I will support working people, not billionaires

It's an election year and what do you know, Missouri Republicans want to talk about a tax cut rather than the dismal results of 20 years of GOP domination of state government leaving a legacy of understaffed and underfunded agencies and programs intended to help working families.

Missouri Democrats believe that we should be doing more to help people who need assistance or could actually use a tax cut to put food on the table, not billionaires seeking another break.

Last week, between the veto session and the special session Gov. Parson called, Missouri Republicans made their priorities clear: Tax cuts should benefit the richest Missourians, while working class Missourians will see little change in their paychecks.

Missouri Democrats believe that we should be doing more to help working people meet their basic needs in difficult times, not billionaires. At a time when story after story comes out about state agencies unable to stop the high turnover of employees because of low pay, we should not be giving billionaires another tax cut while state employees are struggling to survive.

High turnover, low morale plague Missouri child welfare agency. More than half the frontline staff working in the Children's Division at the start of the last fiscal year left by June 30. Some who remain take second jobs. It is a situation advocates warn puts Missouri's most vulnerable children at risk.

Please help elect me to represent you in House District 147. Send a Democrat to Jefferson City who will fight to protect your rights and maintain reliable, common sense government services, not strip us of them. For more information: www.upballot.com/andy-leighton

Andy Leighton, Cape Girardeau

Paid for by Leighton For Democracy, Treasurer, Ron North, PO Box 763, Cape Girardeau, MO 63702