This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Oct. 30, 2012 - On Nov. 6, Missouri voters will determine, to a large extent, the direction the state takes for the next four years. Among the statewide races they will decide is the lieutenant governor’s seat. I take seriously the responsibility voters have given me in that post since 2004. I hope they will give me another term.
As lieutenant governor, I have championed issues affecting Missouri’s seniors and veterans. As the official Senior Advocate, and during my service in the state Senate, I have worked tirelessly on behalf of our state’s seniors.
I’m proud to have sponsored and passed the Elderly Protection Act of 2003, which increased the penalties for elder abuse victims. With my leadership, Missouri crafted the Senior Rx plan, providing prescription drug coverage for the poorest seniors. The participation in that program, under my leadership, has grown from a few thousand participants to well over 200,000 seniors who now use the benefit.
In 2006, I was instrumental in passing the Assisted Living Bill, which gives seniors more options and choice in the type of long-term care facility they want to call home.
I continue to fight to protect funding for vital services to Missouri’s seniors. In last year’s budget, Gov. Nixon withheld funding for the state’s Meals on Wheels program. I vigorously advocated for him to restore the entire $941,000 budgeted for this vital program. Half of the funding was restored last year and in this year’s legislative session, the General Assembly supported funding for Meals on Wheels that restores some of the money cut from the budget three years ago.
I also continue to be active in the Alzheimer’s Task Force, created in 2009. While continually working to improve services and care for Missouri seniors, I also have made it a priority – through the lieutenant governor’s Senior Service Award – to recognize those seniors who go above and beyond to serve their communities.
Since launching the program in 2005, I’ve presented the award to more than 200 seniors whose unselfish, volunteer work and caring hands have touched the lives of too many Missourians to count.
I also have led the fight on issues affecting Missouri’s veterans. I have no duty that is more important than honoring the service of the men and women who have risked their lives in service to their country.
In 2005, I proposed and helped to pass the Missouri Military Family Relief Fund, which benefits family members of Missouri service men and women who have been called to active duty. This year I launched a program similar to the Senior Service Awards for Missouri veterans who give of their time and talents to help their communities.
In my next administration, I will advocate to provide tax credits to businesses that hire returning War on Terror veterans. I believe Missouri should be at the forefront of states’ efforts to help our war veterans.
Other accomplishments in my first two terms include the Missouri Mentor Initiative, a program that encourages state employees to mentor children. I also ensured funding for the Amachi Program that assists Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Missouri to mentor children whose parents are incarcerated in Missouri prisons.
As a member of the Missouri Tourism Commission, I was instrumental in establishing the Tour of Missouri, an international professional bicycle race, and served as its chairman. The race brought athletes to Missouri from more than 20 countries; and during its three-year run, it attracted an estimated 1.2 million spectators and created a direct economic impact of $80 million. Unfortunately, this successful tour was cancelled from 2010 onward by Gov. Nixon.
I have worked hard to cut costs in my office. Since 2009, my budget has decreased nearly 10 percent. In spite of those decreases, I have returned to state taxpayers an average of 7.5 percent of my budget during that span. I also have saved taxpayers’ money by paying all of my official travel expenses since 2009.
I now am reorganizing my office to take aim at waste, mismanagement and inefficiency in government statewide. The lieutenant governor’s waste report will be a website created to call attention to, investigate and help eliminate waste in government.
These are just a few of the things I’ve accomplished as your lieutenant governor. I am proud to serve our great state and look forward to continuing to fight for Missourians another four years.
Peter Kinder is the Republican ca dilate for Missouri lieutenant governor.