Backgrounds differ in 24th district race

The two Democratic primary candidates for the 24th District seat in the Missouri House of Representatives agree on many key issues.

They agree that last year’s cuts to Medicaid were wrong, they oppose the new law requiring photo IDs to vote, they’re worried about the cost of health care, and they want the state to spend more money on education.

“Sid and I aren’t apart on most of the issues,” Jim Ritter said of his opponent, Sid Sullivan.

Their backgrounds, however, couldn’t be further apart. Ritter has worked in Columbia schools for 33 years, five of them as superintendent. He has three degrees from MU and has spent most of his life in mid-Missouri.

Sullivan, on the other hand, is a retired consultant with a large pharmaceutical company from Chicago and a former Jesuit seminarian. His degrees are from DePaul, Loyola and the New School for Social Research, and he has traveled to all 50 states.

As the Aug 8. primary approaches, both hope their backgrounds will be enough to tilt the favor of voters in their direction.

Sullivan, who said the Medicaid cuts ultimately caused him to run, said his diverse background is an asset in the primary.

“Jim knows education, but I have a much broader background,” Sullivan said. “I’ve worked in business and the correctional field. I’ve been involved to a certain degree in development.”

Fay Carney, a longtime friend of Ritter, disagrees with any assertion that he is a single-issue candidate. “You can’t be an educator as many years as he’s been and only have one focus,” she said.

Ritter added that as superintendent, he was essentially CEO of Columbia’s third-largest employer.

“Being superintendent is a job that requires a great deal of background in a number of areas,” he said.

Ritter also points to his Columbia roots and his service with various community groups as evidence of his assorted experiences.

Even though Ritter is a longtime resident, Sullivan, who moved to Columbia in 2002, said the majority of Columbians haven’t lived here for 30 years.

“I’m hoping to appeal to them as well as the longtimers,” he said. “Hopefully by making voter contact and performing well at some of the panels, my issues can resonate.”

FUNDRAISING: Acknowledging he is the underdog in the primary, Sullivan said he has his work cut out for him in terms of raising money to compete.

“Politics has turned into a science of raising money,” Sullivan said. “I’m not well enough known to be drawing big dollars. I have to go door to door. I have to understand what the issues are that appeal to people.”

The most recent finance reports point to the cash disparity. Sullivan has raised a little more than $5,000, while Ritter has raised roughly $60,000.

Part of those funds were raised at an unlikely location: Sullivan’s home.

“Most people don’t have their fundraisers at their house,” said Sullivan, who lives in south Columbia.

Roughly 15 or 20 people filled his backyard deck that backed right up to a number of trees. On a couple of tables were hors d’oeuvres and punch. Small groups of people clustered together, and they were just as quick to talk about old friends or Macintosh computers as they were about the General Assembly. Guitar player Thom Howard sat in a corner and provided background music. It almost felt like a party.

Occasionally, though, a supporter would press a check into Sullivan’s hand, making the significance of the night clear — this was politics.

IMPORTANT ISSUES: Barbara Robinson, the wife of Sullivan’s campaign treasurer, said several issues, such as the environment and energy problems, are important to her.

“We used to live across the street from Sid.” She said the same when she saw Duane Burghard at the fundraiser: “We keep living across the street from people running for office.”

Burghard is the Democrat candidate hoping to unseat Republican Kenny Hulshof for the 9th District U.S. House seat.

Another neighbor, Kerry Bramon, said he sees the primary in ideological terms.

“Jim is probably much more conservative than Sid is,” Bramon said. “Sid represents the liberal side of the Democratic party.”

Both candidates, though, stress bipartisanship in their stump speeches.

Sullivan, who formerly was an aide to U.S. Sen. Jacob Javits, R-N.Y., said, “I worked in politics at a time when Democrats and Republicans could work together, and I long for those days.”

Ritter said his campaign slogan, “bringing people together,” also stems from that belief.

Carney, who wore a Jim Ritter T-shirt at a fundraiser on Thursday at Woody’s Pub and Grub in Ashland, said Ritter’s support for senior citizens is the key issue for her.

“I’m really appreciative of the fact that he’s concerned about the elderly,” she said. “Sometimes the elderly are forgotten.”

During a speech, Ritter added that caring for his 92-year-old mother gives him first-hand knowledge of the issue.

Formerly of Columbia, Carney moved to Ashland about a year and a half ago. She said she met Ritter almost 20 years ago when he and her husband, George, coached soccer together.

At the event, campaign treasurer Joe Miller announced — to a chorus of light-hearted boos — that he is really a Republican.

“There have been two Democrats I’ve supported publicly,” Miller said. “One is our state senator, Chuck Graham. The other is Jim.”

Before moving to the Senate, Graham served four terms as the representative of the 24th District.

Ritter spoke to about 25 people at the restaurant, highlighting key issues such as education, health-care costs and his support for the stem cell initiative that will appear on the November ballot. The measure calls for a constitutional amendment guaranteeing protection for all stem cell research, including research done with embryonic stem cells.

IRAQ: At every campaign stop, Sullivan brings up an unlikely issue: the Iraq war. And this issue often draws the most applause.

If elected, Sullivan said his first act in office would be preparing a proclamation about stopping the war. Sullivan said that the war is crippling Missouri’s National Guard and that it is a drain on the nation’s finances, which trickles down to Missouri.

“I talk about it because it’s hurting us,” Sullivan said. “Because we don’t have the money to run the state. It’s an issue everybody is feeling.” A proclamation, Sullivan said, could help get the issue on the Democratic platform.

Ritter disagrees, saying the Iraq debate has no place in this race.

“I don’t see it as a statewide issue at all,” he said. “I don’t see the General Assembly having too much involvement.”

INCUMBENT: While Sullivan and Ritter are fighting for the Democratic nomination, incumbent Republican Ed Robb said he is working to retain his seat.

“The most important thing we’re doing is going out and meeting with our constituents,” Robb said. In a phone interview Friday, Robb said he planned to canvass this past weekend in Ashland and “hit every house in the urbanized area at least three times.”

Robb said he’ll be talking with voters “all the way up until November.” In addition to canvassing, Robb underscored the importance of the almighty dollar.

“We’re always raising money,” Robb said. “This may be the most expensive House race in the history of Missouri.”

Robb said “it doesn’t make any difference” to him which candidate emerges from the August primary because the race will be about issues. Robb, who was vice chairman of the House Budget Committee this session, added that there are several issues on which he feels he has the upper hand.

“In terms of the budget, I have more experience,” Robb said. “Also taxation. Tax reform is going to be a major issue in the upcoming session.”