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Finding commonalities, concerns over money influence focus of female leaders in politics forum – Columbia Daily Tribune

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Finding commonalities and a desire for less campaign influence because of money were the focus of a Show-Me Women in Politics forum Tuesday night at Stephens College.

The event was hosted by the Unnamed Committee in Boone County for Open Minds in Politics in cooperation with the college.

Former Columbia Mayor Mary Anne McCollum, former State Rep. Vicki Riback Wilson, current state Rep. Cheri Toalson Reisch, Boone County District II Commissioner Janet Thompson and Republican candidate for Boone County recorder of deeds Shamon Jones took part. The forum was moderated by former Boone County Commissioner Karen Miller. 

The evening started off with each woman discussing why she became involved in politics in the first place. 

McCollum was the first woman mayor of Columbia. Before that, she was a Second Ward council member. She initially got into local politics to address the hot topic of the day, which was stormwater.

Riback Wilson was the first Boone County woman elected to state office. She was asked by former State Rep. Chris Kelly to run to fill the seat left open by Ken Jacob, she said.

Jones, like Riback Wilson, received a call asking her to run. She said she wants to reconnect families with personal history through records at the recorder’s office and opportunities at Daniel Boone Regional Library and the State Historical Society of Missouri.

Toalson Reisch is running unopposed in the Republican primary for her 44th District seat in the Missouri House. She will face off against Democrat Dave Raithel in November. If she wins, the next term would be her last in the House due to term limits.

She became involved in politics as a teenager. She previously had served as city clerk and deputy court administrator in Hallsville. She went on to be that town’s mayor as well before advancing to state office.

Thompson, a longtime public defender, was among forum participants to receive a call about running for office. She realized the work she was doing as a defender would fit with the work of the county commission, she said. 

‘A lot of collaboration’

When Riback Wilson was in office, she was among a group of women who established a bipartisan women legislators group. She also was in office as the makeup of the General Assembly switched from majority Democrat to Republican. 

Experiencing other cultures is what helped her learn to interact with others. 

“(You need to) make sure you put yourself in uncomfortable or different situations,” she said, adding she viewed going into the legislature as a foreign country with a different culture. “I have to be open here in the same way I was when I was living overseas.”

The bipartisan group found common ground on legislation. This same group also has a yearly fundraiser, Toalson Reisch said, adding it doubled its awards in Missouri’s eight congressional districts this year to high school female seniors. 

Toalson Reisch also relies on other people’s experiences serving on the House Education Committee, such as Democrat Paula Brown from Hazelwood, who was a lifelong school administrator prior to joining state office. 

“There is a lot of collaboration,” Toalson Reisch said.

Finding commonalities is all about listening, McCollum said. Jones cited a time in which she was able to find commonalities with a person of the Buddhist faith for a faith walk. She also noted her ability to understand a variety of perspectives, noting her upbringing with a religious mother, but an atheist grandfather. 

‘Have to fix the system’

McCollum and Riback Wilson both were concerned over the preponderance of political action committees. These organizations were first starting to gain traction when Riback Wilson was in office, she said. 

“I had a primary and general for a total of $36,000. Now that doesn’t get people one week,” Riback Wilson said, noting her time in office and campaigning was around 25 years ago. “We are complicit in wanting to watch an ad on TV, rather than go out and hear a (candidate) speak in person.

“This is a broken system if we rely on money.”

Toalson Reisch said increased campaign spending is an unfortunate reality now because of all the venues needed to advertise. Not only on TV or radio, but online and through social media platforms. 

“It is expensive to run a radio ad or a commercial (in this area). When you are starting out as a new candidate, you have to start from scratch with nothing,” she said. 

It is important to have that face-to-face interaction with constituents, both Toalson Reisch and Riback Wilson said. 

New candidates are trying to play catch-up with their fundraising against better-funded or incumbent candidates, Thompson said, in part referring to Jones and her candidacy.

“We have to fix the system and not just say it is unfortunate,” she said. “There is intentionality in where people are putting their money and it is having an impact and it often is coming from outside.”

Charles Dunlap covers local government, community stories and other general subjects for the Tribune. You can reach him at cdunlap@columbiatribune.com or @CD_CDT on Twitter. Please consider subscribing to support vital local journalism.

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‘Disgraceful:’ N.S. Tory leader slams school’s request that military remove uniform

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HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.

Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.

A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”

Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.

“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.

In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”

“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”

Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.

Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.

Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.

“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.

“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.

“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.

“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”

NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”

“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Saskatchewan NDP’s Beck holds first caucus meeting after election, outlines plans

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REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.

Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.

She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.

Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.

Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.

The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Nova Scotia election: Liberals say province’s immigration levels are too high

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HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.

Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.

“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.

Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.

“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”

The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.

In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.

“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”

In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.

“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”

Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.

Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.

“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”

In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.

In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.

“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”

Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.

“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”

The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.

“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.

Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.

“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

— With files from Keith Doucette in Halifax

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