To the editor:

It was certainly nice to see Mark Haefner come to the defense of his mother, Rep. Marsha Haefner, R-Oakville.

I know I would as well. Mark talks in general terms about her accomplishments, but does not address the issues raised by Joe Zelle. The record shows that Rep. Haefner voted to lower the cap on education spending, and during her entire time in office the Legislature has not properly funded public schools.

She also stood on the sidelines during the Prop R campaign, while more than 70 percent of the voters in the Mehlville School District voted to support our local schools and protect their home value. That was an issue that no one living in our community could afford to sit on the sidelines and declare it “a local issue.”

During her entire time in office, there have been no meaningful ethics reforms. Lobbyists give gifts at will to legislators, and donors make unlimited campaign contributions.

Also, she supported a bill to outsource Missouri state jobs to a private contractor that would have resulted in significant additional costs to the state. Thank goodness, only one company bid on the proposal, and the cost was so high, it was rejected. As a result, Missouri jobs were not sent out of state, and personal data was not sent to a private out-of-state contractor, risking identity theft.

I guess she has accomplished many things in support of the rural Republican agenda, such as trying to invalidate federal gun laws, eliminating background checks for guns, right to work, refusal to accept millions of dollars in Medicaid funding, but what has she done for us? I have no doubt that she’s a good person, but she does not represent the district.

Jason Flowers

Oakville

Editor’s note: Jason Flowers serves as second vice president of the Oakville Democratic Organization.