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Kerr running for House District 60 seat

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A former Missouri Veterans Commission ombudsman is now throwing her name into the ring to represent the Missouri House of Representatives 60th District.

Pat Rowe Kerr announced her candidacy over the weekend to run as a Republican to fill the seat representing the state capital, as current state Rep. Jay Barnes will be term-limited in 2018.

Kerr has been involved in Missouri’s government in some fashion since the 1980’s, having served in several roles as a court reporter and senior advisor for Missouri’s Veteran Commission.

In her career, Kerr has worked with members of both sides of the aisle to aid or defeat legislation in that time and says that if elected, she will continue to work on ways to improve the lives of Missourians, as well as improve the city and state involvement in terms of Jefferson City.

She has been recognized nationally by the Department of Defense and the Country of Canada for the creation of several programs within the state of Missouri that have and continue to benefit hundreds of thousands of Missourians.

“Kerr’s efforts were instrumental in the creation of the Missouri Military Family Relief Fund which has raised and distributed thousands of dollars to military men, women, veterans and their families facing financial difficulties,” retired Colonel Jack Jackson said.  “Her assistance in educating legislators on the need to reduce taxes on military pensions and the creation of educational benefits was unparalleled.”

U.S. Senator Roy Blunt and Congressmen Ike Skelton and Todd Akin have all individually recognized the outstanding work of Mrs. Rowe Kerr on the behalf of our military and veterans in the United States Congressional Record.

As a former business owner and operator, she says she knows what it means to balance a budget, as well as have employees depend on her for a paycheck in order to support their families. Kerr says she will dedicate her efforts to reducing barriers for small businesses to grow and create jobs.

She has been recognized nationally by the Department of Defense and the Country of Canada for the creation of several programs within the state of Missouri that have and continue to benefit hundreds of thousands of Missourians. 

“I feel a strong commitment to ensure state employees who are woefully underpaid receive the family supporting salaries they deserve,” Kerr said in a statement.

She says that, after working as a court reporter for years, she’s verified a source of dollars that could be used on state salaries, and thinks that something could be put in place to better the salaries for the lowest paid state employees in the nation.

Kerr and her husband, Rev. John Kerr, live in Jefferson City and have four adult children and three grandchildren. She currently serves as volunteer executive director of a non-profit and has served and continues to serve on several civic boards.

Kerr has filed a campaign committee with the Missouri Ethics Commission and tapped Gayla McKinnie, former Missouri State Republic Elections Director to serve as the campaign treasurer.

Kerr received the most attention for a discrimination and harassment lawsuit against Director Larry Kay and the Veterans Commission, in which a jury in 2016 sided with Kerr. However, that case is currently being considered by the state appeals court to decide whether a judicial mistake had been made.