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Ideology is subverting common sense in the state capitol, Democratic State Rep Rachel Storch warned at ASUM's "Lunch with the Legislator" on Wednesday.
Storch met with students, faculty and staff in the Millennium Student Center over lunch in an informal question and answer session.
Health care and state budget issues were the topics highlighted by Storch in the discussion.
"Missouri is in a period of very radical change," Storch said. "There really is, I think, a pretty deliberate effort to unravel what was the status quo. We fought this year, more specifically, about Medicaid and health care issues."
Storch mentioned changes to Medicaid by Missouri Governor Matt Blunt, tax reform measures intended to restructure the Missouri tax code and school vouchers.
"I think there is going to be a real push to change the way public education is handled in this state," Storch said, referring to school vouchers. "I'm not happy at all with the way these changes are happening."
Storch represents the 64th district, which covers all of Forest Park most of the Central West End and a corner of University City. A native of Clayton, she received her bachelor's degree from Harvard and attended Washington University in St. Louis for her law degree.
"I did not have any long term plans to get into politics," Storch said. "I say it was serendipity."
Storch began her political career working on the Mel Carnahan campaign for U.S. Senator in 2000. After the election she went to Washington, D.C. as Jean Carnahan's deputy chief of staff.
"In early 2000 I received a call that changed my career path," Storch said. The call was from Vivian Evoloff, director of the UM-St. Louis Sue Shear Institute for Women in Public Life.
"I was really someone that was mentored and helped by the Sue Shear Institute and I would really encourage anyone to here to take advantages of the resources there," Storch said. "It's an entity that is set up to encourage women and really anybody to take an active part in politics or public life. I was somebody that institute touched."
In Washington, D.C., Storch said she felt there was a real disconnect between Capitol Hill and the needs of the state.
"I was always a little uncomfortable at the federal level," Storch said.
In 2002, she returned to Missouri and ran for the General Assembly.
"I had a sense some very important fights were gonna be fought in the state capitol," Storch said. "On issue after issue, the status quo was being changed and the programs and principles and protections that are important to a Democrat like me were on the table, they were at stake, they were jeopardized. It didn't matter if it was health care, Medicaid, education, the environment: things were changing. There was this movement to ... make some very radical changes."
Lunch with a Legislator is a regular series sponsored by ASUM. It is a chance for students to meet face to face with their representatives and discuss issues important to them.
Scott Muschany, Republican, Distict 87, will be on campus Oct. 12 at noon as part of the Lunch with a Legislator series.
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