Missouri Governor candidates

12 • | WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2020 THE STANDARD THE-STANDARD.ORG Governor

The position of governor can be held up to eight years, across two four-year terms. The governor manages executive roles such as budgeting, official appointments and legislation. They can have considerable impact on college students through policies that address higher education, housing and the job market, among others. Jack McGee | SGA Reporter Mike Parson

Mike Parson is the incumbent and Republican nominee for Governor of Missouri.

According to Votesmart, Parson is from Clinton but made Bolivar his home. He served over six years in the Military Police of the U.S. Army and attended night classes at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa and the University of Maryland during this time.

Formerly lieutenant governor, Parson assumed the role of Governor following Eric Greitens’ resignation in 2017. Along with his positions in the governor’s office, Parson has been the sheriff of Polk County, a Missouri State Senator of District 28 and a Missouri State Representative of District 133, according to Votesmart.

One of Parson’s platforms is economic recovery amid COVID-19, detailed in the Show Me Strong Recovery Plan. Following the statewide Phase 1 lock down and further extension of that, Parson elected to reopen Missouri in May to help reestablish economic growth in the state, according to the Missouri Governor’s website.

“We have learned and accomplished so much since March,” Parson said in June, according to a press release on the governor’s website. “Knowing what we know now, we are much better prepared to deal with COVID-19 going forward, and we are fully confident that Missouri is ready to reopen.”

Parson is also an advocate for law enforcement, following his years in the service.

Parson is riding on a campaign that seeks to address infrastructure needs, lower an unemployment rate that got hit by the pandemic, build on Missouri’s wage growth, decrease healthcare costs, accelerate a strong economic comeback and lower crime rates across the state, according to his campaign website.

More information about Mike Parson can be found at mikeparson.com

Nicole Galloway

Nicole Galloway is the Missouri State Auditor and Democratic nominee for Missouri governor.

Galloway is from St. Louis but has made Columbia her home. Before being appointed as state auditor in 2015, she served as the Boone County Treasurer for five years. Galloway has an MBA and degree in accounting from the University of Missouri and a Bachelor’s in applied mathematics and Economics from the Missouri University of Science and Technology, according to Votesmart. She is also a certified public accountant and fraud examiner.

One of Galloway’s platforms is adopting a different statewide approach to COVID-19, according to Vote 411. She said the current strategy threatens to destabilize a full economic recovery and the state should be more unified in its response to the pandemic. Galloway is in support of a statewide masking ordinance, referencing Springfield’s Mayor Ken McClure call for this action to help limit the spread of the virus.

Galloway is also an advocate for government transparency and openness, following her years as an auditor. She claims to have never accepted a lobbyist gift, according to her campaign website, and seeks to lessen the power and influence of lobbyists in Jefferson City and represent the interests of the taxpayer. She also seeks to expand government lawmaking outside of the state capital.

Galloway is riding on a campaign, according to her website, that seeks to expand medicaid protection and access to healthcare, invest in education, adopt common sense gun legislation and criminal justice reform and provide more and better opportunities for Black Missourians.

“There are only nine women governors in the United States,” Galloway said in a tweet on Oct. 15. “After election day, I’ll make it 10.”

More information about Nicole Galloway can be found at nicolegalloway.com