1. What was your first campaign experience?
I actually ran for a trustee position in Velda Village Hills, a small municipality in St. Louis County. I started going to the meetings and saw some stuff I didn’t necessarily like. So, I decided to run. I’d worked on large campaigns but never worked on anything so small. I lost by 13 votes. If you weren’t originally from there and didn’t know the people, chances are you weren’t going to get elected. I wasn’t too successful, but I learned a lot that helped me later when I ran.
2. In what ways have you made a tangible effect on your constituents’ lives during the past legislative session?
There were a lot of things happening during session and I don’t think constituent input has been valued the way I value it. Every time I’m in the community I tell people to call me. We’ll do lunch and talk about these issues. From my first to my second terms I really noticed people calling and requesting information and signing up for my capitol report. And being an advocate for what they believe in. I wasn’t too successful because of party politics, but I tried.
I do what I have to do. An example was the foreclosure law. That was a big one for my constituents.
3. Who from the opposing party do you most respect? And your own party?
I’ve got a lot of respect for Noel Torpey. We came in together and it was a good relationship — him and Mike Cierpiot. We all came in the same class and we just hit it off even though we have philosophical differences on a lot of stuff. We can discuss the issues without shutting each other out. I’ve always enjoyed our discussions. And they’re really respected among their peers. They believe what their party believes but there’s common ground and we can agree to disagree. There’s at least intellectual points to discuss on, not just talking points from ALEC or Fox or MSNBC.
Within my party, I would have to say Brandon Ellington. He believes what he says and he’ll debate it with you. We don’t see eye to eye on everything, but you can sit down with him and he will tell you his point of view, which is his constituent’s point of view. He’s really good at communicating that with other people.
4. What was your dream job growing up?
A job that still interests me now is some sort of detective. I didn’t want to be a beat cop but I wanted to be a detective, but it doesn’t work that way. I wanted to work for the FBI or something like that. I would see things in my community that just weren’t right and I wanted to be the honest person.
5. What do you most enjoy about the interim?
Getting a chance to decompress. We go through a lot of mental strain [in Jefferson City]. I also like being home with my family because I have a newborn. Plus, being home with the residents. I can have phone calls with them in session, but it’s not the same as seeing them in the grocery stories or running into people and having 45 minute talks on the street.
Ashley Jost is no longer with The Missouri Times. She worked as the executive editor for several months, and a reporter before that.
