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Covering state lawmakers, bills, and policy emerging from Jefferson City.

Politically Speaking: Rep. Haefner on why Greitens should step down — and the legislature’s reaction

Rep. Marsha Haefner, R-Oakville
Jason Rosenbaum I St. Louis Public Radio
Rep. Marsha Haefner, R-Oakville

On the latest edition of the Politically Speaking podcast, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies welcome state Rep. Marsha Haefner to the program.

The Oakville Republican has served in the Missouri House for close to eight years. She is a member of the House Budget Committee and the chairwoman of the House Fiscal Review Committee.

Haefnermade news last weekwhen she and state Rep. Kathie Conway, R-St. Charles, became the first Republican House members to call for Gov. Eric Greitens to resign. Greitens admitted this month that he had an extramarital affair before he was governor, but denied allegations he took a photo of a woman to keep the infidelity a secret. He reiterated to theAssociated Press this weekendthat he will not be stepping down.

In her statement, Haefner said: “Eric Greitens was elected governor based on campaign promises of ethics, transparency, family values and ridding our state of  ‘corrupt politicians’ who stood in the way of moving Missouri forward. He’s attacked good people to elevate his status while taking credit for the work of others. And now we’re faced with this embarrassing situation.”

Here’s what Haefner had to say during the show:

  • The controversy over Greitens is becoming a major distraction for the legislature to do its work. “Until we get the right answers, I don’t know how we move forward,” she said.
  • The response to her statement was largely positive. But she also added she’s had “some very disturbing phone calls and recordings [that] I wouldn’t say are threats, but pretty close to it.” Tthose messages were anonymous, she said.
  • If Greitens does decide to resign, GOP Lt. Gov. Mike Parson would become governor. Haefner said “there’s a greater level of predictability with Lt. Gov. Parson, because many of us have worked with him and know his style of leadership.”
  • While Haefner said she philosophically supports lowering taxes, she also said that lawmakers need to be mindful of how any proposal affects the state’s ability to fund state services. “The people that are in front of the tax cut issues are not the people that sit day and night trying to craft a budget every year,” she said. “We’re going to have to be honest about tax cuts in that if we cut certain taxes, other taxes are going to have to go up.”


Follow Jason Rosenbaum on Twitter: @jrosenbaum

Follow Jo Mannies on Twitter: @jmannies

Follow Marsha Haefner on Twitter: @marshahaefner

Music: “Blow Out” by Radiohead

Copyright 2018 St. Louis Public Radio

Since entering the world of professional journalism in 2006, Jason Rosenbaum dove head first into the world of politics, policy and even rock and roll music. A graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, Rosenbaum spent more than four years in the Missouri State Capitol writing for the Columbia Daily Tribune, Missouri Lawyers Media and the St. Louis Beacon. Since moving to St. Louis in 2010, Rosenbaum's work appeared in Missouri Lawyers Media, the St. Louis Business Journal and the Riverfront Times' music section. He also served on staff at the St. Louis Beacon as a politics reporter. Rosenbaum lives in Richmond Heights with with his wife Lauren and their two sons.
Jo Mannies has been covering Missouri politics and government for almost four decades, much of that time as a reporter and columnist at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. She was the first woman to cover St. Louis City Hall, was the newspaper’s second woman sportswriter in its history, and spent four years in the Post-Dispatch Washington Bureau. She joined the St. Louis Beacon in 2009. She has won several local, regional and national awards, and has covered every president since Jimmy Carter. She scared fellow first-graders in the late 1950s when she showed them how close Alaska was to Russia and met Richard M. Nixon when she was in high school. She graduated from Valparaiso University in northwest Indiana, and was the daughter of a high school basketball coach. She is married and has two grown children, both lawyers. She’s a history and movie buff, cultivates a massive flower garden, and bakes banana bread regularly for her colleagues.