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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

St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner is the latest guest on Politically Speaking. She joined St. Louis Public Radio’s Rachel Lippmann to talk about the November general election and long-term solutions to crime. It’s the first time the Democrat has had a Republican opponent for circuit attorney. You can find the podcast with her challenger, Daniel Zdrodowski, here.

Here’s what Gardner discussed on the show:

• How her plans for the office, which focus on addressing the causes of crime like poverty and trauma, will make a city reeling from nearly 200 homicides safer in the short term. “Most violent cases in the city of St. Louis are unsolved because of two things: lack of victim and witness participation, and lack of evidence,” Gardner said. “These programs I’m talking about build trust and confidence in the system to make people come forward.”
• What she would have wanted to see addressed in a legislative special session in violent crime. Lawmakers eliminated the residency requirement for St. Louis first responders and passed an unfunded witness protection fund. Gardner says they should have approved new gun restrictions and boosted funding for social services.
• That she expects to get as much, or more, national attention than she did during the August primary. “Reform-minded prosecutors like myself are under attack by many federal actors, as we see, led by President Donald Trump and many other people who want to political pander their failed leadership to deal with this COVID-19 crisis,” she said.

Gardner beat her Democratic opponent, Mary Pat Carl, 61% to 39% in August.

Follow Rachel on Twitter: @rlippmann

Follow Kim Gardner on Twitter: @StLouisCityCA

Music: “Unstoppable,” by Koryn Hawthorne, featuring Lecrae

State Rep. Raychel Proudie joined St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jaclyn Driscoll to talk about the jarring end to the 2020 special session on violent crime, which saw some of Gov. Mike Parson’s policy priorities fall by the wayside.

Proudie is a Ferguson Democrat who represents the 73rd District, which includes parts of Ferguson, Berkeley, Kinloch, St. Ann and Hazelwood. She was first elected in 2018 and is unopposed for re-election in November.

Here’s what Proudie had to say on the show:

• Her reaction to the end of the special session last week. Her House colleagues declined to take up several initiatives that Parson championed, most notably a bill that would have allowed the attorney general to intervene in St. Louis homicide cases under certain circumstances.
• Her opposition to an early childhood education sales tax that was the subject of a committee hearing in Jefferson City. St. Louis County Council Chairwoman Lisa Clancy, who sponsored that proposal, talked about that issue on last week’s episode of Politically Speaking.
• Alternative ideas to allocate more funds for early childhood education, including examining whether to use excess money from the Special School District of St. Louis or the Children’s Services Fund. She also talked about whether state lawmakers could help in developing an alternative plan.
• Proudie recently organized a cleanup effort in Kinloch that attracted prominent Missouri elected officials from both political parties. She discussed a need to put pressure on public property owners, including the city of St. Louis and St. Louis County, to clean up the historical Black community.

Proudie is a Ferguson native who received her undergraduate degree in elementary education from Grambling State University and her master’s degree in mental-health counseling from Southern University and A&M College. She also is a doctoral candidate at Grambling State.

She spent some of her classroom-teaching career in Louisiana and also served as a school counselor in the Riverview Gardens School District. She earned teaching certifications in Missouri, Illinois, Louisiana and Texas.

Proudie is the chairwoman of the House Urban Issues Committee. She also serves on the House committees dealing with elementary and secondary education and higher education.

Follow Jason Rosenbaum on Twitter: @jrosenbaum

Follow Jaclyn Driscoll on Twitter: @DriscollNPR

Follow Raychel Proudie on Twitter: @rcproudie

Music: “Back That Thang Up” by Juvenile

Former state Rep. Vicki Englund is the latest guest on Politically Speaking, where she spoke with St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jaclyn Driscoll about her campaign for state treasurer.

Englund is squaring off against Republican state Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick, who recorded an episode of Politically Speaking earlier this month.

Here’s what Englund discussed on the show:

• How Englund, who worked in various capacities within the small business community, wants to use the state treasurer’s office to spur entrepreneurship.
• How she would infuse racial diversity into the treasurer’s office by partnering with historically Black colleges and universities — such as Lincoln University in Jefferson City.
• The 2017 decision to freeze the incentive that provides housing for poor, elderly and disabled Missourians. The state treasurer has a seat on the Missouri Housing Development Commission, which is poised to restart the state low-income housing credit.
• Why her competitive state legislative contests from 2008 to 2016 prepared her well to run for statewide office. She also discussed how during the primary campaign, in which she was unopposed for the Democratic nomination, she supported a ballot item expanding Medicaid — a measure that Fitzpatrick opposed.

Englund is a south St. Louis County native, a graduate of Lindbergh High School and of American University in Washington, D.C. She ventured back to St. Louis County in 2001 to work for the county’s economic development department.

From 2008 to 2016, Englund ran against Republican Cloria Brown for a seat representing portions of south St. Louis County in the Missouri House. Englund prevailed in 2008 and 2012, while Brown won in 2010, 2014 and 2016.

In 2011, between House terms, Englund was elected to the Lindbergh School Board. During her last legislative term from 2013 to 2015, Englund joined a handful of legislators around the state who simultaneously served on their school board.

Follow Jason Rosenbaum on Twitter: @jrosenbaum

Follow Jaclyn Driscoll on Twitter: @DriscollNPR

Follow Vicki Englund on Twitter: @venlund

Music: “Love Has Lead Us Astray” by Thursday