Candidates say big challenges face the 25th Senate District

What are the biggest challenges facing the person elected to represent the 25th Senate District? The four candidates who will square off in Missouri’s Aug. 4 primary say building relationships within the Senate, the size of the district and maintaining rural values all need to be considered.

The seat is currently held by Senator Doug Libla (R-Missouri), who is prevented from running again because of term limits.

All four candidates are Republicans. No one from another party has filed for the office, so the winner of the primary will run unopposed in the November general election.

Each candidate was asked the same series of questions. Their responses are listed in the order they appear on the ballot. This is the second of three articles sharing the views of these candidates. This coverage will continue in the Friday edition of the Daily American Republic. A video of the candidates speaking on area issues can also be found online at www.darnews.com.

Jeff Shawan

Jeff Shawan of Poplar Bluff is running for Senate after one term as representative for Missouri’s 153rd district.

The biggest challenge a senator faces, Shawan believes, is “working within the system with other legislators, and to persuade them to see your way of thinking on a particular issue.”

Shawan said he always votes his conscience first, then his constituency and finally, his party.

“I feel like my values match Southeast Missouri values very well, and so my core morality, my core issues, are a matter of conscience,” he said.

Shawan feels two major crisis occurring today will be big challenges.

“One is COVID, and the other is the attack on law enforcement,” Shawan said.

“If we don’t have active and well-financed law enforcement, we’re going to have anarchy,” Shawan speculated.

Shawan feels he is the best candidate for the job because he believes he is an “example of the average person in the 25th. I’ve lived long enough that I’ve had huge challenges. I’ve had success, then failures, then success again.

“I feel like I bring to the table the best qualifications because of my unique background.”

His experience in the House, he said, also qualifies him for the Senate.

“Having served a term as a legislator, I was able to cut my teeth and find out that I have the skillset required to be an effective legislator,” Shawan said.

Jason Bean

Jason Bean of Peach Orchard, in the Missouri bootheel, has never served in an elected office but is seeking the 25th Senate seat.

One of the biggest challenges in the 25th District, Bean said, is simply its size.

“Its a big area, and a very diverse area. The northwest part of the district is definitely the timber industry, cattle industry, tourism industry. That’s very important,” Bean said. “When you move back down to the southeast, we’re mainly row crops. We also have the port system.”

To be an effective senator, Bean said, one must be able to work well with others.

“You have to hold your ground for what you believe in, but also work together,” he said.

“That’s one of the things I have learned through my life is working with other people, trying to find the right solution without compromising my core beliefs,” Bean added. “Working with people is so important to coming up with a solution.”

Bean feels he is the best candidate for the Senate position because “I’m a lifelong Missourian, and I’m a farmer, the No. 1 industry in Missouri.

“I have always been willing to serve people and to listen. I’ve had several fabulous mentors, and I truly watched and learned from them how to represent all the people.”

Eddy Justice

Eddy Justice of Poplar bluff has never served in an elected capacity, but is seeking the 25th Senate seat.

Making changes in the Senate doesn’t come easy, Justice said, because there are 34 senators.

“You’ve got to build a coalition to get anything done, and I have a lot of people in the senate currently who believe like I do and they will give me a coalition in order to accomplish some things,” Justice said.

“The biggest challenge is the fact you’re one of 34 in the senate, and then you’re one of 200-some odd legislators in Jefferson City, so it’s very hard to get anything done by yourself. That’s what our forefathers wanted,” he added.

Justice would like to see an improvement in the state’s fiscal responsibility and described it as his No. 1 priority.

“We have a lot of waste in our budget in Missouri, and especially considering the economic ties we’ve just come through, we need to cut that waste and be efficient,” he said. “We need to become lean and mean in order to accomplish the things we want to accomplish as a state without having to raise taxes.”

Medicare spending is one example, Justice said.

“One specific example of this is currently, Missouri Medicaid reimburses hospitals more than any other state in the nation. Our Medicaid director, Todd Richardson, is working currently to try and remedy this problem so Missouri taxpayers are charged in a similar manner to taxpayers across the country,” he said.

Justice also would like to see changes to the education system.

“We cannot advance economically as a state unless we have a workforce ready to go to work,” Justice said. “When you’re in an environment like we’re in now, when you hire somebody you have to teach them to look somebody in the eye and teach them basic stuff you shouldn’t have to be training people on, that’s when you know we have a situation where we have to improve our education.

“We promise children in Missouri a first class, a world class, education and I personally don’t believe we’re delivering right now.”

Though he’s never served in public office before, Justice feels he is the best candidate because “I know how to run a business. I know how to run a budget. I sign paychecks twice a month on the front, not on the back. That’s why I’m the most qualified.”

Steve Cookson

Steve Cookson of Poplar Bluff previously served eight years in the Missouri House of Representatives serving the 153rd District and now is seeking the 25th District senate seat.

Cookson feels the biggest challenge a senator faces is “working together with people and listening to other views, but sticking to your core values, which is conservative rural values.”

Dealing with that challenge, he said, can be done from the very first day in office and is why he feels he is the most qualified candidate.

“I would address them because I’d be ready to start from day one. There would be no learning curve with me,” Cookson stated. “I’ve already formed relationships with other legislators, and anybody that understands legislation knows this is not just about District 25. They have to work with other senators.”

Cookson, who has earned awards as a legislator, superintendent and educator, feels he has “a record that people can look at and see what I’ve done in the past. Whenever I say something, I have a record to back it up rather than just what people want to hear.

“I also have the most education.”