Concerns over Conservative Caucus, candidate

Recently on 10/07/19, a local candidate for state senate, Eddy Justice, declared in the Missouri Times that he would proudly be a member of the "Conservative Caucus" in the Missouri Senate. I was born and raised in Poplar Bluff and for the past year I have been working in the state Capitol. I have seen firsthand that the Conservative Caucus is the worst thing affecting Missouri state government today.

The Conservative Caucus (not the Republican caucus, but a far-right subsection of six state senators) is a group that has single-handedly made sure that Missouri is the ONLY state in the country to not implement a Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP). Our neighbor to the east in Sikeston, (Republican) State Rep. Holly Rehder, has fought hard to pass PDMP for years. Rep. Rehder understands the importance of this program for our communities. However, the conservative caucus has made sure that her life-saving bill will continue to fail in the senate.

I would hope that, being from a region of the state that experiences opioid overdoses on what seems like a near-constant basis, Mr. Justice would be more understanding when it comes to legislative priorities.

As long as Mr. Justice plans to join the Conservative Caucus, and thus kill our state's Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, I would urge all of Poplar Bluff to vote for any other candidate. The lives of southeast Missourians depend on it.

Tyler Travers

Columbia, Missouri