Legislators address voter questions

League of Women Voters hosted the town hall at the public library.

By Greg Young

Published Feb. 6, 2009

Thursday night, the League of Women Voters and the Columbia Public Library hosted a legislative town hall meeting that featured four local elected officials.

The town hall style meeting featured Reps. Mary Still, Chris Kelly and Stephen Webber, all Columbia Democrats, and Sen. Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia.

Two prominent topics at the event were the potential reduction of funds at the Mid-Missouri Mental Health center and alternative energy.

Officials of the League of Women Voters estimated the crowd, consisting of mostly middle age and elderly Columbia residents, at 125 people.

"It was well represented," said Maydell Senn, chair of the LWV Legislative Action Committee. "I thought they were very well-informed, and I was really excited about the Boone County delegation."

After each candidate presented a five-minute opening statement, the event went into a question and answer session with those in attendance. The LWV hosts the legislative forum every year, as well as various candidate forums.

The mental health issue dominated the forum, as almost half of the questions asked related to mental health or the funding of the Mid-Missouri Mental Health Center.

"We know now that one of the most important issues is the mental health situation," Still said. "Those are not things that have been in the paper at all."

Responding to whether he thinks the facility could increase funding, Webber said it would be "lucky" to maintain its current levels.

"It's going to be a battle to keep people from taking away beds," Webber said.

The legislators were also asked about a House bill that would require voters to present a photo ID at the polls.

Schaefer was the only lawmaker to agree with the measure, saying that it was important to protect the "integrity" of voting.

The four legislators found themselves in agreement on various state budget issues.

In particular, Schaefer, who serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Kelly, who serves on the House Budget Committee, agreed about the importance of not reducing funding to the UM system.

"I think that most people appreciate how bad the economic situation is, so the divisive issues tend to be things you can deal with when you have more idle time on your hands," Schaefer said.

Lael Von Holt, the moderator of the event, said he was pleased with the candidates' demeanor, and about the event in general.

"They were very respectful of each other," Von Holt said. "I'm quite pleased with this event. The audience is quite interested with the subjects and I thought they responded quite well to the legislatures."

Allan Sharrock, a candidate for councilman of Columbia's Second Ward, asked about teacher salaries and was pleased with how the event went.

"I thought it was very nice to have them come out her and listen to the citizens of Columbia's concerns, and I thought they did a good job of addressing them," Sharrock said.