. Ashley Bland Manlove is the latest guest on Politically Speaking, where the Kansas City Democrat talked with St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum about election-related bills being considered in the Missouri General Assembly and other pressing issues to come in the last month of session.

Bland Manlove is the chairwoman of the Missouri Legislative Black Caucus. She was first elected to the Missouri House in 2018, easily winning a Democratic primary to succeed House Minority Leader Gail McCann Beatty. She was re-elected in 2020 without serious opposition.

Here’s what Bland Manlove had to say during the show:

• The Black Caucus is closely watching legislation that would reinstate Missouri’s photo identification requirement to vote. It would allow someone without a photo ID to cast a provisional ballot. She said that’s not an acceptable alternative, as provisional ballots aren’t counted at the same time as non-provisional ballots.
• Efforts to make it more difficult to either get initiative petitions on the ballot or pass constitutional amendments. Some Republicans, including Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, are supporting measures that would require a two-thirds majority to place something in the Missouri Constitution.
• The possibility that courts could force the General Assembly to fund Medicaid expansion. Republicans have argued that they don’t have to appropriate money for that measure because there wasn’t a specific funding source in the constitutional amendment that passed in 2020.

Bland Manlove is a Kansas City native whose family has been involved in Missouri politics for decades. Her grandmother, Mary Groves Bland, served in both the House and Senate representing the Kansas City area. Her uncle, Craig Bland, was a member of the House throughout the 2000s.

Before she entered the General Assembly in 2019, Bland Manlove served in the Missouri Army National Guard and worked at the Missouri Department of Transportation.

Follow Jason Rosenbaum on Twitter: @jrosenbaum

Follow Ashley Bland Manlove: @Manlove4M

The We Live Here team balances deep dives into systemic issues with inspiring stories about people working to make a difference in their own communities. So when a listener reached out and introduced us to the work of Jeffrey “JD” Dixon, an activist organizing cleanups and coalitions in East St. Louis, a predominantly Black city in Illinois, we knew that we’d have to drive across the river to share his story. In this episode, we’ll learn about JD’s demand for legislative reform, hear from a political science professor about the legacy of industrial suburbs, and talk to a reporter about how JD is one of many Black residents in the Metro East area of Illinois who are pushing back against environmental racism.

State Rep. Dan Shaul is the latest guest on Politically Speaking, where the Imperial Republican talked with St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum about a host of issues around Missouri elections — and expectations for congressional redistricting later this year.

Shaul is the chairman of the House Elections Committee, as well as a special House committee overseeing congressional redistricting. He was first elected to the Missouri House in 2014 and will be barred from running again after 2022 by term limits. He is one of several Republicans who announced their bids for a Jefferson County-based Senate seat.

Here’s what Shaul talked about during the show:

• Why lawmakers want to pursue a three-week period when voters could cast absentee ballots in person with no excuse. Currently, Missourians have to provide one of a number of excuses in order to vote absentee — including being out of town or being physically incapacitated.
• Why the legislature was trying to reenact Missouri’s photo identification requirement to vote. That measure was effectively made inactive by a Missouri Supreme Court decision.
• Other election-related ideas, including increasing the number of signatures required to get something on the statewide ballot and increasing the percentage of the vote needed to pass a constitutional amendment.
• With lawmakers expected to convene this winter to vote on congressional redistricting, Shaul provided his take about the expectations and priorities for Republicans who will control the process. This is the first time in modern Missouri history that Democrats haven’t controlled either a legislative branch or the governorship during a redistricting year.

When Shaul was first elected to the Missouri House, a slew of Republicans managed to win seats in Jefferson County. Since his first win, Shaul has won reelection by increasingly wider margins as the county gravitated more to the Republican Party.

In addition to his legislative duties, Shaul is the executive director of the Missouri Grocers Association. Before he started working in the grocery industry, Shaul served in the Air Force.

Follow Jason Rosenbaum on Twitter: @jrosenbaum

Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz returns to Politically Speaking to talk with St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jaclyn Driscoll about a host of issues the Missouri General Assembly could take up in the second half of the 2021 session.

Schatz is a Republican from Sullivan who was elected to represent Missouri’s 26th District in 2014. He was reelected in 2018 and was picked by his caucus as the president pro tem after the 2018 election season. Schatz will be barred by term limits from running for the Senate after 2022.

Here’s what Schatz talked about during the show:

• Whether the Senate may add funding for Medicaid expansion to the state budget. The Missouri House declined to expand the health care program last week — and a failure of the Senate to act could mean the issue is heading to court.
• His bid to increase Missouri’s gas tax, a measure that passed out of the Senate but faces an uncertain fate in the House.
• Whether lawmakers could institute a period of time for voters to cast absentee ballots in person without an excuse. He also discussed why he would be in favor of requiring a government-issued photo ID to vote absentee in person.
• Whether Missouri’s candidate filing deadline could have to be pushed back — and whether he could be a candidate for the U.S. Senate next year.

Schatz represents all of Franklin County and most of western St. Louis County. As pro tem, he is responsible for appointing committee chairs and directing legislation to committees.

Schatz’s family owns a utility contracting business.

Follow Jason Rosenbaum on Twitter: @jrosenbaum

Follow Jaclyn Driscoll on Twitter: @DriscollNPR

Follow Dave Schatz: @DaveSchatz26

On the latest episode of Politically Speaking, House Budget Chairman Cody Smith talks with St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jaclyn Driscoll about this year’s budget process — which has drawn more attention than usual because of the battle over expanding Medicaid.

Smith represents Missouri’s 163rd District, which takes in parts of Jasper County. The Carthage Republican has served as chairman of the powerful Budget Committee since the 2019 legislative session.

Here’s what Smith talked about on the show:

• Why his GOP colleagues declined to expand Medicaid under the auspices of the Affordable Care Act. He answered questions about whether the move runs counter to a constitutional amendment that passed last year expanding the health care program.
• Whether the state portion of Medicaid expansion could essentially be paid for a lengthy period of time through federal American Rescue Plan funding.
• Whether a direct funding source could be found to pay for Medicaid expansion if cost savings don’t materialize and after American Rescue Plan funding runs out.
• A measure he’s handling that would tie Missouri’s minimum wage to the federal minimum wage.

Smith was first elected to the Missouri House in 2016, and reelected to his post in 2018 and 2020. His GOP-leaning district includes Carthage, Carl Junction, Oronogo and Webb City.

In addition to his legislative duties, Smith is the owner of a company that seeks to prevent disease from spreading in health care facilities.

Follow Jason Rosenbaum on Twitter: @jrosenbaum

Follow Jaclyn Driscoll on Twitter: @DriscollNPR

Follow Cody Smith on Twitter: @cody4mo