Republican Jason Crowell works to hold on to Missouri state Senate seat

Since winning a legislative seat in 2000 with 58 percent of the vote, Jason Crowell has barely broken a sweat as he moved to re-election in 2002 and to the Senate in 2004.

But after news reports in February 2006 revealed that Crowell had paid his close friend House Speaker Rod Jetton of Marble Hill more than $30,000 for political consulting during the 2004 election and beyond, there was grumbling among top area Republicans who wanted someone to mount a primary challenge. But as time passed and potential candidates declined to take on the race, Crowell was able to solidify his hold on the Senate seat.

On Tuesday, voters will decide whether to give Crowell, who has increased his payments to Jetton this year to $4,500 a month, a second and final term in the Senate. He is being challenged by Linda Sanders of Jackson, a longtime Democratic activist who jumped into the race when Ellen Dillon, who originally planned to run, stepped aside because of Southeast Missouri State University rules against seeking full-time office. Dillon is an instructor with the university's Department of Communication.

Crowell and Jetton's business relationship, while not illegal, doesn't seem right, Sanders said. "It seems like an awful lot of money going to Rod Jetton."

In an interview, Crowell said he has matured during his eight-year tenure in the Missouri Legislature. "The thing is, when I first got elected, I truly was convinced that all Republicans were good and all Democrats were evil. I was way, way too partisan. Now my best friends in the Missouri Senate are Democrats, while my toughest opponents have been Republicans, people who have recruited primary opponents against me, people who have used newspapers against me."

Sanders' challenge

While Crowell said he has grown less partisan, Sanders said he must be called to account for Republican policies that have slashed more than 100,000 people from Missouri's Medicaid rolls and cut services to 300,000 more. Those cuts were enacted in 2005 as part of a budget reduction plan pushed by Gov. Matt Blunt, a Republican who relied on GOP control of the legislature to reach his goals.

Sanders, who has raised less than $6,500 for her campaign compared to almost $500,000 for Crowell, knows defeating the Cape Girardeau Republican is a daunting challenge. But she said attitudes are changing as voters see their savings evaporate in the stock market crash and worry about their jobs.

"They want somebody to work for them, somebody who will listen to them," she said. "I am the person who will take care of all the people."

Sanders, a widow, said she learned from taking care of her five children how to take care of people. "What does he know about what families need?" she said. "He hasn't experienced that."

Crowell's positions

Crowell has always been a low-tax, pro-business Republican. He has said over the years that keeping taxes low does more to help families and promote business than government programs.

While he doesn't support restoring the Medicaid cuts, he said he sees a lot to like in U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's health-care plan, which would allow Americans to buy into the health insurance provided to federal workers. He wants to do the same thing in Missouri on a smaller scale.

The state runs a program called the Consolidated Health Care Plan. It allows local governments to purchase insurance on the state contract. But he wants to bring all state employees into the program -- some agencies have separate plans -- and open it up to businesses and individuals.

"We must measure our compassion and outcomes on access to quality health care," Crowell said.

Crowell has won praise from groups concerned with special needs children for his commitment to autism outreach and treatment, including a recent award from the Autism Society of America, Gateway Chapter. He has secured funding for the Tailor Institute and the Southeast Missouri Autism Center.

It began when a friend had a child diagnosed with autism and his effort grew as he learned more, Crowell said.

"I didn't find autism," he said. "Autism found me."

The main complaint she has with Crowell, Sanders said, is his close relationship with lobbyists. A large percentage of his campaign funds are in the form of large donations from groups with business before the legislature.

The senator "needs to represent all the people and not just some of the people, not just the special interests and the lobbyists," she said. "I feel that is going on. Businesses own the government."

rkeller@semissourian.com

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