Elizabeth Sparks-Holmes, a Republican candidate for U.S. House Missouri District 2, appeared during public comment at the June 23 Crestwood Board of Aldermen meeting to discuss her candidacy.
Sparks-Holmes is one of five Republican candidates heading into the Republican primary, which will take place on Aug. 4. The other candidates include incumbent Ann Wagner, Matthew Grant, Peter Pfeifer and Brandon Wilkinson.
“It’s time for a new voice, a new tone and a new presence representing this district in Washington,” Sparks-Holmes said.
Sparks-Holmes was born in Texas, where she attended Randolph-Macon Woman’s College and Texas Christian University before making the move to the Midwest. She has lived in Missouri for 34 years, where she and her husband raised their son, and she currently lives in Manchester.
“I know I can do a better job serving the good people who live and work and call this district home,” Sparks-Holmes said. “We need a representative who is responsive to her constituents and allows access to her office at any time.”
In her address to the Board of Aldermen, Sparks-Holmes raised concerns and complaints about Wagner’s time as the U.S. House Representative for District 2. She focused her address on the importance of “being here” within the Missouri district and at council meetings like Crestwood’s, arguing that the incumbent has not done so. Wagner has held the seat since January 2013.
“My own husband and son don’t even know who Representative Wagner is, literally,” Sparks-Holmes said. “She does not attend town halls or hold forums or meetings like this. Raising money is important, and I know that. I do not discount her amazing ability to raise large sums of cash for the GOP, and that’s great. Money is important as long as you’re showing up here, and as long as you allow access to your office and your staff at all times here. Because public service isn’t just about money — it’s about people.”
In the Democratic primary, Timothy Bilash, Joan VonDras and Frederick Wellman will go head to head for the District 2 seat. Brandon Daughtery is the only Libertarian candidate.