(AUDIO): Gresham is Missouri Governor-elect Kehoe’s transition director; state employee pay remains priority for Kehoe

By Brian Hauswirth
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Missouri’s governor-elect has named Adam Gresham as his transition director.

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State employees packed Jefferson City’s Truman Building for the February 27, 2023 state employee pay bill-signing ceremony (file photo courtesy of Lt. Governor Mike Kehoe’s Twitter page)

Mr. Gresham will lead the transition team’s efforts to craft the new administration’s state budget, policy priorities and staffing. Governor-elect Mike Kehoe (R) captured 59 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s four-way election to win. Governor-elect Kehoe joined us live on 939 the Eagle’s “Wake Up Mid-Missouri”:

“I think this vote really says a little bit more than just the vote. I think you have to read into it. And (the) read into it is we’re Americans, let’s get going,” Governor-elect Kehoe tells listeners.

We asked Mr. Kehoe about his potential Cabinet during the live interview, and he tells listeners that his Cabinet will represent Missouri and will represent results.

State employee pay has been a priority for Governor-elect Kehoe throughout his Senate career and his six years as lieutenant governor. There are about 14,000 state employees in Jefferson City/Cole County, making state government Jefferson City’s largest employer. Mr. Kehoe tells “Wake Up Mid-Missouri” that state employee pay must be competitive:

“State employees are no different than anywhere else. We have competition in the market that want to hire those state employees. And so we have to be competitive with our pay package, with our compensation. And I’ve got a lot of good respect for the thousands of state employees that we have,” says Governor-elect Kehoe.

State employee pay has also been a top priority for outgoing Governor Mike Parson, a fellow Republican. Governor Parson’s administration has increased state employee pay by more than 20 percent since he took office in 2018. Missouri’s approximately 47,000 state employees received an 8.7 percent pay raise last February.

Governor-elect Kehoe emphasizes state employee pay will also be a priority for him. Parson and Kehoe have been and continue to be political allies and friends.