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Rick Roeber looks to continue Rebecca Roeber legacy in House

Rep. Rebecca Roeber’s husband is looking to fill the void in the Missouri General Assembly created by her passing. Rick Roeber announced Wednesday his candidacy for HD 34 —  held by his late wife until her unexpected death at the end of July.

He noted he intends see his wife’s legacy continue in Jefferson City.

“She represented her constituents so well and with such passion and concern. My wife and I were both passionate about many if not most of the same things. I can only hope to carry on her work with as much dedication,” Rick Roeber said.

Rebecca Roeber died on July 30 while vacationing with her family in Colorado. She had just finished rehab after a four-month recovery from a serious car accident, which sidelined Roeber for the second half of the 2019 regular session.

Prior to being an elected official, Rebecca Roeber spent 17 years as an educator in the Raytown district. She 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 advocated for expanding charter schools in order to improve the education landscape in the state. During the 2019 session, Rebecca Roeber’s charter school expansion proposal made it onto the House calendar but ultimately stalled out.

Rick Roeber recently retired from a 20-year career at Sprint Corporation in order to care for his recovering wife. He is an ordained pastor and serves part time as a chaplain at the Kansas City Rescue Mission.

It is the perfect time to make this announcement, he said, because his wife always always knew him to be a man of action.

“I don’t like putting off until tomorrow what can be done today. She would understand that in the midst of my grief it is important to me keeping her memory and legacy intact. That is why I will be walking our district in the coming weeks and months assuring our constituents that I will continue to serve them with the same passion as my late wife,” he said.