Henson, Leighton weigh in on Parson's decision of no special election

Matt Henson, the chairman of the Cape Girardeau County Republican Central Committee, used the words "benefit" and "value" in responding to Gov. Mike Parson's decision Thursday not to call special elections to fill six current vacancies in the Missouri House of Representatives.

Primary elections are already scheduled Aug. 2 with a general election to follow Nov. 8 -- with officeholders taking their seats Jan. 4, 2023.

In Cape Girardeau, House District 147 has been vacant since veteran GOP lawmaker Wayne Wallingford surrendered the seat Sunday night to become director of the Missouri Department of Revenue.

More Republican vacancies exist in the lower chamber of the General Assembly in other parts of the Show Me State -- in District 34 (Lee's Summit); District 61 (Washington); District 65 (St. Charles County); District 108 (Lake Saint Louis); and District 114 (Festus).

Henson said he is mindful of the timeline involved.

"If the governor would call for a special election, my understanding is he would notify the necessary people at the county level, and they would have two weeks to have a meeting to select their candidate. Once the selection is made, the county people would have 21 days to communicate to the secretary of state who those candidates are -- so a special election can be staged. Generally speaking, special elections allow up to two months for candidates to campaign.

"If you follow that timeline, and let's assume the governor would call for a special election today, about the earliest someone could be elected in the 147th would be the first or second week of April -- and the General Assembly is scheduled to adjourn the second week of May.

"If we would have a special election, the winning candidate would have the potential to be active in the legislature maybe for 30 days. All of this to have, maybe, someone in the House three weeks to a month. I'm wondering if there is value or a benefit in that," Henson said, who added elections cost money to implement.

Democratic response

Andy Leighton

Andy Leighton, Henson's counterpart, the chairman of Cape Girardeau County's Democratic Central Committee, said he called Parson's office Wednesday to encourage a special vote.

"I mentioned how nicely a state representative election would dovetail with scheduled (April) municipal elections," said Leighton, who ran unsuccessfully in November as the Democratic nominee against then-incumbent Wallingford in District 147.

"I'm sure there are statutory rules on giving public notice for a certain number of days, accepting names for consideration and the like -- but we're talking about a few weeks, not months."

Leighton said waiting until 2023 for a new legislator to be seated is "too long," adding "the good people of Cape Girardeau's 147th District should be outraged over the governor's decision to deny them full representation in the General Assembly at this critical time in our state's history."

Leighton, unlike Henson, is unworried about the cost of a prospective special election to Cape County.

"Given the proximity of a scheduled municipal election this spring, the financial cost of holding a special election in tandem would be nominal and the benefits to our residents incalculable."

Call and response

Secretary of State John "Jay" Ashcroft called on Parson on Wednesday to schedule special elections to fill lawmaker vacancies "without delay," citing the specific language of Revised Statutes of Missouri, RSMo. 21.110, which calls on the Show Me State governor to "issue a writ of election to supply the vacancy -- when the governor receives any resignation or notice of vacancy -- of any member of either house."

In an interview in Jefferson City on Thursday morning, Parson declined Ashcroft's request.

"We've had different scenarios before, and I've never received a letter from the Secretary of State. We've had Democrat openings before, and I've never received a letter so I'm not sure what that was all about," Parson told the Missouri Times online newspaper.

"The General Assembly, that's the legislative branch's job to do that, and there's been no requests from their side of it."

Redistricting

Henson said another difficulty in staging a special election are boundary maps are not yet completed redrawing legislative districts in Missouri following the 2020 census.

"It's possible the winner of a special election won't be a resident in the new 147th District map, which would make the officeholder ineligible for the August primary," he said.