Tracey Steele

Tracey Steele graduated from Worth County R-III High School. He earned a bachelor's degree from Northwest Missouri State University in 1993 and a law degree from the University of California, Irvine School of Law in 2012. His career experience includes working as an attorney.[1]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I'm a Missouri native, a father, and a husband who believes our government must serve the people, not a handful of wealthy campaign donors who currently have too much influence on our state.

I'm the product of and strong believer in public education. I grew up the son of farmers in Grant City, MO, where I graduated from Worth County R-III High School as one of 30 graduating seniors. I received a bachelor's degree from Northwest Missouri State University and later a J.D. from the University of California, Irvine School of Law. My daughter is entering 2nd Grade this fall in the Park Hill School District, where my wife works as a substitute teacher. I know how valuable public education is because it helped shape my life.

I'm currently a commercial real estate lawyer with a Kansas City firm, where I represent developers who help create jobs and generate economic activity throughout the KC Metro area. I believe excellent public schools, responsible economic development, and supporting the right of workers to organize can work hand-in-hand to give all Missourians a path to prosperity, not only the ones who are born with fat bank accounts waiting for them.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Fix the formula. All Missouri kids deserve access to an excellent public education. Missouri is, by some measures, dead last in America in state funding of public schools, an embarrassment that will haunt us for decades to come if we don't address it now, and it forces local homeowners to carry an unfair share of the cost of paying for our schools. We're fortunate in the 12th District; we have the Park Hill School District, consistently ranked as one of the top school districts in the state, but the only way it can achieve success is by leaning on high property taxes. We can and must have excellent public schools and reasonable local taxes but only if the state pays its share. It's time to fix the funding formula.It's time to clean up the corruption in Jefferson City. A small number of wealthy donors are pulling the strings in our state capital and, as a result, the politicians in charge are forcing through policies that are designed to benefit those donors at the expense of the rest of us.

I'm hopeful voters will reject Amendment 5 but, regardless of how that vote turns out, it's crucial to look at why it's on the ballot. The Governor's plan would result in higher taxes for retirees, disabled veterans, and working Missourians. It would result in huge tax cuts for the wealthiest Missourians.

Think about that: raising taxes on retirees and working families so you can give huge tax cuts to your rich donors.I'm from a small town where people looked out for one another. If your neighbor got sick and couldn't work his farm, you pitched in until he could. Treating each other with kindness and respect was a given.

Our government ought to remember those lessons and operate by that philosophy. That means respecting women's right to control their own healthcare decisions. That means respecting workers' right to organize and stand up to management. That means respecting the rights of Missouri voters to participate directly in our democracy. All people deserve to have a voice and legislators should never assume voters "didn't know what they were voting on."

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

We must fully-fund public education and make sure public funds are not used to subsidize private schools. Parents who want to send their kids to private schools should be free to do so but not at the expense of our public schools.

We must also make sure that when we offer incentives for economic development that we are incentivizing projects that will be assets to our communities. We do that by including prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements, community benefit agreements, and enforcement provisions to ensure that projects don't result in environmental harm or higher electric, water, and sewer rates for consumers.

To accomplish this kind of positive change, we have to root out the corrupt corporate funding of campaigns.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

I'm proud to have the support of labor unions, including (so far) UAW Region 4, IBEW 124, Teamsters 955, Greater KC AFL-CIO, Ironworkers 10, Greater KC Building and Construction Trades Council. SMART Local 2, Pipefitters 533, Heat & Frost Insulators 27, Roofers Local 20, Missouri AFL-CIO, and AFT Local 691. I've also received an endorsement from Access MO and the Gun Sense Candidate Distinction from Moms Demand Action.