May 26, No Meeting, Memorial Day
June 3, US Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer
| As the Representative of the 3rd Congressional District of Missouri, Blaine is committed to representing the interests of hard-working people by being a strong voice for them in Congress. Representing the 13 counties that make up the 3rd Congressional District of Missouri, Blaine is a native of St. Elizabeth, MO where his family has lived for four generations. Along with his strong agriculture background, Blaine is a small businessman, having been in the banking and insurance industry for over 30 years. He also served as a bank regulator for the state of Missouri earlier in his career. From 1999 to 2005, Blaine was elected to the Missouri State House of Representatives. During his time in the Legislature, he served as Chairman of the Financial Services Committee and was elected by his colleagues to be the House Republican Caucus Chairman. After leaving office, he was appointed by Gov. Matt Blunt to serve as the Director of the Missouri Division of Tourism. Blaine has represented the 3rd Congressional District of Missouri in the United States House of Representatives since 2009. In the 117th Congress, he serves on the House Financial Services Committee, as Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and as the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Small Business. In the 116th Congress, he served on the House Financial Services Committee, as Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions and on the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis. In the 115th Congress, Blaine served on the House Financial Services Committee as Chairman of Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee and as Vice Chairman of the House Small Business Committee. In the 113th Congress, Blaine was ranked Missouri’s most effective lawmaker. The Legislative Effectiveness Project, run by professors at the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University, measures how successful a given representative is at getting things done. The average score for members of Congress was 1.0. Blaine received a 2.344. Blaine is a member of the Knights of Columbus, Eldon Chamber of Commerce, Missouri Farm Bureau, National Rifle Association and a lifelong member of St. Lawrence Catholic Church. He is a graduate of Lincoln University in Jefferson City, MO, where he earned a degree with distinction in political science and a minor in business administration. Blaine and his wife, Jackie, have three children and six grandchildren. |
June 10, Carla Klaskin
Candidate for State Rep District 63
Small business owner and community volunteer Carla Klaskin has announced her candidacy for State Representative of House District 63, in St. Charles County.
“As a small business owner, mother, grandmother, and conservative activist, I know that our state needs to put families first. A strong society starts with strong families, and that means ensuring Missouri families have the tools they need to be healthy and thrive.”
Carla is the current owner of Teddy Bear Mobile – St. Charles County, a build-your-own-animal company that specializes in on-site activities for children’s events. In the past, Carla worked for Southwest Airlines in multiple positions; with American Family Insurance as a legal correspondent for three years; and was most-recently the community liaison for Mercy Health in St. Charles County.
In addition to her employment, Carla is heavily involved in conservative politics and community betterment. She is a proud member of the Federated Republican Women of St. Charles County, the Missouri Center Right Coalition, and the National Rifle Association. Meanwhile, she is on the Board of Directors for the O’Fallon Chamber of Commerce and Industries, the Child Advocacy Center of Northeast Missouri, and Cottleville Firefighter Outreach. Carla is a long time member of the VISION St. Charles County Leadership and Protege Mentorship Programs.
Carla is the proud mother of six children and six grandchildren. Carla and her husband, John, attend Grace River Church in St. Charles County.
“In all my experiences, as a working woman, as a community leader, as a wife and mother, I learned the importance of hard work, of making your voice heard,” said Carla. “We are in dire need of conservative leadership willing to protect our Constitutional freedoms and to fight for families in Jefferson City and to make healthy families a priority. That is why I am running.”
Carla’s top legislative priorities include protecting women and children by focusing on domestic and child abuse programs and taking a holistic approach to mental health in education and upholding all citizens rights under the Constitution.
Carla has retained Axiom Strategies to serve as consultants on her campaign.
June 17, Mike Swaringim
After 21 years of community service through School Board membership, 17 years in Leadership, I am jumping from the frying pan into the fire…. I had committed to myself and family that I would be retiring from the Board of Education in 2022. My intention was to relax, enjoy our grandkids more, and focus on my Real Estate Business. However, because of what I experienced to be a lack of leadership at the State level during COVID regarding our kids and the tyrannical moves made by the government at the Federal Level, and School Board members at the local level, I decided I could not “relax” … because of my grandkids and your children need a bigger voice. As a conservative voice, in the trenches, I always fought to have kids free from mandates-including masking and vaccinations. I voted to keep our kids in face-to-face learning. Remote learning is NOT what is best for our kids.
My priorities in office are simple.
- To honor and defend the Constitution.
- Take the safety and education of children seriously.
- Keep our families safe by supporting our State and Local Law enforcement officers.
- To protect the hard-earned dollars of our working citizens by opposing unreasonable taxation.
- To be approachable and available to the citizens of my District, and to represent the majority will of the people.
- Protect Small businesses
- Make available affordable housing for seniors
- Defend our Faith, Families, and Freedoms.
June 24, no meeting. Mattingly’s not available.
July 1, no meeting, Independence Day
July 8, Justin Hicks
Candidate for State Rep District 108
July 15, David Gregory
Candidate for State Auditor
David Gregory is an investigative attorney and accountant. In 2016, he was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives. Right away, David’s investigative acumen took off as he was named “Freshman Legislator of the Year” for outstanding work on preventing government waste, fraud and abuse.
But, David did not stop there. He concluded his first term by using his unique investigation skills in a bold, new way. Conducting Missouri’s first Fiscal Opportunity Audit, David’s novel investigation into the Department of Revenue found tens of millions of dollars in potential savings for Missouri taxpayers.
Today, David is now the chairman of his own special investigations committee. Handpicked by the Speaker of the House, David is leading Missouri’s Special Committee on Government Accountability and enacting new initiatives to investigate price fixing and other anti-competitive practices in the agriculture industry. As a result, other states are being encouraged to follow David’s lead and conduct their own agricultural investigations.
Most importantly, David is a Christian. After witnessing a local government use the COVID-19 virus to abuse and bully churches, David filed a pro bono lawsuit challenging the Executive Order imposed by St. Louis County Executive, Sam Page, which required churches to limit religious gatherings. David argued – and believes – that our First Amendment rights to practice our faith and assemble as a body are fundamental constitutional rights.
David is a lifelong Missourian and he lives in the South St. Louis County region with his wife, Paige. He has an accounting degree, a Masters of Business Administration, and a Juris Doctor from Saint Louis University.
TBD, Karen Vennard, Rescheduled.
Candidate for State Rep District 108
Karen Vennard is the wife of Jim for 29 years. REALTOR© Broker Associate with Integrity Realty and Associates serving St. Charles County for 25 years and has served as Alderman on the Lake Saint Louis Board of Aldermen for the past 12 years. Karen served as the President of the Board of Alderman for five years of that term. As an active member of a vibrant growing community and working in a small business she understands the importance of well-planned economic growth to protect property values and keep property taxes low. That has served her well on the Board of Aldermen as the City of Lake Saint Louis paid off a series of bonds in 2022. Not only was that accomplished two years early, it saved the tax payers about $25,000 in fees and cut property taxes nearly in half. Lake Saint Louis is now a debt free City. That is something this Candidate would like to continue in higher office when elected.
Karen was born in Farmington, Missouri the youngest of 5 children, spent the first 10 years of her life traveling with her family as her father served 20 years in the Army. Her father served as a Medic in Korea and Special Forces in Vietnam. Her Father passed away when she was 10 years old and was raised by her single Mother who worked as a nurse at the Farmington State Hospital. Karen attended school in Farmington and graduated from Central High School in Park Hills MO. Karen moved to St. Charles County in 1987 where she continued her higher education at St. Charles County Community College. Karen completed her Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology at then Lindenwood College. Karen met her husband Jim in 1989. Jim is an Electrical Engineer with Westar Display Technologies in Weldon Spring. Karen and Jim moved to Lake Saint Louis in 2000 where they bought their home and became active members of their community.
Karen has served on numerous committees and boards over the years that have contributed to her leadership roles. Karen served as the 2009 President of the St. Charles County Association of REALTORS©. Karen took leadership training through the Missouri REALTORS© Leadership Academy. Serving on numerous committees such as Community Outreach, Government Affairs, REALTOR© Political Action Committee and REALTOR© Party Member Involvement Committee representing 11,000 members from Missouri with the National Association of REALTORS©. Having also served on the Board of Directors for St. Charles and Missouri REALTOR© Associations.
Locally, Karen has served on the St. Charles County Municipal League Board of Directors since 2011 and President of that Board in 2015-16. Karen also served on the Missouri Municipal League Finance and Taxation Committee. Karen serves on the St. Charles County Ambulance District Advisory Board and is a member of St. Charles County Pachyderms. She has supported several charities such as Salvation Army and others over the past 20 years.
Karen’s leadership experience over the years has brought her to this position. Having been raised by a single Mother with very limited resources Karen understands fiscal responsibility. That experience served well on the Lake Saint Louis Board of Aldermen as the City not only cut property taxes but has had a balanced budget every year during her tenure. Even during the economic shut down in 2020 the City of Lake Saint Louis still came in over budget in revenues by $2 million over the previous year. This will be one of Karen’s first goals in the General Assembly to see where the budget can be trimmed and streamlined. Over the past 12 years many Municipalities’ been asked to cut revenues in various ways but not aware of tax cuts made by the State of Missouri.
As a REALTOR© it is important that no legislation is ever written at any level of government that will impede housing. The current housing market is unfavorable to first time homebuyers and the dream of homeownership is out of their reach because of inflated home prices. As such, rents are at an all-time high and vacancies are at all-time low. Karen believes that housing should be a legislative priority.
Lastly, Karen is a proponent of Public Safety. Our Police have been under attack for many years. Karen believes that the Police need more funding not less. St. Charles County has been victimized by liberal Prosecutors that have been setting loose criminals freely to come to surrounding Counties to commit crimes. This will be another legislative priority to protect the good citizens of District 108.