State Senator Jill Schupp was elected to the Missouri Senate in 2014 after serving six years in the state House of Representatives (with prior stints on the Creve Coeur City Council and the Ladue School Board, including two terms as president). She earned our respect in 2014 by (narrowly) beating a Republican opponent named John Ashcroft, who unfortunately dusted himself off and, much to our chagrin, got elected statewide in 2016 as Missouri attorney general, where he has been disenfranchising minorities ever since.
Given that her opponent on the November 6 ballot does not have the name visibility of an Ashcroft and she has outraised him by $1 million, Schupp should have an easier time of it than the nail-biter four years ago. But her 24th Senate District – representing some or all of Ballwin, Breckenridge Hills, Bridgeton, Champ, Charlack, Chesterfield, Country Life Acres, Creve Coeur, Crystal Lake Park, Frontenac, Huntleigh, Ladue, Manchester, Maryland Heights, Olivette, Overland, St. Ann, Sycamore Hills, Town and Country, Warson Woods, Westwood and Winchester – can swing either way, so voters in the district who want to assure the reelection of a highly competent, progressive state senator need to show up at the polls and support her.
During the 2018 legislative session, Schupp managed to work with the Republican supermajority to pass a number of good pieces of legislation as amendments on Republican-sponsored bills. Thanks to Schupp, mental health professionals in Missouri must now complete two hours of suicide-prevention training prior to receiving or renewing their licensure. Public employees who choose to speak out against waste, fraud, and abuse are now protected from retaliation. In most emergency circumstances, doctors may now bill insurers for unanticipated out-of-network health care costs, thus eliminating patients from receiving surprise bills. And it is now a felony to non-consensually share or distribute private sexual images. She also established a public-private partnership to promote comprehensive trauma-informed support systems and interagency cooperation, as well as a task force to study how to best prepare students for future careers and college opportunities.
In the state House, Schupp championed legislation that made workplace environments smoke-free, protected children in unlicensed daycare settings, and allowed seniors the opportunity to age in their own homes. She continually fought legislation that shifted tax burdens onto the middle class. Her commitment to her constituents never wavered as she backed bills protecting our youngest and oldest citizens, supported veterans, promoted quality education, expanded health care access, and created jobs and opportunities for economic growth.
Schupp won’t experience anything as sweet as whipping an Ashcroft at the polls on November 6, but she deserves to relish victory once again and return to the state Senate to continue fighting – and sometimes working expediently with – the Republican supermajority. We strongly endorse Jill Schupp for Missouri Senate.
