Greetings Friends! Well it’s that time of year again. The time when Missouri outdoor enthusiasts put on their orange reflective gear, and head to the woods in effort to bag that trophy buck. This weekend marks the opening of firearm season where the majority of the deer harvesting occurs. Good luck to all you hunters out there and remember Safety First. It was just a few days ago that more than 1.4 million Missourians made their voices heard by voting in the November general election. That sounds like an impressive number, but voter turnout was actually a bit lower than expected this year. Our Secretary of State’s Office had anticipated slightly lower than 40 percent turnout, and the final tally amounted to turnout of just more than 35 percent. Ultimately, that means that while more than 1.4 million Missourians voted, another 2.6 million registered voters opted not to participate in the election. These are numbers we want to continue to work to improve by keeping voting a process that is easy and accessible to all while also making elections safe, secure and free from voter fraud. The Missourians who did take the time to cast their ballots sent Republicans to the state House in record numbers. Never before in the history of Missouri have we seen this many Republicans hold office in the Missouri House. The 117 Republicans elected to serve increased further when a conservative Democrat switched parties the day after the election. The 118-member super majority represents the most members either party has had in the House since 1965-66 when Democrats held 123 seats. It also represents the second highest percentage of seats held by Republicans. The only greater majority for Republicans occurred in 1921-22 when they held 104 out of 142 seats, or 73.2 percent of the total seats in the Missouri House. For the 98th General Assembly, Republicans will control 72.4 percent of the 163 seats. What this means to me and my colleagues is that the people of Missouri have said they believe in the pro-growth, pro-jobs, fiscally conservative, family-oriented values that Republican legislators have fought to defend for more than a decade now as they have controlled the legislature. While we don’t have our agenda for the upcoming session set in stone at this time, we do know that a few key areas will receive our attention: • Economic development incentives that invest in small business • Education initiatives that keep decisions on the local level while also improving job readiness; • Developing new ways to bolster our vital agriculture industry; and •Continuing our efforts to move our state toward energy independence. These are just a few of the goals mentioned by the new members of House leadership that we selected the day after the election. You can be certain that the list will grow and change in the coming weeks as the Republican caucus continues to discuss its priorities, and we continue to take input from the people who have entrusted us to serve as their voice in the halls of government. As always, you have my most sincere thanks for your support and I look forward to again serving you and your family, as well as all of the communities in our district. The next few weeks will be a busy time as we enjoy the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, but I want to remind you that my door is always open, and I am always ready to take your call or email if you have something you want to discuss. I am here to serve you and I greatly value your input on issues both great and small. Please keep that in mind and don’t hesitate to contact me. Thanks again for giving me the immense honor of serving as your state representative. Contact Information: As always, please do not hesitate to call or write me anytime with your questions or thoughts on this or any other issue. My Capitol office is 573.751.0246 and my email is [email protected] Thank you for the honor to serve as your Representative in the Missouri House of Representatives. Working on your behalf, Representative Jim Neely Proudly Serving the 8th House District Clinton, Caldwell, Clay and Ray Counties Missouri House of Representatives 573.751.0246
Posted on: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 22:50:09 +0000
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