JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Rep. Jeremy LaFaver, D-Kansas City, announced Tuesday that he will not run for re-election for a third term to spend more time with his family. He said that his current top priority is to be the best father and husband he can be, which means being much closer to home.
“I’ve got a four-year-old and a two-year-old, and leaving them every week to come down here, just became more of a burden on my family than the benefits allowed,” he said. “I’m excited to spend more time with my daughters and my wife.”
Known for his sardonic and dry style of debate on the House floor, LaFaver says that he loved the fast-paced work environment that came along with the job as well as the friendships he built with fellow representatives on both sides of the aisle. LaFaver has worked with other members of the House currently the ranking minority member of the Emerging Issues Committee, and he sits on the House Budget, General Laws and Public Safety and Corrections Appropriations Committee.
“What I’m going to miss most about the House is the camaraderie of my colleagues when things get one-on-one, particularly in the budget process,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed great relationships with chairs and vice-chairs of that committee, and I think over the last four years, I’ve put resources where I think they can help kids, especially kids that are victims of neglect and abuse.”
However, LaFaver said he still wants to make an impact through public service even though he is leaving the House. He does not have any current plans for life after public office.
“My old man always told me, ‘Focus on what you’re doing now, and later will take care of itself later,’” he said.
District 25, LaFaver’s district, swings strongly Democratic, and he ran unopposed in 2014. The party has chosen longtime staffer of U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, Greg Razer, to replace LaFaver in the House. LaFaver said that Razer’s background growing up in the Missouri Bootheel, and his current residence in Kansas City, will give him a strong ability to understand both aspects of the state.
“He’s got an ability to talk to folks from rural Missouri because he understands and he’s spent a lot of time in that part of the state,” he said. “…Hhe’s going to be a tremendous addition to the House.”
For now, LaFaver said he has an obligation to fulfill.
“I’m going to spend the next three months being a great state representative,” he said. “I made a commitment to the people that I’m going to do that.”
