Four Questions: House District 62 candidates
Candidates for the Missouri House District No. 62 seat in the state legislature were asked four identical questions. They were asked to limit their responses to 50 words. The questions, and their answers, appear below.
• Tell prospective voters how your business/careers have prepared you for participating in budget preparations at the state level.
• Share your stance on Amendment 3. For or against — taking into consideration that if this amendment is approved this will undo constitutional regulations already approved by 62 percent of Missouri voters.
• What is the most important issue facing Missouri to you?
• Working across the aisle in politics is happening less and less. What will you do to find common ground and pass laws with bipartisan support?

Nancy J. Ragan, Democrat, Vienna
• My experience as a senior enlisted petty officer in the U.S. Navy, and afterwards as a civilian working for Department of Defense, taught me to handle end-of-year budgetary shortfalls and still maintain assigned equipment. My company did complete overhauls and emergency repairs on Aviation Ground Support Equipment for the Navy, mostly onboard carriers. I bid the jobs for the company, and supervised the rebuilds for my team. We were required to meet the cost estimates, or be below the budgeted bid.

• Regulations concerning redistricting rules were approved two years ago by 62 percent of Missouri voters. We are readdressing this issue again because the current state government did not like it. I will be voting ‘NO’ on amendment 3, because I believe legislative districts should be formed by a nonpartisan group. Take a look at the current map of the districts, one of them looks like an earthworm across the state!

• On this particular day the covid-19 pandemic is on a sudden upswing and schools are closing for two weeks (possibly longer). Rural areas NEED broadband internet so that our students can actually continue their education on line in the midst of this pandemic. We can not complete until we start, I say we start today! In that same vein we need more covid testing not less to prevent outbreaks becoming widespread.

• Working across the aisle requires an attitude of respect and civility, as well as a willingness to listen to differing viewpoints, even if one disagrees. It is possible to disagree without hating one another, and is essential to discovering our commonalities; enabling representatives to provide solutions and good governance. I am an American first!

Bruce Sassmann, Republican, Bland
• Financial management and accounting are skills I learned in college. I have been successful in managing the family businesses, a convenience store, and personal finances. I have had the responsibility of overseeing public funds in city government. I sit on a local bank advisory board. I have most recently been the president of a charitable foundation. I am uniquely prepared to participate in budgeting at the state level.

• Amendment 3 is an opportunity for voters to re-examine the Clean Missouri amendment passed in 2018. The 2018 Amendment changed the priorities for drawing legislative boundaries as an attempt to gerrymander the legislative districts. The 2018 amendment also changed the selection process, responsibilities, qualifications, salary and retention of the demographer. My conservative friends and I have compared the two amendments and we are voting YES on Amendment 3.

• Agreeing on priorities and solving the budget problems are the most important issues facing Missouri. Balancing rising cost with declining revenues is a losing proposition. If we are talking about roads, schools, expanding broadband, parks, or paying for Medicaid expansion, creative financing will be the central focus of those discussions.
• Some issues, like the right to life, 2nd Amendment, and religious liberty, are non-negotiable. Other issues might be solved by compromise. As much as some political pundits would want you to believe otherwise, the truth and the solution to most problems are not owned by either party. Sometimes we can agree and sometimes we can respectfully disagree.

Four Questions: Maries County Sheriff Candidates
Candidates for the Maries County Sheriff position were each asked four questions. The first three questions were identical and the fourth differed due to one candidate being an incumbent. The questions and the candidate's answers appear below.
• What are your qualifications for Maries County Sheriff?
• What do you think is the most important issues facing the Maries County Sheriff’s department and what will you do help solve this issue (besides budget)?
• Budget issues have been a constant issue for sheriffs across the nations. What will you do to keep the department within budget?
• The sheriff’s department has been contracted to provide policing in Belle. How will you handle this contract and policing coverage? (Asked to Buddy Thompson)
• The sheriff’s department has been contracted to provide policing in Belle. How do you feel the sheriff’s department has done so far? (Asked to Harold "Chris" Heitman, incumbent)

Buddy Thompson, Democrat, Vienna
• I started my 32-year-long career in law enforcement in 1988 as a Dispatcher/Jailer and then Deputy Sheriff under Sheriff Roy Bassett. I then served under Sheriff Doug DiNatale as a Deputy Sheriff, and was Reserve Deputy Sheriff under Sheriff Chris Heitman’s first term in office. Since 2012, I have served as a Reserve Officer for the City of Vienna.

• Cooperation between city, county, and state agencies is vital for our county to solve more crimes and combat drug abuse. Drug abuse and theft are closely associated, and I want to more effectively assign deputies to be visible across the entire County. There also needs to be cooperation across all departments & agencies.

• I feel that stricter fiscal management and transparency is necessary to forge a strong relationship between the Sheriff’s office and the people of Maries County. Citizens need to know how their tax dollars are being used in order to trust the Sheriff’s Department. I plan to look into how budget cuts can be made while still fully supporting the citizens of Maries County.

• Belle citizens have expressed their desire to have city law enforcement back. I will do whatever I can to make that transition should the City of Belle decide to reinstate that agency and will work closely with that police department and offer our support to address crimes in that area. My goal is to ensure that the entire County is covered and safe.

Harold “Chris” Heitman, Republican, Vienna
• Dedicating my entire life to law enforcement I began as a Jailer for Eureka Police Dept. when I was only 18 years old. I obtained my criminal justice degree when I was 21 years old, and became a sworn officer. I graduated from Jefferson College Advanced Police Academy with over 1000 hours of training obtaining another college degree in law enforcement. I began working as a full time Sheriff’s Deputy for Gasconade County in 2002 and I was quickly promoted to road supervisor there. In 2004 I was appointed as an Investigator for the Mid-Missouri Major Case Squad. I was elected Marshal for the City of Belle, serving there from 2005-2009. I first elected your Sheriff in 2008 and I have been serving you ever since. It has truly been an honor and a privilege to serve you, the fine citizens of Maries County. I also serve on the board of directors for the South Central Major Case Squad and the Lake Area Narcotics Enforcement Group. I am a licensed Generalist Law Enforcement Instructor for the State of Missouri, and I help train both Academy Students and Certified Law Enforcement Officers. I am a certified death investigator, and have continued training with the FBI and Homeland Security. I also conduct law enforcement instructor courses for the Missouri Sheriff’s Training Academy.

• The most important issue facing the sheriff’s office is having enough manpower to effectively cover the county. Unfortunately, deputies and I are having to prioritize calls and investigations because the county can not afford to have enough deputies on to manage our call volume. That being said the deputies I do have are some of the hardest working people I have ever had the privilege of working with, and they often stay late and come in early to handle these issues. Since taking over in 2009 my office has utilized reserve (volunteer) Deputies to assist with patrols and investigations. These volunteers provide 10 hours a month of dedicated free service to our county. Also, I will continue to apply for grants to help with these problems. Opioid usage is also another big problem facing our county, and this is why I obtained a $40,000.00 grant just this year just to combat, detect, and deter opioid usage in Maries County.

• Because budget issues are such a problem in rural counties, such as Maries County my staff and I have very aggressively gone after Federal and State Grant Funding. Since taking over as your Sheriff I have obtained over one million dollars worth of grants and/or donated equipment. We have updated our 911 system, the deputies fleet, deputies equipment, and they are all provided high quality training. When I first took over as your sheriff my office was over $200,000 in debt, we had to borrow money to upgrade our fleet. After serving four years as your sheriff we have not had to borrow any additional money, and our deputies are driving vehicles that are not breaking down responding to your emergencies.

• When asked by the Belle City Council if I would provide a contract to provide police coverage for the City of Belle I was very hesitant. In fact, I informed the council that this was not something I wanted to do, but I would if they felt it was in the best interest of the city. Knowing that this was not the most popular decision I did what I felt was right and would be best for the City of Belle and the entire county. The majority of big investigations taking place in the City of Belle were already being investigated by my office anyway. I feel the Sheriff’s Office had done an outstanding job providing police coverage for the City of Belle. The amount of drug related arrests have gone up, and criminals are being held accountable for their actions. It is going to take some time but the criminals are learning that Belle is no longer a lawless community.