A serious car accident sidelined Rep. Rebecca Roeber for the second half of the 2019 regular session, but the dedicated school choice advocate has no intentions of letting that stop her.
Using the tag line “It’s no accident… Rebecca Roeber will continue to work for the 34th District,” Roeber announced Tuesday her intention to seek re-election in 2020.
“I have stuff I want to work on. There are issues I am not done with,” Roeber told The Missouri Times, pointing to topics such as school choice, grandparents rights, and the foster care system.
She added that she will be back in Jefferson City in January to finish out her third term, saying “my electorate voted for me and I owe them that.”
The Republican lawmaker from Lee’s Summit was first elected to the Missouri House in 2014 and was re-elected in 2016 and 2018. Each year in the legislature, the former teacher has advocated for expanding charter schools in order to improve the education landscape in the state. She has yet to get the school choice legislation across the finish line.
“I believe parents know there kids best,” Roeber said. “If a particular school is not serving that child needs, they should have the right to seek a different school out. Right now, they don’t have that choice unless they can pay for it.”
During the 2019 session, Roeber’s charter school expansion proposal made it onto the House calendar but stalled out with the bill’s champion in the hospital.
While driving to Jefferson City on March 25, the junior legislator was involved in a two-car collision near Syracuse.
According to the crash report, Roeber’s injuries were “serious” while the other driver involved in the collision had “minor” injuries. Both were taken by ambulance to the hospital. Her re-election announcement said she “suffered 18 broken bones and was in critical condition for weeks.”
“Now she battled back and is ready to fight hard for conservative, common-sense values held dear by voters of the 34th District,” the announcement stated.
Roeber spoke to The Missouri Times over the phone from a rehab facility in Lee’s Summit.
“I am thrilled Rep. Roeber is running for re-election. Her experience in education and passion for helping children makes her voice one of the most important in our state legislature,” House Speak Elijah Haahr told The Missouri Times.
“She’s a hard worker and has a great deal of influence in the General Assembly,” Sen. Mike Cierpiot told The Missouri Times. “I’m grateful she’ll remain in my delegation.”
Alisha Shurr was a reporter for The Missouri Times and The Missouri Times Magazine. She joined The Missouri Times in January 2018 after working as a copy editor for her hometown newspaper in Southern Oregon. Alisha is a graduate of Kansas State University.
