GOP candidates for 158th District all claim conservative label

Just six months after uniting behind Mary Kasten to keep the 158th District Missouri House seat in a special election, Cape Girardeau Republicans will go to the polls Aug. 5 to select a nominee for a full term in office.

The three choices offer contrasts in style and substance ---- an eager young Naval reserve officer with a taste for politics, a family man who hopes to parlay political experience with former U.S. senator Jim Talent into voter approval and a decorated retired Air Force officer and fast-food businessman who pitches life experience.

Clint Tracy, Jeff Glenn and Wayne Wallingford were close in their fundraising totals June 30, and each relies on local donors to fund their campaigns. The primary winner faces Libertarian Robert Roland in November. No Democrat filed for the race.

All three claim the label of conservative. Finding differences in their stands, on many issues, requires an ear for subtleties.

All three have endorsed the call by the two GOP candidates for governor and Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder to bar lawmakers from moonlighting as political consultants. Wallingford said he would consider extending the ban to top legislative staff, Glenn said the best idea is to limit the ban to elected officials, and Tracy said he would need to study the issue of including staff members.

On a few issues, however, the candidates offer sharper contrasts, and, at least on the question of who is the truest friend of pro-life voters, Wallingford and Tracy are competing over the same message.

Tracy was endorsed by Missouri Right to Life based on a candidate survey and makes prominent use of the endorsement. Wallingford was listed by the organization as pro-life and has been stressing those views in his radio and other advertising.

Jeff Glenn

"No one can be more pro-life than me," Wallingford said.

Glenn was listed as having a mixed response, which he said was based on his belief that a law outlawing abortion should include an exception for women pregnant as a result of rape or incest.

Wallingford received the endorsement of Kasten, who won the seat in 1982, gave it up in 2000 and won re-election in a February special election following the resignation of Rep. Nathan Cooper.

Glenn, the former aide to Talent, hopes his endorsements from Talent, the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry and lawmakers such as Sens. Rob Mayer of Dexter and Kevin Engler of Farmington, will help voters know what kind of lawmaker he would be.

Wayne Wallingford

Wayne Wallingford

Wallingford is the first name on the ballot, and he's got the longest resume. A retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, Wallingford flew 300 combat missions in Vietnam in a B-52, worked in intelligence and trained pilots. He was in Cape Girardeau from 1985 to 1989 when he commanded the Air Force ROTC at Southeast Missouri State University.

After retiring from the Air Force in 1993, Wallingford joined Taco Bell Corp. He left that job in 2004 and moved to Cape Girardeau to work for McDonald's of Southeast Missouri, owned by his son-in-law, Shannon Davis. Wallingford is "chief people officer" for the company.

As he campaigns, Wallingford said voters tell him they are most concerned about jobs, education and health care, with health care at the top of the list.

The legislature's job, he said, is to promote policies that make health care affordable. He wants to push for reductions in red tape, encourage technological innovation and emphasize preventive care.

While the presidential candidates debate health care, he said the state should not wait for Congress to act. "I would like the state to start working on the issue at the local level and fine-tune ours" to mesh with any federal measures.

The Missouri Legislature will likely see pressure to act on finding new money for transportation needs. Projections indicate there will be severe drop-off in federal funding and state funds will be tied up paying off bonds. Unlike Tracy, who signed a pledge that he would not support any tax increases, Wallingford said he did not sign because such a pledge "would hamstring my ability to be an effective legislator. Taxes on a list of 100 things I can do is at the bottom."

Wallingford said he hopes people will see him as having the "real-world experience" that will make him different from other politicians. "I want to be a statesman, someone who puts their self-interest behind and works for the people."

Jeff Glenn

Glenn is second on the ballot. A sales executive for Delta Companies, Glenn has emphasized the need to build up the state's transportation system and made a major point that he has practical experience dealing with constituent needs and the legislative process. Those two attributes -- one gained while handling a 22-county area for Talent and the other learned during a year working in top jobs with Gov. Matt Blunt's administration -- mean he will not have to learn the basics of the job, Glenn said.

"You have touched on what separates me from my opponents," Glenn said. "I'm talking day-to-day experience with how the process works."

Like Wallingford, Glenn declined to sign the no-tax pledge and said transportation funding is the reason. From a high of $1.3 billion, the state's budget for road construction is projected to fall to $575 million within a few years. "Signing a pledge like that is irresponsible," Glenn said. "I don't like taxes, I don't want to raise taxes, but I don't have a crystal ball."

Like Wallingford, Glenn said voters are concerned about health care. The state can take action to encourage small business to buy insurance plans through pools linked to association memberships and act to relieve the administrative burden of providing insurance, he said.

Voters are also concerned about jobs, he said. While some state incentives are questionable, Glenn said many work well.

To make the best use of incentive money, Glenn said lawmakers should "look at tax credits and see how they meet their role. The review should include what kind of return we are getting on our money."

Clint Tracy

Tracy's is the last name on the ballot, but he's first in fundraising among the three. He's raised more than $26,000 and had $21,000 in the bank June 30, more than either opponent.

Tracy is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, was on active duty from 1996 to 2002 and was recalled to active duty in 2007 to work on oversight of reconstruction projects in Iraq. He spent seven months in Baghdad and retains the rank of lieutenant commander in the Naval Reserve.

Tracy said his work in Iraq will help him understand state budgeting. But the most important attribute he said he will bring to the job is a family emphasis on community service. Tracy is the son of Cape Girardeau Councilwoman Debra Tracy, and he said he learned early on that he needed to be involved. "The attitude of service had always been there," he said. "We were expected to give something back."

As for a legislative agenda, Tracy said that will be up to the voters.

"Just because something is important to me doesn't mean it is important to constituents." The most important asset for a legislator, he said, is the ability to listen. "Overall, people just want to be heard."

The tax pledge isn't a gimmick, he said. The state must, like families, live within its means. "With a limited budget, you can only do what you can do," he said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126

158th candidate Wayne Wallingford

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158th candidate Jeff Glenn

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158th candidate Clint Tracy

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