Candidates for 157th and 158th districts outline plans, goals for office

Since August, Republican Clint Tracy has kept a low profile. He's attended a handful of candidate forums and raised a minimal amount of money. But it's nothing compared to the battle he waged to secure a win in the primary for 158th District representative.

Likewise, Scott Lipke has barely campaigned. The Republican from Jackson is running for his fourth and final term in the House in the 157th District.

In both races, no Democrat filed. The only opposition Tracy and Lipke face now is from minor parties.

Both minor party candidates have run subdued campaigns. But by capitalizing on what they call big-government failure by both Democrats and Republicans, especially in light of the economic crisis, they said minor parties could get more traction than in years past.

Tracy is running against Libertarian Robert Roland of Cape Girardeau, and Lipke is running against Constitution Party member Jennifer Friedrich of St. Mary.

Roland, a self-employed environmental consultant, switched from the Republican Party to the Libertarian Party in 2001. This is his first time to seek office.

"Government has gotten out of control. It's grown too much, and there are too many layers of government involved. The Libertarian Party is the only conservative party left," Roland said.

He'd like to see more audits of programs to determine programs that can be scaled back, and he'd put a cap on new programs unless they could "be funded properly." He would spend money on health care, he said. He'd like to restore Medicaid benefits to 2005 levels.

Roland staunchly opposes Prop­osition A, which would limit the number of casinos in operation. He said a future casino here would reduce the local tax burden.

Jennifer Friedrich is running under the Constitution Party banner against Lipke. She also supports limited government, saying America needs to "get back to having elected officials represent people instead of [having] big oil, big war and pharmaceutical companies dictate what's going on in the country."

Friedrich spoke through her campaign manager, Tom Ritter. Because she has cerebral palsy, she has difficulty "speaking fluently enough" to be understood over the phone, Ritter said.

Ritter said Friedrich and her family have had to fight for her rights since her birth, when hospital staff recommended institutionalizing her. She went on to graduate from Jackson High School and Southeast Missouri State University.

She strongly opposes federal acts she says take away privacy, such as the Real ID Act.

Lipke said that if elected his goals would include overhauling criminal laws to bring them in line with one another. The lawyer previously served as chairman of the House Committee on Crime Prevention and Public Safety, but was replaced in January 2007 after a public disagreement with House Speaker Rod Jetton. Lipke said he feels confident he would be "in position" to get his old job back if elected.

Tracy has been vague about specific legislation or spending he would support, whether it be health care or education. Tracy, the general manager for Timberline International Forest Products who also has military experience, signed a no-tax-increase pledge.

"It's hard to tell which issues will come up," he said. "It's all going to boil down to the money available. We'll have to wait and see what the budget will allow us to do."

lbavolek@semissourian.com

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