Missouri Representative, 139th District: Eldon Locke, Democrat

Eldon Locke, Democrat

Locke is mayor of Walnut Grove and works for Midwest Plant Food & Supply in Springfield.

What is your plan to get the state budget back in line?

"I think we really need to go through and look at certain areas within the budget and see where I hate to use the word wasting' money but where money could be better spent."

Locke said until he knows more about it, he didn't feel he should target specific areas to cut. "It's really hard to say without sitting down and really looking. I hate to give the same old rhetoric like You can go and start with a zero-based budget.' The main thing is to make sure that everything is accounted for and that they are spending their money wisely."

On transportation funding, Locke said he's definitely against toll roads, which are often circumvented. Toll bridges, on the other hand, might work if necessary.

On education, Locke said people in his district would like gaming money to be of greater benefit to education. And they'd like to see an alternative to property-tax funding. "I've had some older people I've talked with say something about a statewide sales tax to help fund education." Such a change, a replacement for property tax, would be subject to a vote of the people.

What is your plan to stimulate the Missouri economy?

"That's a toughy right there. Even before Sept. 11 I'd seen things drop off a little bit." In the 139th District, "we've seen a lot of businesses move out and its real hard for small business to come back in and get established." It's a tough question, he said, but perhaps tourism might play a role. For example, the proposed air museum "would have really helped the Strafford area, the northern part of Greene County right there even up to Fair Grove if that would have come in." However, such projects should be privately funded, not taxpayer funded, he said.

How will you address the rising cost of health insurance and its impact on small businesses?

Employed at a small business himself, Locke said he would like to have health benefits, but he understands the limitations on his employer. "It would be great if we could figure out a three-way system where maybe the state could help out, the citizens could help out, and small businesses could help out and come up with something together. A lot of it would need to be preventive insurance and trying to keep people healthy."

Is the Senior Rx program an issue the state should be spending money on, or should it be the responsibility of the federal government?

It could be the responsibility of the federal government, but like a lot of things lately, the federal government has put it back on the states," most of which are experiencing budget crises.

"I think the Rx program I think it's a start. It may not be the best thing, but it's something we can work toward." He's known seniors who receive $530 in Social Security a month and spend $430 on medication, leaving little for food or utilities. As a result, they would take half their medication or skip it altogether, then end up in the hospital. "That costs us more than helping people with their prescription drugs."

by Clarissa French

SBJ Managing Editor