St. Louis — It’s hard to believe the 2016 primary is still a year away, given how much action Missouri’s primary contests have already seen. For Jake Zimmerman, St. Louis County Assessor and Democratic candidate for attorney general, the primary really just got started earlier this month.
Until then, Zimmerman was set to square off against Sen. Scott Sifton, another St. Louis Democrat. It was a complex situation. The two shared mutual respect, and plenty of their support overlapped. With the number of Democratic senators waning, Sifton made a decision two weeks ago to skip the 2016 statewide election and remain in the Senate, where he’ll run for re-election.
The very next day, a former Cass County prosecutor, Teresa Hensley, entered the race as a Democrat with Sifton’s endorsement. But having been in the race already for months with nearly a million in cash on hand in July, Sifton’s exit made Zimmerman the unquestioned early front-runner in the Democratic primary.
“[Sifton] is one of the smartest people in Jefferson City,” Zimmerman told The Missouri Times. “It’s never fun to run against a friend or to be running against someone from your own backyard who shares a lot of the support you do. But the bottom line is our real opponent is whoever comes out of that Republican primary and whoever we run against in November.”
Zimmerman didn’t state a preference for a November opponent should he earn the nomination, saying he simply hoped for a “respectful conversation” amidst the often ugly world of politics. The former House member declined to name a favorite opponent.
“I wouldn’t presume to tell Republican primary voters how to vote,” Zimmerman said.
Despite the often politicized work of an AG, Zimmerman says there isn’t a partisan way to enforce the law.
“When I was running for county assessor I would say there is no Democrat or Republican way to assess your house, but there is a right way and a wrong way,” Zimmerman said. “There’s not a Democrat or Republican way to enforce the law, but there is a right way and a wrong way.”
The “right way” for Zimmerman is a focus on senior citizens, who are often the victim of out-of-state scams. The “wrong way” is reinforcing the “toxic” culture of Jefferson City and using your post to “score partisan points.” Zimmermain pointed to the latest conservative response to Planned Parenthood videos as an example of politics overtaking responsibility.
“I don’t want to minimize the seriousness of the issues raised there,” Zimmerman said. “But there’s not much role for the Missouri Attorney General to play in this case unless you’re looking to score some political points in a Republican primary.”
If Zimmerman earns the nomination, he’ll face a self-styled staunch conservative regardless of which Republican emerges victorious. University of Missouri law professor Josh Hawley and state Sen. Kurt Schaefer are both running as Republicans who will bring fiscal and social conservatism to the AG’s office. Schaefer, widely considered the Republican front-runner thanks to his enormous campaign war chest and powerful post as appropriations chair in the senate, has effectively been running for the post for the better part of two years, championing an expansion of gun rights, authoring a budget with massive cuts to state welfare programs, and chairing a committee currently investigating Missouri’s Planned Parenthood operations.
Zimmerman’s profile outside of St. Louis isn’t high, and he’s spending his time traveling around the state to change that. Riding the most recent wave of criticism about the supposedly ugly culture of Jefferson City, he says he hopes to seize the bully pulpit both as a candidate — and perhaps one day as AG — to urge for campaign contribution limits, a “revolving door” ban, and a cap on gifts from lobbyists to lawmakers.
“One of those things alone is a little troubling,” Zimmerman said. “Put them together and it’s not surprising you see so many shenanigans in Jefferson City, and its time for a serious statewide conversation about fixing it.”
If the next AG is in fact a Democrat, there will likely be pressure from within the party to take action on issues related directly to Ferguson. Whether it’s enforcing new state laws on collecting revenue through tickets, racial profiling, or internal police investigations, plenty of Democratic lawmakers have called on action from the state’s top law enforcement official.
On the day Michael Brown was killed in Ferguson, Zimmerman was at a hospital with his wife, Megan, who gave birth to their son, Gabriel, that same day. Since then, the St. Louis Democrat says his biggest concern has been opening up respectful dialogue with all the parties involved.
“There’s very real stuff happening here that matters and matters very deeply,” Zimmerman said. “We have to get this right, and it’s important to have civilized dialogue between people of good hearts who come from different places. That can be community leaders, victims, representatives of the police, clergy, anyone. We need everyone at the table and really talking, not just reading from talking points. I very much want to make that happen… We can’t be screaming at each other. It doesn’t bring back the dead or make anything better.”
Collin Reischman was the Managing Editor for The Missouri Times, and a graduate of Webster University with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.
