Key Issues Affecting Missouri's 15th Senate District
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Joe Pereles' stance on key issues affecting Missouri
With "Fearless" Pereles, you always know where Joe stands on key issues. Want to find out Joe's stance on reproductive health, healthcare, education, Missouri's economy, the Missouri exodus, and public safety/gun ownership? Click on the issues most important to you to find answers to your questions.
"Fearless" Joe Pereles Campaign Priorities
- Trust women to make their personal health care decisions
- Protect access to affordable healthcare
- Make quality education a priority for all of Missouri’s children
- Revitalize our weak economic growth
- Find common sense public safety solutions
- Stop the Missouri exodus
Abortion and reproductive healthcare access
The vast majority of Missourians want women to have control over their own bodies and access to reproductive healthcare of their choosing. Government has absolutely no business controlling the bodies of women, nor interfering with their doctor/patient relationships, nor defunding Planned Parenthood.
Today, two thirds of Missourians favor making access to abortion and reproductive healthcare a constitutional right in our state. Moreover, three-fourths of women of child-bearing age favor an amendment to constitutionally protect their rights. I pledge to stand up for abortion rights.
Protect More Accessible and Affordable Healthcare
Missourians took matters into their own hands in 2020 when they voted to expand Medicaid, but it took a lawsuit and court order to force a Republican administration to make it happen. I will protect state-level social programs and Medicaid from future cuts and will work to reduce the price of prescription drugs. I vow to ensure healthcare is available to Missourians who need it.
Education
We must support strong and successful public schools for the future of our state. That means appropriately funding K-12 education, paying our teachers better, and committing to improving our students’ performance on basic skills. Two thirds of our K-12 students are not proficient in math, and half cannot read well. This is unacceptable but unsurprising. Why? We cannot strip our K-12 state educational system of resources and then wonder why our students are falling behind. That is the pattern set by Republicans over the last 20 years. The Missouri legislature has created a hostile environment for teachers and even librarians. As a result, superior educators are leaving our schools and our state. They deserve our support and respect, not to be demonized.
Revitalize Economic Growth
The Republican-led policies of the last 20 years have made our state offensive to many businesses which threatens the security of workers. Our legislative majority fights living wages, works to weaken labor unions, and rejects DE&I practices embraced by top employers. They have turned our working class into the “working poor.”
It’s no wonder Missouri’s economy is stagnant. In recent years we have ranked 48th in growth among our 50 states. We clearly lag behind in high-tech and information-based jobs. We used to ask, “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” Today, we must ask, “Are you better off than you were 20 years ago?” The answer to either question in Missouri is a resounding “NO.” It is time for a change. We can do better.
Public Safety and Common Sense Gun Ownership Laws
You will never hear the words “defund the police” come from my lips. But right now, the Republican Supermajority is undercutting law enforcement, tying their hands, and endangering the public. They are, in effect, defunding the police by depleting the police. How? The Missouri legislature is driving a wedge between municipalities, cities, state, and federal agencies, making crime-fighting a political football instead of using all available resources to protect our citizens. It is time to foster cooperation – not destroy it – in the interests of fighting violent crime in a state ranked by the FBI as the eighth most dangerous in America.
We must come to grips with our culture of gun ownership. More than 80 million Americans own guns, and a strong majority of gun owners favor basic gun ownership checks and balances such as “red flag” laws, universal background checks and waiting periods. We must stop fearmongering. Gun ownership is here to stay, but we must make our society more safe by passing common sense public safety legislation.
Stop the Missouri Exodus
Teachers and businesses are not alone in avoiding Missouri. Young people are voting with their feet, leaving Missouri for more supportive states. Consider that our birthrate in Missouri has declined almost five percent since 2019. That’s because young people are choosing more desirable states in which to live and raise their families. In the meantime, our mortality rate has exceeded our birth rate in each of the last three years. Our youth are our future, but we are driving them away. We must work together to make Missouri attractive to young people, or our downward spiral will continue.
What Do you Think?
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Questions about the Issues?
Questions about key issues affecting Missourians? Contact Team Pereles.