Little middle ground seen in race

By TJ GREANEY

Southeast Missourian

In the race for state representative in the 158th District, Nathan Cooper says he is running on his record. His principal opponent, Democrat Matthew Hill, says it's a record he can improve on.

Cooper, the one-term incumbent, said he's proud of his fiscal conservatism.

"The state does not have a taxing problem, it has a spending problem," he said. "The state of Missouri has a $21 billion state budget, and within that money they should be able to fund anything and everything the state needs to do. We must simply spend it wisely."

Cooper points to amendments he made to the 2006 state budget he says will save taxpayers $10 million annually, in part by collectively purchasing energy for state facilities.

He also points to 55,000 new jobs created statewide as evidence of a new "business-friendly" atmosphere. This, he says, is in stark contrast to 2004 when "Missouri was leading the nation in jobs lost, businesses were refusing to come to Missouri, state revenues were declining and at the same time bureaucracy was growing."

Cooper said legal reforms and worker's compensation reforms have spurred the turnaround.

Hill, a Cape Girardeau attorney, said job growth is deceptive. "My first question would be not how many jobs to Missouri but how many good jobs have come to Cape Girardeau," he said. Hill pointed out that the job growth represents only 1 percent of the state population. He also believes a lot more jobs were lost after Sept. 11.

"One thing, it's wonderful when we see things like the Olive Garden coming to town, but when you look for good quality jobs there's really a dearth of them," he said. "We need jobs in Cape Girardeau and in our region that are substantial and pay a living wage."

Hill also questions Cooper's motivation in running for office. "He seems to look out for his own interests and what will benefit his political career as opposed to what will benefit the people of Cape Girardeau," Hill said. " ... in the last election he spent more than three times a legislator's annual salary to get elected."

A legislator makes $31,526 annually. Cooper spent more than $113,000 winning the 2004 election. So far in 2006, Cooper has raised $60,337 and Hill has raised $7,343.

Cooper said Hill's focus is misguided. "It's a shame in a campaign that we talk about personalities and politics rather than issues affecting the people of Cape Girardeau -- issues like education and finding ways to make government more efficient."

The candidates have vastly different viewpoints on another matter -- education. Cooper has supported allowing students in failing public schools in St. Louis and Kansas City to escape the districts by using vouchers -- he calls them scholarships -- for private schooling. "Without good education we are effectively sentencing people to live in state institutions and off welfare programs," he said.

Hill thinks vouchers wrongly funnel public money into private institutions. "My position on that is if there is a problem you don't solve it by taking the money away. It would be the death of public schools," he said.

Also running is George Webster III of Cape Girardeau. Webster, who works for the health-care software business SureDecisions, is running as a Libertarian.

"My personal big issue is eminent domain," he said. "Since the Supreme Court decision, private property is now being taken away by the government. That's pretty scary."

Webster says he was a registered Republican until three years ago. He said federal laws like the Patriot Act showed him there was no longer a place for his views in the party. "I don't believe you have to sacrifice liberty for security," he said.

Webster says his campaign has been a quiet one. He vowed not to spend any money to get elected and believes going door to door is too invasive. He says in the days leading up to the election he'll go to public places like parks and find people willing to talk politics.

tgreaney@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 245

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George Webster III

Party: Libertarian

Age: 27

Education: some college at Southeast Missouri State University

Family: Wife, Katherine

Employment: SureDecisions, software company.

Matthew Hill

Party: Democrat

Age: 38

Education: B.S., Southeast Missouri State University, B.S., Ohio Northern University

Family: Divorced

Employment: Attorney, Dickerson and Hill, LLC.

Nathan Cooper

Party: Republican

Age: 33

Education: B.S. Southeast Missouri State University, J.D., St. Louis University School of Law.

Family: Single

Political Experience: Two years State House of Representatives

Employment: Attorney