Springfield DUers, Jamie Schoolcraft for State Rep. [Roark's seat]

[usregimechange]

Brad Roark has got to go.

Remember all the hijinks of the last legislative session?

Well, we are starting the campaign to take back the Missouri House of Representatives, and we are beginning with the home district of Matt Blunt.

Blunt's former campaign manager and legislative assistant, Brad Roark, has been the posterboy for Republican power gone wild. In the last session alone he managed to take a vacation to Hot Springs (paid for by lobbyists), lead the fight to cut Medicaid (chair of the committee), and proposed out-lawying gay & lesbian clubs in schools instead of debating how to properly fund Missouri schools.

Now Roark wants another term in the Missouri House of Representatives to help carry out the agenda of his good buddy Matt Blunt.

We aren't going to let him. Brad Roark finally has an opponent he can't ignore, Jamie Schoolcraft.

Schoolcraft has a family history in the area dating back to his ancestor, Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, who was the first to explore the area. His grandparents have been Baptist ministers in the area for years and Jamie has been here much of his life as well. He is well known in the area due to his background as a Paramedic and Volunteer Fire Fighter. Schoolcraft will bring his experience and caring nature to the Missouri House of Representatives.

The campaign kick-off begins Saturday August 27, 2005.

Visit www.electschoolcraft.com for more details or contact us at 417-742-1227.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/swmo4progress/message/1221

[jason911]

1. re: Jamie Schoolcraft

As a paramedic who's worked in this region for over a decade, I've known Jamie for many years.

I know that I'm probably preaching to the choir so-to-speak, but for what it's worth, he's genuinely a great guy.

In fact, despite the fact that I'm personally a conservative Republican, I would cross party-lines to vote for him! Please don't misunderstand this statement; Jamie is very true to the Democratic Party platform (in fact, we've had many friendly-but-fervent political debates through the years :) ). My reason for supporting him despite my own often-differing political beliefs, has everything to do with the fact that Jamie is one of the most intelligent people I know, and is genuinely compassionate and committed to his values. True to his family name, he has contributed a great deal of time back to the community. For years, he has volunteered with the local fire department and spent days-off volunteering with efforts to help the homeless. He has also demonstrated exceptional skill as a paramedic and field-supervisor. I have no doubt that he will excel as our representative if given the opportunity to apply those same traits that I have seen him consistantly demonstrate through the years.

In short, my respect for his intelligence and his genuine sincerity easily transcend my political differences with him.

Incidentally, regarding his volunteering: he did these things long before he had any intentions of running. He didn't do them for recognition (I worked with him for years before even becoming aware that he was spending his weekends helping the homeless and volunteering his time, because he never advertised the fact). He wasn't motivated by political ambition, nor by self-righteousness.
He genuinely cared about them, and geuinely seems to feel a sense of duty and obligation to the community. This is in stark contrast to many politicians these days who seem to feel as if the community owes THEM something! They often forget that they work for US! I do not believe that Jamie would be this type of representative. I genuinely think that he understands the meaning of the word "representative". He would be our advocate in Jefferson City, who would represent us and our interests (as opposed to his own). I think that Jamie will remember who he represents, rather than arrogantly believing himself to be above us, like other representatives and candidates sometimes have (who I won't name).