FERGUSON, Mo. – Paul Berry III, St. Louis community activist, Republican, and former candidate for state representative, spoke in Ferguson yesterday announcing his exploratory committee to challenge Congressman Lacy Clay in Missouri’s 1st Congressional District.
“Paul Berry III, an African American Republican Party member, has been critical of the Democratic Party’s leadership and operational response to civil unrest occurring in the Ferguson community,” reads a statement about the announcement. “A rising star in Missouri’s Republican Party, Berry has established a reputation of taking on tough community issues, such as, municipal court reform, reducing violent crime rate, criminal justice reform, professional and business licensing reform, elimination of local earnings taxes in the City of St. Louis, 2nd amendment rights, Homer G. Phillips scandal and support for the #BlackBabiesMatter movement.”
See his full speech here:
Rachael Herndon was the editor at The Missouri Times and also produced This Week in Missouri Politics, published Missouri Times Magazine, and co-hosted the #MoLeg podcast. She joined The Missouri Times in 2014, returning to political reporting after working as a campaign and legislative staffer.
Rachael studied at the University of Missouri – Columbia. She lives in Jefferson City with her husband, Brandon, and their two children.