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INTERVIEW WITH GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE CRYSTAL QUADE
This month, a member of the NASW-MO PACE Committee reached out to Rep. Crystal Quade, a current Democratic candidate for Missouri Governor, to give NASW members more information about her and her vision. Quade is running on the Democratic ticket in Missouri's Primary Election, on Tuesday, August 6th (for more information, see here: https://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/candidates). She is running opposed.
Quade is the Minority Floor Leader in the Missouri House of Representatives and has served eight years representing part of Greene County (Springfield). She has a BSW in Social Work from Missouri State University.
Thank you for taking the time to talk to NASW-MO PACE, Rep. Quade!
1. If elected as Missouri Governor, what would your first 100 days look like?
One of the biggest roles a governor plays as the state’s executive is you’re in charge of all the various departments, the departments that really impact how Missourians interact with their government; the Department of Health and Senior Services, the Highway Patrol, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and so on. So my first 100 days are going to be focused on making sure those departments have what they need and who they need at the top leading them. So from day 1, we can be taking steps to improve our state in a way that will help working families.
2. What do you believe your biggest hurdle would be as Missouri’s first female governor?
Throughout my time in Jefferson City, it’s safe to say I’ve seen and heard a few things. Even earlier this year, an elected official said we shouldn’t invest in childcare because we’d be better off with women staying home and not working. Or we’re talking about serious issues and we’re told we’re too emotional. So there are still times when there’s sexism and it does show that we still have work to do, but I believe that the bi-partisan group of women legislators has been the engine behind getting a lot of the good things Missourians care about done. As governor, I’ll be able to continue to build on those relationships I’ve built and we can really start to get things done for the people of Missouri.
3. What would be your approach to criminal justice reform? What is your stance on expungement and/or the Clean Slate bill?
I believe there’s so much work we need to be doing in regard to criminal justice reform. I am pro-expungement and was a supporter of the Clean Slate bill. As a trained social worker, I recognize how important it is for us, as a state, to be looking into both the underlying factors that often lead to crime, and also at our current practices. It is ridiculous that an innocent man who has spent years of his life and had his freedom ripped away, should not be eligible for compensation from the state if he’s proven actually innocent without DNA evidence. We also must return control of police departments to local communities, so that they can make decisions that make sense for their communities and so that local communities will have a seat at the table as decisions are being made.
4. What steps would you take to restore women’s and LGBTQIA2S+ rights in Missouri?
In my 8 years in Jefferson City, throughout the record number of attacks on LGBTQ Missourians’ rights, I’ve made my office a safe space in a pretty hostile building. Having to see these families come back year after year, because politicians in Jefferson City want to insert themselves into the rights of these families has been heartbreaking. I’ve gotten to know these families so well, and that’s why I’m proudly endorsed by PROMO. It comes down to a very simple principle: The government shouldn’t be dictating to you and your family what’s best for your situation. I will do everything in my power to restore rights back to individuals and their families and keep politicians out of our houses, bedrooms, and doctors’ offices.
5. Who would you enlist to begin education reform and what you see as the first 3 things to reform?
As the first in my family to graduate from high school, I’m proudly and unequivocally for making sure our public schools have the resources they need to really prepare our students for their futures, whether that’s going to college or getting into a trade. My first three priorities are going to be ensuring our teachers are no longer some of the lowest paid in the country, ending the staffing shortage that’s led to bussing problems across Missouri and making sure that our schools are funded so that every student can thrive. There’s no one person I’d like to enlist in this project but I’d hope to listen to people on the ground, including, teachers, students, parents, and administrators, because they know what their schools need far better than those in Jefferson City.
6. What’s your plan to engage, in a way that moves policy forward, with your counterparts?
During my time in Jefferson City, I saw the government become more divisive, partisan, and extremist. But I’ve also been able to build strong relationships across the aisle that have been critical to my success so far. As Governor, I’ll be able to use those relationships to really help make Missouri the best place to live, raise a family, and start a business. I’m proud of the work I’ve done, whether it’s got my name on it or not, like when we passed a law ending the Cliff Effect that kept so many working parents from taking pay raises because they’d lose their benefits. While we are divided in certain areas, there’s a lot of work for Missouri families that I’ve worked to create and will help as governor.
7. How will you ensure that ALL people have access to quality healthcare?
Our hospitals are closing, it’s getting harder and harder to find a doctor and prices continue to rise and folks are being left behind by systems rigged against them. We need to elect a leader who will fight to bring down costs for families and who will work to make medical bankruptcy a thing of the past.
8. What else would you like social workers to know about you?
When I was working my way through Missouri State University, studying social work to help the families like the one I grew up in, I realized that everything I wanted to do to help was dictated by policy. It was my social work practicum that inspired me to run for office in the first place because I knew voices like mine were missing at the table. As a legislator, I’ve never lost sight of that goal and I’m proud of the work I’ve been able to accomplish as a state representative and look forward to the work we can do when I’m governor.
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