St. Louis, MO (September 16, 2020) – After today’s adjournment of session, Missouri Democratic Party Acting Chair Clem Smith released the following statement:

“Governor Parson’s special session was a cynical and desperate effort to prop up his flailing election year campaign. No wonder it failed. The truth is for years the Governor has done nothing to address the rise of violent crime. When local leaders and lawmakers pleaded for him to take action last year, he refused to do anything.”

“After calling the session and stripping away the ability of St. Louis voters to decide on the November ballot if the residency rule for the city’s police department should stay, Governor Parson decided to attack the first Black woman elected Circuit Attorney in St. Louis, Kim Gardner, and strip away local control once again. Parson’s extremist attacks on St. Louis were a bridge too far and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle pushed back. We cannot take another four years of Parson’s incompetent leadership that cares more about insider interests than responsible governing.”

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