Joe Poor to run for Missouri Senate

On Monday, March 12, Joe Poor, a Phillipsburg resident, and member of The Missouri Democratic Party, filed as a candidate to represent the people of Missouri’s 28th Senatorial District.

“I’m running to restore equity to our state. We must return the idea to our Capitol that our representatives and senators are elected to act in the interests of the working majority instead of the wealthy minority.”

Joe’s message is simple, “This isn’t about Democrats and Republicans, the real divide is between the haves and have-nots. The real chasm exists between the folks working their tails off to try to make ends meet while our current elected officials undermine their efforts at every turn at the behest of their wealthy donors. It’s time to change that. Whether it be the passage of so-called“Right to Work” laws that have been disastrous for wages in the states that have passed them or the attempts to repeal prevailing wage or the intervention of the legislature in preventing individual cities and counties from increasing their minimum wages to reflect the cost of living, working folks are under attack.”

When elected Joe intends to fight for legislation to empower working Missourians to claim their share of The American Dream. “The first order of business is protecting the rights of employees to collectively bargain to ensure they are treated fairly. When folks are divided they beg, but when united they negotiate, and they get the consideration they deserve. Concurrently, I intend to codify prevailing wage into law to ensure that the skilled craftsmen charged with building our local infrastructure are compensated fairly for their talents”.

Joe is also passionate about rural healthcare. “It’s imperative that Missouri claims the federal dollars we’re currently leaving on the table to expand Medicaid in our state which will protect rural hospitals and the jobs of those that care for us and our children when we are sick or injured. Access to quality healthcare will also allow us to begin to address the opioid crisis that is plaguing our communities and killing our kids. We owe it to our friends and neighbors to make sure we aren’t burying our children before their time.”

The third major point of the campaign is education. “Our kids aren’t getting a fair shake. Missouri spends less and less on education every year and we’re not setting our students up to succeed in the economy of tomorrow. We must ensure our teachers are fairly compensated, that our schools are fully funded, and that they have every tool at their disposal to prepare our kids to be successful, productive members of society.”

This is Joe’s first foray into electoral politics. He has served as the president of a local Democratic organization for the past year and along with a group of similarly minded individuals made a strong case last year to Lebanon City Council to ensure law enforcement has access to the opioid antagonist drug Narcan which stops overdoses. He also helped to organize a demonstration to protect The Affordable Healthcare Act at Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler’s office last year and has helped in bringing many candidates and party officials to the district to talk to local voters.

Joe has been endorsed by Renee Hoagenson, a candidate for The United States House of Representatives, and several other candidates running for state-level offices.

The official campaign website is http://www.joeformo28.com/ and there is a Facebook page of the same name. “I encourage folks to check out my website and see what I’m about. Democrats, Republicans, Independents, it doesn’t matter. This is about working folks who are struggling and the wealthy who aren’t. I’m a normal guy. I work for a living and I understand the struggles we all face. I’m keenly aware of the sinking feeling you get when there’s too much month at the end of the money, and if you’ve ever found yourself in that position, I want to fight for you.”