Secretary of state makes a stop in Cape

When Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander took the stage Saturday night at the summer festival of the Cape County Democratic Central Committee, a quote from the movie "Zoolander" was not what folks expected.

"I feel like I'm taking crazy pills," Kander quoted from the 2001 comedy, talking about how he sometimes feels when working in Jefferson City, Missouri.

Kander spoke about the importance of voting, his views on the potential photo-ID voting amendment, some of the views of state officials, and what he values in upcoming elections. The photo ID proposal explains in detail what type of identification can be used to be allowed to vote. If the bill passes, Missouri would have one of the most restrictive photo-ID voting laws in the country. Expired student, driver's license and military IDs no longer would be accepted. The amendment will become a law only if the bill is passed by the Legislature and the constitutional change is passed by voters.

He said 220,000 registered voters would not have the necessary identification if this bill passes, which is about 8 percent of the voters who voted for President Barack Obama in 2012.

"If the Republican Party wants to change the state constitution for a bill to pass, that raises some red flags for me," Kander said.

He said this particular legislation has been blocked for nine years consecutively, and he hopes it will stay that way.

Values Kander said were important to him were providing adequate health care to constituents, raising minimum wage and enforcing the nondiscrimination act.

"There was not a serious discussion this year about raising minimum wage in Missouri," Kander said, which leaves those who work full-time at minimum wage to make about $16,000 a year. Kander said he feels it is worth it to give the people of Missouri a better life.

Kander said a question he is asked constantly is whether he is optimistic about changes in Jefferson City. He responded he is, much to questioners' surprise.

One of the greatest debates now is campaign finance and ethic laws in Missouri, to which Kander said a reform is necessary.

"The conversation has moved away from 'Should we be doing something about campaign funding?' to 'What should we do about campaign funding?'" Kander said.

Kander emphasized the importance of the Democratic Party during his speech Saturday night and said even though Jefferson City considers Missouri a purple state, five of the six statewide races in 2012 were won by the Democratic Party.

"We might be the minority, but this is the majority party," Kander said as his closing remark.

smaue@semissourian.com

388-3644

pertinent address:

321 N. Spring St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.