Belton candidates compete for Missouri 56th District House seat

by Don Bradley

Republican incumbent Michael Davis is seeking a fourth term in Missouri’s 56th House district which takes in most of Belton and Raymore.

He is challenged in the primary by Steve Baker, who retired after 30 years in the Marine Corps and is making his first run at elective office.

The winner of the two Republican candidates will likely face Democrat Staci Czar in the November general election. Another name, Mitch Mullvain, will appear on the ballot as a Democrat, but it’s unclear if he is an active candidate.

Michael Davis, Republican

Davis is 31, an attorney, is seeking his fourth term and just like the other times, questions have come up about his residence.

He lists his address as being a residence in Belton which also is the address as his campaign treasurer. Critics say the Belton address is a sham and he actually lives in Kansas City and stays at least part of the time at his parents’ home in the St. Louis area.

Davis counters that his address has been verified by county and state officials.

He is a strong supporter of President Trump and voted in favor of the recent redistricting in Missouri which was designed to strengthen the already Republican majority.

“Missouri is a solidly conservative state, and I have always believed we should use every tool available to help secure the U.S. House majority and keep liberals like Hakeem Jeffries from taking control of the speaker’s gavel,” Davis said.

He also supports the so called “Save Act” which proponents say is designed to keep elections secure while others argue it would make it harder for some people to vote, namely women.

He says that because of the state’s ballooning budget, the state income tax is no longer able to provide enough revenue. He favors moving to consumption-based taxes, such as more sales tax as the governor has suggested.

In the coming year, big issues facing the General Assembly include education reform and taking action to relieve property tax burden for homeowners.

Steve Baker, Republican

Baker also started young. He joined the Marine Corps at 17 and stayed in 30 years with deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He retired as a master gunnery sergeant. He is a graduate of American Military University.

After his final posting at Fort Leonard Wood, he and his family moved to Raymore and he took a job working with veterans for the state of Missouri.

He and his wife homeschooled their children and he lists “educational freedom” as a top concern for the General Assembly as he seeks political office. He says parents should have the right to choose their children’s schooling, whether it be public, private or homeschooling.

He opposes abortion rights.

“Every human life is valuable and worthy of protection, from protection until death,” he said in a questionnaire.

He is also a strong advocate of the Second Amendment which protects the right to bear arms.

 Staci Czar, Democrat

As she was raising her children, she fought the pull to jump into politics.

Now, they’re grown and she is ready to seek her first elective office.

“I wanted to do it so many times but now the time is right,” said Czar, who works as a shipping manager for an online auction house.

She thinks the mood of the country could change not only Washington but also the small towns and rural areas where Democrats have not fared well in recent years.

“I want people in Jefferson City who will work for the people and not just a Maga agenda,” she said.

She opposes the “Save Act” saying it is a clear example of voter suppression by demanding documents that some people don’t have or can’t find.

“Passports are very expensive,” she said. “Getting original birth certificates are hard, having to jump through hoops is too much to get to vote for our democracy.”

She also opposed the recent redistricting, saying all it was intended to do was to make it harder for Democrats, or any other party other than Republicans to get elected.

She opposes school vouchers, which would allow parents to use public dollars to enroll their kids in private schools or even homeschool.

“I’m also going to fight to keep our public school systems funded,” she said. “School vouchers, homeschool grants, and school of choice need to be overturned.”

She also wants the state to act on improvements to Interstate 49 south of Missouri 58.

Mitch Mullvain, Democrat

The candidate could not be reached and does not appear to be actively seeking the office.