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Missouri Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick returns to Politically Speaking to talk with St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jaclyn Driscoll about his bid for a full four-year term.

The Republican statewide officeholder is squaring off against Democrat Vicki Englund in November. Englund’s episode of Politically Speaking will be posted later this week.

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

• He went through some of the highlights of his partial term, including partnering with the Department of Social Services to have unclaimed property used to pay outstanding child support.
• His role in heading up a task force recommending where federal coronavirus funds should go, as well as efforts to make sure that some of that money went directly to county health departments.
• A draft plan to restart the state low-income housing tax credit, which could get final approval later this month. During his last appearance on Politically Speaking, Fitzpatrick talked in depth about his efforts to overhaul the incentive to develop housing for low-income, disabled and elderly Missourians.
• During the primary season, Fitzpatrick spoke out against a ballot initiative expanding the state’s Medicaid program. He explained why he opposed that measure and why he thinks it’s not a good policy for the state.

Fitzpatrick served three full terms in the Missouri House, including two years as the chairman of the powerful House Budget Committee. Gov. Mike Parson appointed the Barry County Republican to be treasurer in early 2019 after Eric Schmitt was picked to be attorney general.

Fitzpatrick is a native of Shell Knob, a community about 40 miles from Branson. He started a dock-repair business while he was in high school, a company that grew dramatically while he was in college.

After state Rep. David Sater term-limited out of the House, Fitzpatrick won a Republican primary for his seat – the real contest in the heavily GOP district. He became House Budget chairman in 2017, which gave him a major say over how to craft Missouri’s spending priorities.

Follow Jason Rosenbaum on Twitter: @jrosenbaum

Follow Jaclyn Driscoll on Twitter: @DriscollNPR

Follow Scott Fitzpatrick: @MOTreasurer

Music: “Tell the Truth” by Derek and the Dominos

St. Louis County Councilwoman Lisa Clancy is the latest guest on Politically Speaking, where she joined St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum to talk about efforts to drum up more money for early childhood education programs.

Clancy is a Maplewood Democrat who was elected to represent the St. Louis County Council’s 5th District in 2018. She currently serves as the chairwoman of the council.

Here’s what Clancy discussed during the program:

• A proposal to raise sales taxes to fund early childhood education programs. That measure was shelved after it ran into a wave of bipartisan criticism, including from Councilwoman Rita Days, D-Bel Nor.
• How Page is managing the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the council’s decision to give the Democratic chief executive spending authority over federal coronavirus funds.
• Some big changes to Page’s administration, including the departures of Hazel Erby as the county’s diversity, equity and inclusion director and Raul Banasco as head of the agency that runs the county’s jail.
• With the county council’s alliances and membership shifting, whether the council is about to become more hostile to Page in the coming months.

Clancy has a master’s degree in social work and has worked for about a decade with nonprofit groups. In 2018, Clancy successfully challenged incumbent Pat Dolan, who at the time was then-St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger’s lone ally on the county council.

She was elected as the chairwoman of the council in 2020, and for most of the year has held together a four-member coalition of the council’s four Democratic members. But that coalition is becoming less stable, especially as Days has become more critical of Page’s major initiatives.

Follow Jason Rosenbaum on Twitter: @jrosenbaum

Follow Lisa Clancy on Twitter: @lisadclancy

Music: “Better Man” by Pearl Jam

State Rep. Deb Lavender is the latest guest on the Politically Speaking podcast, where she talks with St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum about running in the 15th Senate District.

The district takes in portions of south central and southwest St. Louis County, which includes Kirkwood, Ballwin, Manchester, Twin Oaks and Valley Park. Lavender is squaring off against Sen. Andrew Koenig, a Manchester Republican who won the seat in 2016 by nearly 20 percentage points.

Koenig is slated to record an episode of Politically Speaking in October.

Here’s what Lavender talked about on the show:

• Missouri’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, including whether the state should implement a mask mandate. Gov. Mike Parson has decided against such a move, while his Democratic opponent, state Auditor Nicole Galloway, has backed it.
• Whether the Legislature could provide any guidance for schools struggling to decide whether to teach students in person or virtually this year due to the pandemic.
• The successful ballot initiative to expand Medicaid, which she supported. And she talked about how she would follow through on that constitutional amendment if she were elected to the Senate.
• Koenig’s sponsorship of legislation that banned most abortions at eight weeks of pregnancy, which is one of the reasons Lavender jumped into the race. She explained why she opposed that measure, which is currently being challenged in court.

Lavender is a physical therapist who garnered a reputation for persistence, running for the House in 2008, 2010 and 2012, losing each time to then-incumbent Rick Stream, R-Kirkwood.

When Stream had to leave the House due to term limits in 2014, Lavender won the 90th District House seat against Republican Gina Jaksetic, but it was a narrow victory — making her a big Republican target in 2016. She ended up winning by a wider margin of victory over Republican Mark Milton. And she ran unopposed for a third term in 2018.

Originally, Lavender was planning to run for a fourth term in the House in 2020. But she chose instead to run against Koenig after the passage of his abortion legislation caused an outcry among Democrats supportive of abortion rights. Since getting into the race, Lavender has raised more money than Koenig in a seat that historically has been Republican-leaning.

Follow Jason Rosenbaum on Twitter: @jrosenbaum

Follow Deb Lavender on Twitter: @DebLavender

Music: “Purple Rain” by Prince

The Republican nominee for St. Louis circuit attorney, Daniel Zdrodowski, is the latest guest on Politically Speaking. He joined St. Louis Public Radio’s Rachel Lippmann to discuss his philosophy for the office and his strategy in his campaign against incumbent Democrat Kim Gardner.

Gardner has also received an invitation to record an episode of Politically Speaking.

Here’s what Zdrodowski talked about on the show:

• How he believes Gardner’s refusal to prosecute certain cases, for a variety of reasons, has led to a spike in violent crime in St. Louis. As of Wednesday, there had been 191 people killed in the city — just three fewer than all of last year. The city is on pace for nearly 270 homicides, which could set a new record.
• His mixed feelings about legislation pending in the Missouri House of Representatives that would allow the state attorney general to prosecute first- and second-degree murder cases under certain circumstances. While Zdrodowski generally opposes state government meddling in local affairs, he said, “I believe that the city has gotten so bad that any necessary help should be welcomed or at least be open to.”
• How campaigning in north St. Louis could make the race close, even in a heavily Democratic city. “I’m getting to know the voters out there, getting to hear what things are their biggest concerns, and letting them know there is an alternative option to the Democrats,” he said.

Zdrodowski had stints as a boarding house operator, a bouncer and a country recording artist before attending law school at St. Louis University. He then spent six years at firms throughout the St. Louis region handling a variety of cases before starting his own firm.

He was one of Mayor Lyda Krewson’s original nominees to the Board of Freeholders but withdrew from the process so he could run for office.

Follow Rachel on Twitter: @rlippmann

Music: “Spring,” by Antonio Vivaldi, performed by the Classical Concert Chamber Orchestra

Democratic lieutenant governor nominee Alissia Canady is the latest guest on Politically Speaking, where she joined St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jaclyn Driscoll to discuss her run against GOP incumbent Mike Kehoe.

Kehoe is slated to record an episode of Politically Speaking in the coming weeks.

Canady easily won the Democratic nomination for the post last month against Greg Upchurch.

Here’s what Canady discussed on the show:

• How her upbringing in eastern Kansas City and going to law school in South Dakota shaped her worldview. She also talked about how her experience as a city council member in Kansas City made her ready to take on the lieutenant governorship.
• Her mindset toward the low-income housing tax credit, an incentive aimed at cultivating housing for the poor, elderly and veterans. The lieutenant governor holds a seat on the Missouri Housing Development Commission, which appears ready to restart the state program that’s been dormant for close to three years.
• Her view of the special legislative session that’s focusing on violent crime. While some of the items have passed with bipartisan support, ideas such as allowing the attorney general to intervene in St. Louis homicide cases had more opposition.
• How she could use the responsibility of presiding over the Senate to help Democrats in the GOP-dominated chamber.

Canady is an attorney who served as a Kansas City Council member for one term. She ran for mayor in 2019 and narrowly missed making the runoff in a contest that Quinton Lucas eventually won.

Before she ran for public office, Canady served as an assistant Jackson County prosecutor. She’s a graduate of South Dakota State University Law School.

Follow Jason Rosenbaum: @jrosenbaum

Follow Jaclyn Driscoll: @DriscollNPR

Follow Alissia Canady: @alissiacanady

Music: “L.E.S. Artistes” by Santigold