Four vie for Republican nominations in state House
Two districts are subject of next week's primary
In the Aug. 5 primary race, Republican voters will have to winnow down the field of candidates for the Missouri House of Representatives in two districts, the 18th in the eastern part of the county and the 13th the west.
In the Republican primary for the 18th District, Anne Zerr, the former executive director of the public policy group Partners for Progress, will face Matthew Seeds, campaign manager for many local Republican campaigns.The winner will compete against former St. Charles Police Chief Tim Swope, a Democrat, and Libertarian John Alsup.
Innsbrook city administrator Kevin Kuhlmann and financial planner Chuck Gatschenberger, both of Lake Saint Louis, are vying for Bob Onder's 13th district house seat in November. Onder is running for Kenny Hulshof's seat in the U.S. Congress.
The winner of the Aug. 5 primary race will face Democrat David Hurst in the November election.
THE 18TH DISTRICT
Residents who live in the 18th House of Representatives district, which includes parts of St. Charles, have been without representation since former representative Tom Dempsey was elected to the Missouri Senate in a special election last September,
Both candidates vying to represent the Republican party in the race for Dempsey's House seat are first-time candidates who saw this race as an opportunity to get involved in politics.
Seeds, 25, has helped run campaigns for several local politicians. He always intended to get into public service, he said.
Zerr, 53, said she waited for her children to grow up before she ran for office.
"I want to use the experience I have and the knowledge I have and the perspective I've gained in working with a lot of different people," she said. "I want to use that together to be the best state legislator."
Both candidates said they see a need for immigration reform and a property tax freeze.
"In this district, the majority of it is the senior population," said Seeds.
"It's an aged population and an aging district," he said. "We're seeing a lot of people move in from North St. Louis into St. Charles. Because of that, we need to freeze property taxes for those seniors, those (who are) disabled and those on fixed incomes."
Seeds also said he hopes to encourage individuals pool together to get group health insurance rates.
Zerr said she wants to focus on education, and would encourage children to go into careers in math, science and technology.
Zerr and Seeds have experience working in different levels of government.
Seeds worked as the legislative director for state Sen. Gary Nodler, a Republican in District 32, in 2005 and as the legislative assistant for state Rep. Cynthia Davis, a Republican in District 19, in 2007.
Zerr was the director of public policy for the county under former County Executive Joe Ortwerth. In the 1990s, she also worked for Democrat Joan Horn, who represented the 2nd Congressional District for one term.
Seeds has questioned whether Zerr has always been a Republican and whether she could be counted on to consistently vote pro-life.
"I think when you send somebody up to Jeff City, you want them to have the same values you have, you want to make sure they're going to vote consistently pro-life," he said. "If they work for a Democrat, it's hard to trust them when a vote comes up."
But Zerr points to her record of work in the community as proof of her conservative values, especially when it comes to abortion.
"I believe life begins at conception," she said. "I'll just consider it a privilege and a duty to protect the unborn. I plan to stay very firm on that commitment."
THE 13TH DISTRICT
Two years ago, Chuck Gatschenberger, 52, brought in 18 percent of the vote in the August Republican primary for the 13th District while raising just $12,000.
State Rep. Bob Onder, won the party nomination with 46.1 percent of the vote after raising about $40,000.
With no Democratic opponent, Onder served two years and is now running for Congress, leaving his state House seat open.
Now Gatschenberger hopes the $18,545 he's raised will help him in his quest for the 13th District House of Representatives seat again. He's loaned his campaign $10,500.
Gatschenberger's opponent in the Republican primary Aug. 5 is Kevin Kuhlmann, city administrator for Innsbrook and a political newcomer. Kuhlmann has raised $9,962, and contributed $1,842 in an in-kind donation to his campaign.
Both candidates say they are hoping to address illegal immigration. Gatschenberger said he would seek financial penalties for companies who knowingly hire illegal immigrants.
Gatschenberger said he supports freezing property taxes at their current rates and reassessing only when homes are sold.
"I think it would be better for everyone, not only the elderly or someone just buying a home," he said. "If you know your taxes are going to be X dollars a month, you can plan on that."
Kuhlmann said the 13th district is one of the fastest growing house districts in the state and faces potential problems as the housing market slows. He said he would work to revive the Missouri economy by working with business to streamline and reduce regulations.
"I'd like to deregulate business as best as possible while maintaining checks and balances," he said, adding that government should try "to get out of their hair so they can operate and grow and create jobs for Missouri."
Kuhlmann said he would also like to see adoption regulations streamlined to facilitate the adoption process. Kuhlmann's brother and sister-in-law adopted about nine years ago and found the process difficult, he said.
"You should be able to place the children with families more rapidly," he said.?ยจ
For more information on candidates in the Aug. 5 primary election, visit elections.stltoday.com
District 18
Name: Matthew Seeds
Age: 25
Family: not married
Political Experience: first-time candidate
Job: owns two small businesses, MS Designs, and HS Productions
Education: B.A. in political science and B.A. in public management from Lindenwood University
Name: Anne Zerr
Age: 53
Family: husband, Nick, and three children
Political Experience: first-time candidate
Job: Adjunct political science professor at Lindenwood University, previously executive director of Partners for Progress
Education: BA in Human Resource Development, Master of Business Administration and Master of Arts in Agency Development from Lindenwood University; attended Harvard's Kennedy School of Government
District 13
Name: Kevin Kuhlmann
Age: 35
Family: Wife, Jeanette, and three children
Job: City Administrator Innsbrook, Mo.
Political Experience: first-time candidate
Education: BS in Community and Regional Planning from Missouri State University
Name: Chuck Gatschenberger
Age: 52
Family: Wife, Donnette and three children
Job: Financial planner, also owns business BeFit Health Services Inc.
Political Experience: Ran unsuccessfully for Lake St. Louis Board of Alderman, 2008
Education: Associate's Degree from Lincoln Land Community College; BS in Business Administration from University of Missouri St. Louis
