MU grad. runs for Baker’s seat
April 18, 2008
Sean Spence, a candidate for the 25th district of the Missouri House of Representatives, talks with Columbia residents Ray Shapiro and Jane Burnett Wednesday at Shakespeare’s Pizza. Spence sponsored the event Pizza & Politics to discuss issues that concern voters.
State auditor spokesman Sean Spence is the candidate who’s most connected with students, said Nate Kennedy, Young Democrats of Missouri College Federation chairman.
Spence held a meeting Wednesday, providing Shakespeare’s Pizza for supporters to eat while they talked with the candidate about his campaign. Spence said the evening was intended to be an interactive event where attendees could talk about issues with him.
Spence is running for state representative in the 25th district, the seat held by Rep. Judy Baker, D-Columbia.
Spence, 37 and an MU graduate, said he has wanted to run for the 25th district seat since he was 18 years old. Spence said he thinks it is important to run his campaign at the grassroots level, getting to know people personally.
“I think people care about those who care about them,” Spence said. “I think that too often the leaders think about the university and forget about the students.”
Spence said he started talking to the MU College Democrats at the beginning of his campaign and built relationships with students from there.
“Getting to know people is just about talking to them,” Spence said. “I’ve tried to build this campaign one person at a time by shaking people’s hands, knocking on their doors and giving them calls.”
Spence said if elected, he plans to continue similar forums as meeting students for pizza. He said he would also like to meet with students in residence halls and fraternity and sorority houses, as well as continue to communicate with supporters through Facebook.com.
“Sean Spence has been accessible to college students, and has reached out to us through things like Facebook,” Kennedy said. “He’s really connected with students.”
Spence recently paid a visit to the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity house after a chapter meeting. Sigma Phi Epsilon President Afshin Hatami said Spence discussed his campaign with the fraternity while registering members of the house to vote.
“It was nice that he came and talked to us,” Hatami said. “It seemed like he really cares about students and could really help Mizzou if he were elected.”
Hatami said a former member of the fraternity works on the Spence campaign and got the candidate to come to the house. He said Spence is the first candidate to visit the house.
“People are seeing his face and learning his name,” Hatami said. “He seems closely connected with students, and that will definitely help him get elected.”
Kennedy said Spence will be a representative and voice for students in Jefferson City.
Spence said he has plans to lower tuition costs for all Missouri state schools by reworking the funding formula to more evenly benefit Missouri students.
“To me, the biggest economic resource we can have is an educated, healthy populace,” Spence said.
One idea Spence said he wants to promote is to give to MU and other state schools $100 million the state has allocated to a St. Louis housing developer. Spence said the money could pay for 17,000 students to attend MU for one year.
“There are students that are getting shorted all over the state,” Spence said. “I want to be their voice in Missouri.”
Spence said he would also like to focus his time on meeting people’s basic needs of employment and insurance.
“Campaigns shouldn’t be just about personality, they should be about issues and ideas,” he said. “I’m working really hard to be the issue-oriented candidate.”
Spence said if elected, he would like to continue meeting with people and working directly on the issues that affect them.
“When government is at its best, government is the materialization of people working together,” Spence said.
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