Former police officer, disabled vet vie for state representative seat

Former Cape Girardeau police officer Barry Hovis and disabled veteran Tony LaForest will square off in the Republican primary election in August for the 146th District state representative seat.

The winner will face Democratic candidate Gayla Dace of Oak Ridge in the November general election for the seat being vacated by state Rep. Donna Lichtenegger, R-Jackson, who is term limited.

The legislative district covers most of Cape Girardeau County, including Jackson.

State representatives are paid an annual salary of $35,915, according to the state manual.

Both men insist their diverse experiences would benefit them as lawmakers.

Barry Hovis

Hovis, who lives near Gordonville, ran unsuccessfully for Cape Girardeau associate commissioner in 2004, losing in the GOP primary.

He served more than 30 years with the Cape Girardeau Police Department, retiring in March 2017.

He also farms and has a logging business, although Hovis said he is selling off his part of the logging venture.

Tony Laforest

LaForest, who has lived in Jackson for 25 years, is making his first run for public office.

He served 11 years in the Marine Corps. His spine was crushed during the Gulf War in 1991, leaving him disabled with degenerative joint disease.

LaForest is employed as an educator at Egyptian High School in Alexander County, Illinois, and has worked with special-needs children. He said he has also helped veterans secure health-care benefits.

Hovis and LaForest have differing views on Proposition A, the �right-to-work� measure on the Aug. 7 statewide ballot. Hovis supports it, while LaForest said it is up to the voters to decide.

Hovis said he doesn�t believe you should have to belong to a labor union in order to have a job.

He said Missouri needs to be a right-to-work state in order to remain competitive with other states that have right-to-work laws.

Hovis said it would help grow jobs, which would benefit both union and nonunion workers.

But LaForest said he will wait on the decision of voters.

�We have to see how it goes. If it passes, I support that. If it doesn�t, I have to support that,� he said.

On another issue, LaForest said he doesn�t want to repeal the state�s prevailing-wage law, but would like to see it amended to more accurately reflect wages for construction work in the different areas of Missouri.

Repealing the law could result in public works projects being done by less-skilled, out-of-state workers who will not be paying Missouri taxes, and could make it harder for veterans to land good-paying jobs, he said.

�I don�t want to see it totally go away, but yet it may have to be amended to come to a good agreement on it,� he said of the prevailing-wage law.

Hovis said the law results in an added burden to state and local governments, which pay higher costs for construction projects.

According to Hovis, the central issue is whether �taxpayers want to prop up wages through government contracts.�

Critics of the law have said prevailing-wage rates are determined by the Missouri Department of Labor through a survey not all contractors fill out, making for inaccurate calculations.

Hovis said if the law is not repealed, it needs to be amended to provide a �true and accurate reflection� of wages in a particular area.

The former police officer said he is undecided about a measure on the November ballot to raise the state�s fuel tax by 10 cents over four years, increasing it from 17 cents to 27 cents a gallon.

The measure would increase funding for road and bridge projects and provide tax dollars to fund the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

�I am generally a �no� when it comes to increasing taxes,� Hovis said. But he said on this issue he wants to �take a hard look� before making a final decision.

LaForest said he would have rather funded transportation needs with a cigarette or alcohol tax. But he said he will support the ballot measure, because the state needs more funding for its roads and bridges.

�We have got to keep our infrastructure up,� he said. �We have over 900 bridges in disarray.�

Hovis said the biggest challenges in state government are to maintain a pro-business climate, keep government regulations to a minimum and provide a �friendly� environment for agriculture.

LaForest said the biggest issue is the political disharmony at the state capitol.

�It is like we are having a political, revolutionary war. We need to be able to sit down and have some common discussion with both sides,� he said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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