93.9 The Eagle – The News and Talk of Columbia, MO
A state lawmaker from western Missouri’s Excelsior Springs has formally announced his candidacy for a state Senate seat that includes three mid-Missouri counties.
State Rep. Doug Richey (R-Excelsior Springs), who chairs the Missouri House Special Committee on Government Accountability, is in his third House term in Jefferson City. Richey has also been involved in pastoral ministry for 25 years.
“What positions me uniquely in this respect is that I recognize that no matter what industry a person works within, they matter. And I know how to communicate with people from all walks of life, no matter what their professional responsibilities are,” Richey says.
The sprawling six-county district includes Cooper, Howard and Saline counties in the 939 the Eagle listening area. It also includes Lafayette and Ray counties, and part of Clay county. Former State Rep. Chuck Basye (R-Rocheport) was on the host committee for Richey’s campaign announcement. The Senate seat is currently held by State Sen. Denny Hoskins (R-Warrensburg), who’s being forced out of the Legislature in 2024 by term limits.
Representative Richey chairs the Joint Committee on Education and serves on the House Budget Committee. Richey, who’s finishing his third term in the House, tells 939 the Eagle that the state budget has increased from about $28-billion to about $50-billion during that timeframe.
“We all know that there’s coming a day where that kind of growth, I mean it’s just number one it’s not sustainable. But we’re doing to have to make some hard decisions in terms of how to begin to cut that budget back down to what’s more reasonable,” says Richey.
He says there is a disconnect between the way the bureaucracy functions and what Missourians need or expect.
“There are times where state bureaucracy will get into the realm of rule-making. It’s independent of the legislative process, and yet it has the weight or force of law. And it just begins to create challenges for Missouri residents in a way that is not helpful,” Representative Richey says.
Richey was considering a run for Speaker. He says constituents and colleagues encouraged him to run for the state Senate seat, because he could have more effective as a state senator than as Speaker.
Representative Richey officially announced his run last (Tuesday) night at the Home Place in Camden. Former House Speaker Tim Jones served as the emcee.
