Letter to the Editor

LETTERS: DEMOCRAT FOR EMERSON

This article comes from our electronic archive and has not been reviewed. It may contain glitches.

To the editor:

In a radio interview on KZIM in September, Emily Firebaugh, Democratic congressional candidate for the 8th District, was asked a call-in question: Who is the person who claims to be a Democrat appearing in those TV ads for Jo Ann Emerson? Mrs. Firebaugh replied, "Oh, that was just some Washington lobbyist."

I am that Democrat. And I am not a Washington lobbyist. Let me tell you who I am. My name is Lester Goodin. I was born, raised and educated in Charleston. After college, Peace Corps service in Nepal in the late 1960s and graduate school at the University of Chicago, in 1972 I returned to my family's farm in Charleston and farmed for 21 years. I moved to Cape Girardeau in 1993 and still work in agriculture as a consultant with Hurley & Associates in Charleston.

I have long been involved in community service. For the record, I have received several awards during the past 24 years in agriculture, land management, flood-control work and conservation: a Missouri Farm Family of the Year in 1978, U.S. Corps of Engineers Commander's Award for Civilian Service in 1986, Missouri Conservation Commission's Soil Conservationist of the Year in 1986, Corps of Engineers Certificate of Commendation in 1989 and the Theodore Roosevelt National Conservation Award in 1991. As you can see, I am involved in my community.

And I have been a lifelong Democrat. I actively supported Bill Burlison against Bill Emerson in 1980. However, I broke with the Democratic Party in 1982 by supporting Bill Emerson for re-election, and is supported him in every election since. I now support Jo Ann Emerson. The reason is simple: Bill Emerson truly put people before politics. He was the most effective congressman our district has ever known. I have known Jo Ann well for the past 16 years as she worked with Bill in our district, and I know she is committed to continuing that tradition.

So I support Jo Ann Emerson, the independent candidates in the general election and the Republican candidate in the special election Nov. 5. The 8th District still needs effective, committed, knowledgeable representation in Congress. Jo Ann knows how to be effective. She it utterly committed to everyone in our district. And because of her experience of the last 16 years working beside Bill in our district, she is knowledgeable about the issues that most concern us all. I know Jo Ann. I know we can expect excellence from her and her fine staff as our congresswoman. I urge all my fellow Democrats to join me in supporting her as well. Missouri's 8th District needs Jo Ann Emerson representing us in Washington.

LESTER GOODIN

Cape Girardeau