Friends and Supporters,

It is hard to believe that the holidays and 2012 is nearly upon us.

I will be running for re-election in 2012 in my district which has been configured as district #87. The newly drawn district includes all of Clayton and the northern part of Richmond Heights – the majority of my current seat which I have represented since first elected in 2009.

With next year being a presidential year, every campaign is sure to be a hotly contested race and mine will most likely be no exception.

Per your expectations, I will continue to fight the GOP legislative majority’s radical agenda as I did quite vocally this past year.  In 2011 they tried to attack voters rights via Voter ID (SB3), attempted to roll back discrimination to the pre-civil rights era (SB188), and attacked & interfered with women’s tragic pregnancy decisions (SB65).

I was pleased to have been part of the Attorney General’s Domestic Violence Task Force to update our long overdue statutes in protecting domestic violence victims.  After several statewide hearings, our hard work culminated in victory with a new law protecting teens in teen dating violence/ stalking situations (SB320).

Recently I was appointed by Governor Nixon to the new task force on Prevention of Sexual Abuse of Children (SB54).  I have already begun my research as we begin in January working on recommend-ations to protect our children from horrendous assaults and predators.

I will continue my work fighting for justice and equality – in the workplace, the voting booth and particularly for women, children and families across the state.

Please help keep me in Jefferson City fighting for you by contributing to my campaign before the end of this year:

Stacey Newman for State Representative

6340 Clayton Road #206 St. Louis MO 63117

or via ActBlue online by clicking here.

Thank you,

Stacey

My biggest joy has been watching our youngest graduate from high school and prepare for her next chapter.  After celebrations with family and friends, our daugher is now a freshman at the University of Missouri – quite thrilling for her father, a double Mizzou alum.  This summer I have been busy spending time with her and all the preparations required for freshman orientation/moving her into her dorm room in Columbia.  I’m pleased to report the empty nest transition is going well as Tiger fever completely envelopes our family.

Wishing  you have a safe and relaxing Labor Day weekend.

Stacey

VIEW MY SESSION UPDATE ON MISSOURI CAPITOL DIALOGUE HERE.

READ MY FULL REPORT HERE.

How can I access safe nutrious local food products – no matter where I live?  What is the effect on local economies and the environment by buying local?  What is the effect on me and my family’s health?  How does this dissect with the philosophy of cooking locally grown foods and communing well - espoused by Thomas Keller, reknowned restauranteur and cookbook author?

This summer/fall I am documenting my research as I am also having fun.

First up, my kickoff Farm to Table Dinner #1 this Saturday – a small salon gathering to experience my first Thomas Keller-inspired cuisine obtained almost exclusively from local markets.

Please join me in my journey!

STACEY

You may have seen media photos of legislators flinging bills into the air with glee when the gavel signaled final adjournment on the dot at 6:00:00pm.

But something was missing from those photos.  The Democrats.  Yes, the left side of the aisle was eerily silent, with legislators standing silently by their clean desks – having placed all our leftover paper in the recycling bins outside the chamber.  Collectively, we did not feel we had much to celebrate or felt the need to litter the House floor.

Instead of a job creation agenda – WHICH WE HAD BEEN PROMISED BY THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE, the session focused on an anti-worker agenda.  The GOP majority passed bills cutting unemployment benefits, making it easier for employers to illegally discriminate and making it tougher for women in horrific pregnancy situations to obtain legal medical care.

The House failed to bring comprehensive economic development and jobs legislation to a vote until just 45 minutes before the end of Session.  As a result, a bill containing incentives for the U. S. – China air cargo hub, life sciences, data centers and job retention died in the Senate.

Many of you ask how I can do this, week after week in Jefferson City away from my family.   I do it for all of us.  I do it – for you.

I thank Chair Rep. Barney Fisher (R-Nevada) who believes in pay equity enforcement  because of his own mother’s experiences as a rural high school principal making less than her counterparts.  HB349 will not make it to the House floor this session but Rep. Fisher has agreed to work with me to get it moving earlier next year.

I also thank many who testified in favor of the bill particularly Eli Karsh (St. Louis) an employment attorney and Holly Burgess (Columbia) with AAUW.

I will be working hard on the pay equity issue throughout the state after session ends.  Missouri women need equality via wages now and I hope not to disappoint.

One reporter recently wrote – “The MO GOP-led legislature has been in a rush to pass bills relating to hogs, dogs, discrimination and redistricting”.  Yes, that seems accurate.

No jobs bills.  At least none yet.  As a member of the minority party, we do not control what legislation we hearin committees or what is brought up on the floor.  Therefore, we are consistently playing defense since we neverknow what bill we are debating next.  I am always prepared to jump into the debate when I can but am often frustrated.

You can be assured that I constantly think of families back home and gauge if any of the bills we vote onwill truly benefit anyone.   Our state desperately needs additional revenue to boost elementary, secondary & higher education funding along with jobs incentives that mean something.  That type of legislation is missing and I don’t know when or if we will see it before we adjourn for the year on May 13.

Listen online to what we are debating when we are in session  – which becomes quite lively at times!

Maddie just returned from her very first trip to Washington D.C. to lobby Congress on epilepsy awareness and emailed me about her trip:

Dear Representative Newman,

I just got back from Washington D.C!  It was a great trip and an amazing experience.  The first day, we did the the National Epilepsy Walk. I also attended two days of advocacy training and had a group dinner.

I met a lot of kids with interesting stories.  One girl was having so many seizures, she decided to have brain surgery to stop her from having all of these seizures so they took out half of her brain which also paralyzed half of her body. It was the only option she had.  She is the star volleyball player on her volleyball team so that proves that she can do everything a kid without her circumstances can do!  If you want to know more about her, go to the OliviaDavisFoundation.com.

On Capitol Hill day, I met with Senator Roy Blunt, Congresswoman JoAnn Emerson, and several more aids to support the RAISE Act (Raising Awareness and Insight for Seizures and Epilepsy.) It will train first responders, teachers and nurses how to recognize and deal with a seizure.

I had a great trip and if you want to know more, you can email me!

Sincerely,

Maddie Goldberg

I was almost doing cartwheels on the house floor as my very first piece of legislation (EVER) was passed by the House last week.  However, I was reminded quickly that house rules forbid gymnastics in the Capitol, particularly by legislators.

HB513 – Sean’s Law – passed by a vote of 148-2 on Tuesday, April 5th as one of 57 “consent” bills (non-controversial bills with no state fiscal cost).

Sean’s Law, named for my constituent Sean Larochelle, of Brentwood, adds mental disabilities – also referred to as “invisible” disabilities – to the current state statute.  The bill also expands the definition of a service dog team to include a child and an adult handler.

Even though this legislation was designed to aide children who deal with non-verbal forms of autism, we found quickly during the hearing process that the bills affects many more Missourians.  Adults suffering from numerous invisibile disabilities – such as post-traumatic stress syndrome, agoraphobia and major depression – including many veterans, benefit from updating the current statute.

The next step is getting Sean’s Law through the State Senate and to the governor’s desk for signing.

You can help by asking both Sen. Eric Schmitt at  ESchmitt@senate.mo.gov and Sen. Jason Crowell at  JCrowell JCrowell@senate.mo.gov for their help in passing Sean’s Law.

As you may have heard before, one small step for mankind…one giant step for helping constituents in the legislature!

Yesterday, April 12th was National Equal Pay Day – symbolizing how far into 2011 women must work to earn what men earned in 2010.

You can read my op-ed that was published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch here, in the Columbia Tribune and a letter to the editor in the Columbia Missourian written by my University of Missouri intern, Jen Weisbrod.

On the subject of good news, I was unexpectedly offered the chance yesterday to have my equal pay bill, HB349 heard in the House Workforce Development and Workplace Safety Committee before session ends.  This is monumental since equal pay legislation has not moved in several years in the state legislature.   Times do change.

I am indeed hopeful!

The documentary, created by Maplewood filmmaker Matt Sielback and narrated by actor David Oyelowo (The Last King of Scotland), tells the amazing story of a community, several homeless high school boys and a school district coming together to address the issue of youth who need a home.  Joe’s Place offers homeless teenage boys in MRH school district, via a unique non-profit, a caring home environment under the supervision of houseparents Dan and Alyssa Reeve, supporting them in graduating from high school and creating a positive futurefor themselves.

Seilback found a warm welcome from the residents of the house as he began work on his very first movie. “The boys have such a love for people and a respect for others,” said Seilback. “Given the hardness that they have already encountered in this world, it is a testament to the relationships they have developed together and with their house parents.”

Compassion for these boys has also touched hearts as far out as Hollywood. When Seilback searched for a narrator, he was quick to find David Oyelowo, best known for his role in “The Last King of Scotland.” Oyelowo, an active advocate for helping people in need, did not hesitate to volunteer his time and talent.

Additional honorary directors from the community included Richmond Heights Mayor Jim Beck; community resident Tish Corcoran; Nadir Djavaherian, GM of Auto Plaza Ford; Jim Fiala, owner of the restaurant Acero; Jerry Gibbs, owner of J&E’s Office City; Jay Hardy, president of Jay B. Smith Funeral Home; Mike Haughey, COO of Sunnen; Patrick Jugo of Jugo Plus Architects; Mark Langston with Coldwell Banker Gundaker; Eric Roy, Schlafly brewer; Joe Sausele with Ameritime; and Keat Wilkins, CEO of Sense Corp.

I am actively working with my colleagues in Jefferson City for additionalscreenings this summer throughout the state.  The film has already caught the eye of the MIssouri Film Commission and will hopefully be entered in film festivals soon.

AND I can’t say enough about MRH Superintendent Linda Henke who, without her vision and direction, homeless boys in our community would have simply become statistics.