Candidates running for the 36th District House seat will represent Kansas City south of 115th Street/Martha Truman Road as well as all of Grandview.
By Tyler Schneider
Anthony Ealy (D)
A promising young lawyer and self-styled “progressive activist” candidate, Anthony Ealy, 27, defeated the freshman incumbent Annette Turnbaugh in the primary.
If he defeats Republican opponent Kurt Lauvstad on Nov. 8, Ealy has promised to focus on key issues ranging from “education, agriculture, criminal justice reform, infrastructure, and support of a Pro Union economy”.
Himself a product of the Grandview School District, one of Ealy’s primary objectives in a potential first term would be to “target the Missouri education formula,” to better serve both his alma mater and his constituents within the Hickman Mills School District.
Having been a college student during the 2014 police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO, Ealy is just as keen on addressing criminal justice reform—a wide-ranging topic that ranges from marijuana expungement to restructuring the prison system.
“I favor reimagining police departments, inviting in community programs, and ending the school-to-prison pipeline. I also believe that racial justice and environmental justice are linked, so I favor promoting green bills that stop toxic dumping in minority communities, encourage better air quality conditions, and reduce food deserts,” Ealy said.
Though his plans may come off as ambitious to some, Ealy understands that the capacity for change is often a slow push-and-pull. If elected, he is going to enter the office with a sense of humility and practicality.
“There’s a need for smarter legislation in Missouri, but getting there takes time and compromise. There are a lot of things I want to fight for, but at first I will be trying to keep to those things that I know I can get done,” Ealy says.
Currently, there is no online presence for Ealy nor yard signs.
Ealy is in support of:
- Increased funding and reform of state aid distribution for Missouri’s public schools.
- Unions and labor interests.
- Enacting legislation which would consider celebratory gunfire a serious state offense, rather than a city ordinance violation.
- Sponsoring legislation that supports universal healthcare, raising the minimum wage, and free public transport, because they are the most significant ways of reducing income inequality.
Kurt Lauvstad (R)
A current florist and native of Osceola, Iowa, Lauvstad has a degree in telecommunications management from DeVry University and has also worked as a production operator at Sioux Chief, a plumbing manufacturer.
Lauvstad has not responded to inquiries from The Telegraph for an interview. Nor does he have a presence on the internet. He ran unopposed for the GOP in the Aug. 2 primary election.