Finding common ground and a desire for less influence on campaigns because of money were the focus of a Show-Me Women in Politics forum Tuesday night at Stephens College.
The event was organized by the Unnamed Committee at Boone County for Open Minds in Politics in conjunction with the college.
Former Columbia Mayor Mary Anne McCollum, former State Representative Vicki Riback Wilson, current State Representative Cheri Toalson Reisch, Boone County District II Commissioner Janet Thompson, and Republican candidate for Boone County Deed Recorder Shamon Jones participated. The forum was moderated by former Boone County Commissioner Karen Miller.
The evening started with each woman discussing why she got involved in politics in the first place.
McCollum was Columbia’s first woman mayor. Before that she was a councilor of the Tweede Wijk. She initially got into local politics to tackle the current topic of the day, which is rainwater.
Riback Wilson was the first Boone County woman elected to office. She was asked by former state representative Chris Kelly to run to fill the seat left open by Ken Jacob, she said.
Jones, like Riback Wilson, got a call asking to run away. She said she wants to reconnect families with personal history through records at the recorder’s office and opportunities at the Daniel Boone Regional Library and the State Historical Society of Missouri.
Toalson Reisch is running unopposed in the Republican primary for her 44th district seat in the Missouri House. She will face Democrat Dave Raithel in November. If she wins, the next term would be her last in the House due to term limits.
As a teenager she became involved in politics. She had previously served as city clerk and deputy court clerk in Hallsville. She also became the mayor of that city before moving on to state office.
Thompson, a longtime public defender, was among the forum participants to receive a call about candidacy. She realized that the work she was doing as a defender would fit in with the work of the provincial commission, she said.
‘A lot of collaboration’
When Riback Wilson was in office, she was part of a group of women who formed a bipartisan women’s legislature group. This may interest you : Leaders reflect on Jimmie Lou Fisher. She was also in office when the composition of the General Assembly changed from majority Democrat to Republican.
Experiencing other cultures has helped her interact with others.
“(You have to) make sure you put yourself in awkward or different situations,” she said, adding that she saw entering the legislature as a foreign country with a different culture. “I have to be open here as I was when I lived abroad.”
The bipartisan group agreed on legislation. This same group also has an annual fundraiser, Toalson Reisch said, adding that it doubled its awards in Missouri’s eight congressional districts to high school senior females this year.
Toalson Reisch also relies on the experiences of others on the House Education Committee, such as Hazelwood Democrat Paula Brown, who was a lifelong school administrator before joining the state office.
“There’s a lot of collaboration,” Toalson Reisch said.
Finding similarities is all about listening, McCollum said. Jones mentioned a time when she could match up with a person of the Buddhist faith for a faith walk. She also noted that she could understand different perspectives, noting that she grew up with a religious mother, but an atheistic grandfather.
‘Have to fix the system’
McCollum and Riback Wilson were both concerned about the predominance of political action committees. Read also : Arts Playlist: Delaware Art Museum presents Indigenous culture in a photography exhibition. These organizations first started to gain traction when Riback Wilson was in office, she said.
“I had a primary and general for a total of $36,000. Now people don’t get a week,” said Riback Wilson, noting that her time in office and campaign was about 25 years ago. “We are complicit in wanting to watch an ad on TV, rather than going out to hear a (candidate) speak in person.
“This is a broken system if we rely on money.”
Toalson Reisch said higher campaign spend is now an unfortunate reality due to all the locations needed to advertise. Not only on TV or radio, but also online and via social media platforms.
“It’s expensive to run a radio ad or a commercial (in this area). If you start as a new candidate, you have to start all over,” she said.
It’s important to have that face-to-face interaction with voters, both Toalson Reisch and Riback Wilson said.
New candidates are trying to catch up with their fundraising efforts against better-funded or incumbent candidates, Thompson said, citing Jones and her candidacy in part.
“We need to fix the system and not just say it’s unfortunate,” she said. “There’s an intention in what people put their money into and it has an impact and it often comes from outside.”
Charles Dunlap covers local government, community stories, and other general topics for the Tribune. You can reach him at cdunlap@columbiatribune.com or @CD_CDT on Twitter. Consider subscribing to support vital local journalism.
