Elect Leslie Derrington on November 5th!

I believe every Missourian has a right to quality health care that is both local and affordable.

As the parent of a medically fragile child, I know how difficult it can be for families to keep up with soaring health care costs. That's why I volunteered with the effort to expand Medicaid. Our Republican-led legislature rejected billions of federal dollars meant to provide health care for Missourians. Because of their actions, we all suffered from higher premiums and fewer options until Missourians voted to expand Medicaid in 2020 - a bold action that Republicans are trying to roll back, against voters wishes, right now.

Missourians are further suffering from critical shortages of doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, and personal care attendants. We have to create incentives for these essential workers and provide them with the support they need.

As your state representative, I will fight for quality health care for your family regardless of your income or zip code.

I believe in the power of a world class public education.

I earned my degree in Elementary Education from Missouri State University and am a proud Lindbergh School District parent. Republicans have underfunded our public schools leaving local communities to make the difficult choice between raising taxes or leaving schools shorthanded. State funding for public four-year colleges has dropped nearly 50 per cent, per student, since 2000, passing those rising costs onto families and saddling graduates with out of control student loans.

Missouri's kids deserve so much more.

Priorities:

• Expand funding for Pre-K education
• Invest in our public universities and colleges
• Increase teacher pay
• Keep public money in public schools

We need common-sense gun laws. Now.

As a mother of three school-aged children I am devastated by recent mass shootings in Buffalo, New York and Uvalde, Texas, and devastated by the knowledge that this list will grow before the November election. We cannot become numb and accept this as our status quo. We need leaders to take bold action to protect Missouri families from gun violence.

Republicans in Jefferson City have recklessly loosened gun laws and made Missourians less safe, bill by bill. In St. Louis City, nearly 90 percent of 2020 homicides were committed with a gun, and the homicide rate was 16 times higher than the national average. We have to put a stop to the gun epidemic with common-sense laws now. We don't need to wait for the next tragedy to act.

Priorities:

• End permitless carry
• Mandatory background checks
• Prohibit domestic abusers from possessing guns

I believe in choice.

Every person should have the autonomy to make decisions about their body. Republicans have passed extreme abortion bans in recent years, limiting access to abortion care even in cases of medical need.

Missouri ranks 42nd for maternal mortality, meaning that more mothers die here while pregnant, during delivery, or up to a year after pregnancy than in almost any state in the nation. Instead of promoting health care and supporting women, Missouri legislators have placed burdensome restrictions on them. This is shameful.

As your state rep, I will work to restore choice for all Missourians.

A strong economy is one that works for everyone.

As your state rep, I’ll fight for those who truly build up our economy—our workers—for the wages, benefits, and protections they deserve. I’ll support investments in educational opportunities to support a 21st century workforce.

Missourians sent a clear message to Republicans in Jeff City when they overturned Right to Work. I will always support workers in their efforts to organize.

I’ll work for policies that support local businesses that provide good jobs in our state and keep our economy growing. And I’ll work to bring new businesses here that want to capitalize on our skilled Missouri workforce and quality of life. But I will always put workers’ interests before the special interests of large corporations.

The climate crisis is here, and we need to act for ourselves and for our children.

We can prioritize projects that will help our state reduce carbon emissions, create pathways toward environmental justice, and transition to a cleaner more sustainable future.

Priorities:

• Transition to clean energy
• Replace lead pipes
• Corporate accountability
• Native habitat restoration