By BRENT MARTIN

St. Joseph Post

A state representative from St. Joseph faces opposition in his
race for his fourth and final term.

Rep. Bill Falkner, a Republican, discussed a variety of issues
Tuesday along with Democrat Andrew Gibson, his challenger, during a candidate
forum sponsored by the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce.

Falkner supports a tax incentive package that would give incentives
for child care providers to expand and for businesses to help employees pay for
child care, among other things. But Falkner said the issue goes beyond that.

“One of the things that we can do is take a look at all the
regulations we have placed on child care,” Falkner told an audience gathered at
the Stoney Creek Hotel and Conference Center. “We want to make it safe for the
kids, but we do not want to tie the hands to where the providers of this
service can’t afford to do it.”

The candidate forum that also featured the two candidates
running for the 13th Missouri state representative district as well
as the two candidates up for Buchanan County Western District Commissioner was
broadcast live on KFEQ and streamed live on St. Joseph Post.

The child care package has been carried during the last two
legislative sessions by St. Joseph state Rep. Brenda Shields and received the
backing of Gov. Mike Parson and the Missouri Chamber of Commerce.

Gibson said the failure of the legislature to approve the
package the past two years reflects poorly on Republicans.

“The fact that they couldn’t come to some kind of agreement
this year just kind of highlights the dysfunction of the super majority,”
according to Gibson. “Why are we not attacking the problems of people that this
affects all over, especially within our state?”

Republicans hold a 111 to 51 majority in the Missouri House and a 23 to 9 majority in the Missouri Senate.

Falkner is running for his fourth term in the Missouri House. Term
limits would prohibit him from running again.

Both Falkner and Gibson favor Amendment 2 on the ballot in
November. It would legalize sports betting in Missouri. They differ on
Amendment 3, which would overturn Missouri’s ban on abortion.

Falkner opposes Amendment 3 and advocated changing how easily
the state constitution can be amended.

“Once we vote on something for constitutional changes, we can’t
fix it down in Jefferson City,” Falkner said. “It’s got to go back to the vote
of the people at additional expense to run that election. And so, we found it
in the marijuana issue. That’s why I would support that.”

Missouri voters legalized the use of recreational marijuana in
2022.

Gibson urged voters to do their homework to overcome
misinformation on the issues which will be decided in November.

“That’s very disheartening for me when I’ve knocked on
hundreds of doors, made hundreds of calls this summer only to turn around and
see this misinformation machine is being churned,” Gibson stated. “There’s a
lot of misinformation out there right now about Amendment Three and the things
that’s in there, the things that’s not in there. And it’s time to restore a woman’s
right to choose. This was the law of the land for 50 years.”

The Missouri General Assembly had one of its least productive legislative
sessions in its history this year, approving only 28 bills that were not
related to the $47 billion state budget. It approved the state budget without the Senate
and House meeting in a conference committee, unheard of in a legislative
session.

Falkner said some of the Senate Republicans who regularly
gummed up the works in Jefferson City will not be in the legislature next year,
but added it’s not always a bad thing when few bills pass.

“Because a lot of times we’re working on bills that we passed
hastily, trying to fix them the following years to come,” Falkner said. “I really
believe and I have faith that these next two years will be a very good session
for the state of Missouri as a whole.”

Gibson acknowledged that if he would defeat Falkner and win election
to the 10th District, he would likely find himself in the minority
party at the state Capitol.

“Obviously, it’s no secret, yes, we would be in a very small
minority,” Gibson conceded. “But I look forward to working across the aisle and
making things happen for the people of Missouri and I think that everyone is down
there for that same reason.  And it shouldn’t
really be that hard. We just got to find those common shared values and make
sure that we’re all there for the same reason.”

You can follow Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.