Two vye for 4th District congressional seat

Two candidates are vying for the opportunity to serve the people of the 4^th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, and one candidate has served for more than 30 years.

Incumbent Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Lexington, will face Republican Jeff Parnell Nov. 4. Skelton has represented the 4^th District of Missouri since 1977.

The 4^th District covers a small portion of eastern Blue Springs as well as Grain Valley and Oak Grove south of Interstate 70.

Skelton is currently the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. He was instrumental in brining the Army Engineer School to Fort Leonard Wood and the B-2 Stealth bomber to the Whiteman Air Force Base. He is widely respected in military affairs and continues to be an advocate for the armed services. In addition, he was named the Truman Award for Public Service winner in 2006.

He and his late wife Susie, have three sons.

“I want to continue to represent the wonderful people in west central Missouri,” he said on why he is running for a 17^th term in office. “I feel that I best represent their values and that I can speak for them in Washington.”

This is the third time that Parnell has run for the 4^th District seat. He attempted to become the republican candidate in both 2004 and 2006, but was beat out by Jim Noland both times. Parnell is the owner of Parnell Tire L.L.C. in Springfield, Mo. and has served as a music minister deacon and youth leader in church. He also is a singer/songwriter, much of which is political satire music.

He and his wife, Nan, have two children.

“I wanted to run because I think there is this general agreement that Congress has been broken for a long time,” he said. “Congressmen should be there to solve problems and do the people’s business.”

If re-elected, Skelton said he would like to concentrate on improving the readiness of the United States military. He would also like to build and strengthen the U.S. Navy and aid military families.

“I want to strengthen our National Guard and move more of our efforts to Afghanistan because I think we need to do more there,” he said. “I also want to make sure that the men and women bravely serving our country as well as their families are taken care of.”

Other key issues for Skelton include:

n Helping small communities in regards to agriculture. As most of the 4^th District is rural, Skelton wants to continue to look after the needs of the rural portions of the district as well as throughout the United States.

Two candidates are vying for the opportunity to serve the people of the 4^th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, and one candidate has served for more than 30 years.

Incumbent Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Lexington, will face Republican Jeff Parnell Nov. 4. Skelton has represented the 4^th District of Missouri since 1977.

The 4^th District covers a small portion of eastern Blue Springs as well as Grain Valley and Oak Grove south of Interstate 70.

He and his late wife Susie, have three sons.

He and his wife, Nan, have two children.

If re-elected, Skelton said he would like to concentrate on improving the readiness of the United States military. He would also like to build and strengthen the U.S. Navy and aid military families.

Other key issues for Skelton include:

n Improving healthcare for all Americans.

n Improving benefits for military families.

Parnell’s top issue is in regards to the current income tax. He said he would like to replace the current federal income tax with what is called a FAIR tax, a national sales tax. He said he believes that such a tax would have made the recent $700 billion bail-out plan approved by the U.S. Congress unnecessary.

“If they had simply eliminated the capital gains tax and implemented a FAIR tax, then we would have had all the money we needed, without the bailout,” he said. “The problem they had was thinking outside the box.”

Parnell’s other issues include:

n Addressing the immigration issue by looking at the financial and manpower drain on public schools, law enforcement and health care agencies. He is also opposed to a blanket amnesty program for illegal aliens and supports increased border control.

n Supporting term limits for members of the U.S. Congress.

n Reforming health care and putting it in the hands of patients and doctors rather than in the hands of insurance companies.

“If I am sent to Washington, I will not owe anyone, but the people that I serve,” Parnell said. “I think it is an attractive thing for people to have a representative in Washington that is focused solely on them.”

Skelton said serving the last 30 years has truly been a “labor of love.”

“When I am home visiting with people that I represent, I enjoy speaking with them. I truly enjoy it all,” he said. “I understand the people and believe that I am the best representative for them.”

Two vye for 4th District congressional seat

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