Author: Mark Holguin

David Lenihan is the latest guest on Politically Speaking, where the GOP candidate talked with St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum about his candidacy for the 1st District Missouri Senate seat.

Lenihan is running against Democratic state Rep. Doug Beck in the district that takes in parts of unincorporated south St. Louis County, Crestwood, Maplewood and Webster Groves. That part of St. Louis County has typically been competitive.

You can listen to Beck’s episode of Politically Speaking here.

Here’s what Lenihan talked about on the program:

• His support for a constitutional amendment that would expand Medicaid under the auspices of the Affordable Care Act. He also talked about how he would pay for the 10% match Missouri needs to provide under the plan.
• His backing for charter schools, which may become a bigger issue after 2020 if the GOP-controlled Legislature seeks to make it easier for them to set up.
• How Gov. Mike Parson was handling the COVID-19 pandemic and whether the state should adopt a mask mandate.
• His approach to reduce violent crime, which involves increasing access to mental health services.

Lenihan has a doctorate in peripheral neurology from the University of Edinburgh and an MBA from the University of Cambridge. He was dean of Touro’s Medical School, which is located in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City.

After leaving Touro’s, Lenihan purchased Ponce Health Sciences University, which is based in Puerto Rico. He recently announced the university was building a campus in north St. Louis.

Follow Jason Rosenbaum on Twitter: @jrosenbaum

Follow David Lenihan on Twitter: @drdavidlenihan

Music: “Genesis” by Deftones

State Rep. Doug Beck is the latest guest on Politically Speaking, where he spoke with St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum about his bid for Missouri’s 1st Senate District.

The Affton Democrat is running against Republican David Lenihan for the seat, which takes in parts of unincorporated south St. Louis County, Crestwood, Maplewood and Webster Groves. The district is widely seen as one of the more competitive in Missouri.

Lenihan also recorded an episode of Politically Speaking that will be posted in the coming days.

Here’s what Beck talked about on the show:

• The challenges of campaigning for a legislative seat during the COVID-19 pandemic. Typically, candidates for the 1st District spend a lot of time going door-to-door to meet voters. Instead, Beck said his campaign is talking to potential supporters over the phone.
• Why he is opposed to Amendment 3, which would repeal the so-called “Clean Missouri” state legislative redistricting system that voters backed in 2018.
• Why he opposed “right to work,” which barred unions and employers from requiring workers to pay dues as a condition of employment. Even though voters soundly rejected the measure in 2018, Beck, a member of the Pipefitters Union, said the GOP-controlled Legislature may try to revive some form of it next year.
• His opposition to charter schools, which could become a more prominent issue. Efforts to expand charter schools have faltered in the Missouri General Assembly in recent years.

Beck has worked as a pipefitter for more than 30 years. He was first elected in 2016 to represent a south St. Louis County-based district where voters favored the GOP nominee for president, Donald Trump. Beck was also a member of the Affton School Board.

Beck was able to run unopposed in the Democratic primary in his bid for the Senate. The current occupant of that seat, Scott Sifton, D-Affton, is barred from running again due to term limits.

Follow Jason Rosenbaum on Twitter: @jrosenbaum

Follow Doug Beck on Twitter: @dougbeck562

Music: “Ohms” by Deftones

State Sen. Jill Schupp is the latest guest on Politically Speaking, for the record-tying sixth time, to talk about her bid against Rep. Ann Wagner in Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District.

Schupp has served as a state senator in the St. Louis County-based 24th District since 2015. She is seeking to represent portions of St. Louis, St. Charles and Jefferson Counties in Congress.

Wagner has been invited to record an episode of Politically Speaking in the coming days.

Here’s what Schupp talked about during the program:

• Her view on whether to retain the Affordable Care Act. She also responded to Wagner’s contention that Schupp supports “Medicare for All” based on her co-sponsorship of a nonbinding resolution while she was a member of the Missouri House.
• Whether she could work with President Donald Trump if he’s reelected in November, and whether she approved of Wagner’s vote against impeaching him last December.
• Foreign policy, including whether the United States should remain in Afghanistan and her mentality on voting to commit U.S. troops to a foreign conflict.
• How she plans to appeal to Republicans in the 2nd Congressional District.

Schupp is a Creve Coeur resident who was first elected to the Missouri Senate in 2014 in a highly competitive race against Republican Jay Ashcroft, who eventually became secretary of state. Before winning that election, Schupp served in the Missouri House from 2009 to the beginning of 2015.

Schupp also served on the Creve Coeur City Council and the Ladue School Board before being elected to the Missouri General Assembly.

Follow Jason Rosenbaum on Twitter: @jrosenbaum

Follow Jill Schupp on Twitter: @jillschupp

Music: “Change Your Mind” by The Killers

State Rep. Bob Burns is the latest guest on Politically Speaking, where he joined St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Rachel Lippmann to talk about his campaign for the St. Louis County Council’s 6th District seat.

In the Missouri House, Burns represents the 93rd District, which takes in portions of Affton, Lemay and Bella Villa. He’s running against Councilman Ernie Trakas for the right to represent the south St. Louis County-based district. That race is the most competitive general election for a county council seat in November.

Here’s what Burns talked about on the show:

• Even though Burns is a Democrat and Trakas is a Republican, Burns explained how he would vote independently from Democratic County Executive Sam Page on key issues. For instance, Burns said he would have voted against giving Page spending authority over federal coronavirus funds — an issue the council took up this year.
• He discussed why money raised from a half-cent sales tax, known as Proposition P, that passed in 2017 should continue to go toward bolstering police services.
• Burns talked about his mentality toward development in the 6th District. Because so much of that district is unincorporated, the councilman for that area often has to make key decisions when it comes to new housing and business developments.
• He explained why he feels he’s better positioned to win the 6th District race than Trakas, who narrowly won his seat in 2016 over former state Rep. Patricia Yaeger.

Burns is a south St. Louis County native who’s been a beer truck driver, an Affton School Board member and a staffer for U.S. Rep. Dick Gephardt and Sen. Claire McCaskill. After unsuccessfully running for the state House in 2006 against then-Rep. Jim Lembke, Burns emerged victorious in 2012 to represent the 93rd District.

Burns had little trouble getting reelected to the heavily Democratic House seat. He beat two other Democrats earlier this year for the right to take on Trakas for the position on the council.

Follow Jason Rosenbaum on Twitter: @jrosenbaum

Follow Rachel Lippmann on Twitter: @rlippmann

Music: “Walk Hard” by Dewey Cox

Missouri Democratic attorney general nominee Rich Finneran is the latest guest on Politically Speaking. He joined St. Louis Public Radio’s Rachel Lippmann and Jason Rosenbaum to discuss his campaign against Republican incumbent Eric Schmitt.

Finneran defeated Elad Gross in the August Democratic primary for attorney general. He and Schmitt will square off in the Nov. 3 general election. Schmitt has been invited to record an episode of Politically Speaking in the coming days.

Here’s what Finneran discussed on the show:

• Schmitt’s decision to remain in a lawsuit aimed at the Affordable Care Act, which Finneran has made a major element of his campaign. He talked about why he believes the issue has added resonance with the death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
• Democratic gubernatorial nominee Nicole Galloway’s proposal to ensure that insurance companies can’t discriminate against people with preexisting conditions. That’s seen as a backstop of sorts in case the ACA is declared unconstitutional.
• His opinion about an effort to allow the attorney general to intervene in St. Louis homicide cases. Schmitt endorsed that proposal, which did not pass in the now-concluded legislative special session on violent crime.
• Schmitt’s partnerships with the state’s two U.S. attorneys as a means to tamp down violent crime, as well as a bid to remove St. Louis’ residency requirement for police officers.

Finneran is a University City resident who most recently worked for the Bryan Cave law firm. Before that, he served as an assistant U.S. attorney during most of Richard Callahan’s tenure as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri.

Finneran grew up in St. Louis County and got his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina. He received his law degree from Washington University.

Follow Jason Rosenbaum on Twitter: @jrosenbaum

Follow Rachel Lippmann on Twitter: @rlippmann

Follow Rich Finneran on Twitter: @RichFinneran

Music: “First” by Cold War Kids