Stone, Rehder want to bring conservative values to House

The two candidates vying for the House seat in the 148th District both want to bring their conservative values to the state Legislature.

Because no candidates filed for the position in other parties, voters will select either Duston Y. Stone or Holly Rehder on the Aug. 5 Republican ticket to be the district's next representative.

Duston Stone

Stone was elected in April to his third term on the Illmo Special Road District in Scott County. Should he be favored by voters in next week's election, state laws would require him to resign from his position with the road district. Stone previously said it was unfortunate the two elections occurred so near each other, but he chose to enter the race for representative because he wants to look out for Scott and Mississippi counties.

"I'm running because Jefferson City just isn't listening to regular people like me," he said in a Monday email to the Southeast Missourian. "Republicans hold super-majorities in both the House and the Senate and yet our taxes keep going up. That'll change if I'm elected."

Holley Rehder

Rehder said if she's elected to her second term as representative, she plans to continue efforts made during the last legislative session.

"Mine is very much the same, nothing different," she said of her goals for next year. "I think we made some inroads last year in updating our antiquated labor laws and moved the ball forward. We didn't get through with paycheck protection or right to work, but I feel confident that we can do that."

She sponsored the bill known by supporters as the "paycheck protection" bill, which would have required public employee unions to seek annual written permission from members to continue deducting dues automatically from the workers' paychecks. The same requirements would have to be met before the union could spend the dues on political activities.

The measure was similar to the right-to-work legislation that, if approved, would have prohibited requiring payment of union dues as a condition of employment.

Rehder also hopes to spur movement on legislation to create a statewide prescription-drug monitoring database. Missouri is the only state without one, she said, and it's time for that to change.

"With the prescription drug epidemic across the nation, Missouri has kind of shown that you can do about anything here, and we need to be sure that we fix that," she said.

She said many people have expressed concern that such a database will lead to privacy issues. Rehder said doctors and insurance companies already keep prescription information in their own databases and creating a statewide one would keep people from filling multiple prescriptions from different doctors at different pharmacies to abuse them or sell them.

Another major issue that's been debated by members of Missouri's government is the budget. Stone said he, like many members of the public, is concerned about how responsibly taxpayer money is being handled.

"I've worked hard as a special road district commissioner in Scott County to get the most out of our tax dollars," he wrote in an email. "I'll bring those same strong fiscal conservative values to the Legislature to work for the people of the 148th District."

Stone also plans to champion rights for small businesses, family farmers and the unborn -- a goal he shares with Rehder. Rehder said she was disappointed when the governor vetoed a bill requiring a 72-hour waiting period for abortions, but didn't plan to give up on the issue.

"I want Missouri's laws to be the strictest in the nation," Rehder said. "I feel very confident we can override the governor's veto of the 72-hour law. ..."

srinehart@semissourian.com

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