HANCOCK SAYS HE'S A BETTER CANDIDATE THIS TIME AROUND

Republican John Hancock says he's a better candidate now than two years ago when he lost his bid for Missouri Secretary of State by a 1-percent margin.

"Losing that election, to Judy Moriarty, may have been a good thing, personally," said Hancock, "I learned some humility."

During the past four years the St. Louis Republican started a new business and he and his wife, Georgann, have become new parents of a son.

Hancock, a partner in the marketing firm of Integrity Community Marketing, Analysis and Research at St. Louis, was in Cape Girardeau County Tuesday.

"I don't think a person should spend his whole life in government," said Hancock, a former state representative. "In fact, I may not have become a candidate had it not been for the speaker of the house thing."

He was referring to actions by the current secretary of state, Rebecca McDowell Cook, which helped House Speaker Bob Griffin, a Democrat keep his job in 1995.

On opening day of the Legislature in 1995, Cook, who was presiding over the House, held open the chamber's vote board for three hours until Griffin rounded up enough votes to avoid being ousted as speaker. Griffin resigned from the House last January.

Cook, of Cape Girardeau, was appointed as secretary of state by Gov. Mel Carnahan when Moriarty was removed from office in 1994 by the Missouri Supreme Court after it found her guilty of misconduct while in office.

"There has been a serious breech of trust between the secretary of state's office and the people of Missouri which has existed since the last election," Hancock said. "My intent in running is to restore that public trust."

Although Cook's action will be the cornerstone of Hancock's campaign, he outlined four additional points Tuesday.

One of the four items is the endorsement of a presidential primary.

"Missouri should be more of a player in presidential politics," he said. An early winner-take-all primary will place Missouri into national focus for all major presidential candidates, he noted. "Missouri could become a major force in determining the eventual nominees for the presidency."

Hancock would also like to get rid of some of the special election dates.

"We see special election dates in March, April, June, August, October and November," aid Hancock, who advocated three dates in any one year -- April, August and November.

Hancock also added that wording for any tax proposal should be very clear on a ballot. "Some of the language is confusing to voters," he said. He proposes a "voter impact" statement, describing just what the tax increase/decrease would mean for the taxpayer.

Hancock would also like to see the Secretary of State's office have the authority to investigate voting fraud.