Mike Parson
Michael Lynn Parson (born September 17, 1955) is an American politician serving as the 57th governor of Missouri since 2018. A member of the Republican Party, Parson previously served in the Missouri House of Representatives from 2005 to 2011 and in the Missouri Senate from 2011 to 2017. He served as the 47th lieutenant governor of Missouri under Eric Greitens from 2017 to 2018. He was sworn in as the state's governor on June 1, 2018, following Greitens's resignation; he served the remainder of Greitens' term and was elected governor in his own right in 2020  over Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway. Parson was the sheriff of Polk County from 1993 to 2004. He was a member of the Missouri legislature, serving in the House from 2005 to 2011, and the Senate from 2011 to 2017. In 2016, he ran for lieutenant governor alongside Eric Greitens. They won the election, and Parson was sworn in on January 9, 2017. In 2018, Greitens was federally indicted on (later withdrawn) charges of invasion of privacy; he resigned on June 1 amid legislative impeachment procedings, at which time Parson became governor. As governor, Parson signed a bill criminalizing abortion  after eight weeks of pregnancy and opposed Medicaid expansion. He oversaw the state's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, where he issued a temporary stay-at-home order in April 2020 but allowed schools districts to decide whether or not to close. Parson placed restrictions on mail-in voting during the 2020 U.S. elections, and oversaw Missouri's reaction to the George Floyd protests. Early life, education, and career. Michael Lynn Parson was born on September 17, 1955, in Wheatland, Missouri, and raised on a farm in Hickory County. He graduated from Wheatland High School in 1973. He enlisted in  the United States Army in 1975, and over six years, he served in the Military Police Corps and was discharged from the Army in 1981 at the rank of sergeant. While in the Army, he attended night classes at the University of Maryland and the University of Hawaii, without completion of a degree. He returned to Hickory County in 1981 to serve as a sheriff's deputy and transferred to the Polk County Sheriff's Office to become its first criminal investigator in 1983. Parson served as Polk County sheriff from 1993 to 2004. He purchased a gas station in  1984 and named it Mike's. He eventually owned and operated three gas stations throughout the area. Missouri General Assembly. Parson was first elected to the 133rd District in the Missouri House of Representatives in 2004. He was subsequently re-elected in 2006 and 2008. In 2007, Parson co-sponsored a bill to expand castle doctrine rights. In 2010, Parson was elected to his first term in the Missouri Senate. He had signed the Americans for Tax Reform pledge not to raise any taxes. He served the Senate's majority whip during the 96th General Assembly. He won re-election  in 2014, running unopposed in both the primary and general election. Lieutenant Governor of Missouri. Campaign. Parson initially announced he would run for governor in 2016, but opted to run for lieutenant governor instead. After defeating two opponents in the Republican primaries, he faced Democratic former U.S. Representative Russ Carnahan, whom he defeated in the general election on November 8, 2016. During his campaign, Parson was criticized by his former chief of staff for allegedly proposing legislation on behalf of a lobbyist and a $50,000 plan to employ a valet for his vehicle. Parson claimed his former staffer was  a "disgruntled former employee". Tenure. Parson was sworn in along with Governor Eric Greitens on January 9, 2017. Noting that the Lieutenant Governor's office had not been upgraded in the past 12 years, Parson approved $54,000 in remodeling and renovation costs within his first two months. In 2017, Parson sought a $125,000 increase to his $463,000 budget, which included $35,000 to reimburse him for travel mileage during state business. He also sought $10,000 for out-of-state travel. In 2018 he asked for an additional $25,000 to pay for a part-time personal  driver but decreased his overall budget request to $541,000. In response to criticism, his office has routinely stated that his office and salary is the smallest of any statewide elected Missouri official. In August 2017, multiple outlets reported that Parson was the only statewide elected official to accept gifts from a lobbyist. During his run for governor, Greitens called for a prohibition on lobbyist gifts. Parson's predecessor, Peter Kinder, also accepted gifts. Following the allegations of improper care at the Missouri Veterans Home in St. Louis, which were first reported by the "St. Louis Post-Dispatch" in October  2017, Parson's office immediately launched an investigation. On February 22, 2018, Greitens was indicted on felony invasion of privacy charges. The indictment came a month after Greitens disclosed an extramarital affair, which only increased speculation that Parson could succeed Greitens should he step aside or be removed. Low-income housing tax credit industry. On December 19, 2017, Parson voted to keep a $140 million state tax credit intended for developers of low-income housing. Governor Eric Greitens had appointed members to the Missouri Housing Development Commission that opposed the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, and had  publicly called the program "a special interest scheme that makes insiders rich." Parson and then-state treasurer Eric Schmitt were the only members to vote in favor of keeping the tax credit. Prior to the commission's vote, Greitens had publicly opposed the tax credit, following a bipartisan audit of the program that showed that only 42 cents of every dollar were being spent on low-income housing. The Columbia Tribune reported in 2017 that Parson and Schmitt were "among the top 10 Republican recipients developer contributions over the past 10 years." Governor of Missouri. On May 29, 2018, Greitens  announced that he would be resigning, effective at 5:00 pm on June 1, 2018. Parson was sworn in as governor a half-hour later. Appointments. On June 18, 2018, Parson appointed fellow Republican Mike Kehoe, Missouri Senate Majority Leader, as Lieutenant Governor. The appointment came with legal uncertainty, as the Constitution of Missouri states that the governor can fill all vacancies "other than in the offices of lieutenant governor, state senator or representative, sheriff, or recorder of deeds in the city of St. Louis". However, Parson stated that he believed that the Constitution gave him authority to tap Kehoe as  lieutenant governor. On June 19, 2018, the Missouri Democratic Party filed a lawsuit in an attempt to undo Kehoe's appointment. The Democrats lost their lawsuit in the Cole County Circuit Court due to a lack of standing and the vagueness of the state law which states it cannot be done but does not provide a process to fill the position. Oral arguments were heard on November 7, 2018. On April 16, 2019, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that the appointment was legal. Parson appointed Lynn Parman, Jay Wasson, and Christopher Waters to the Missouri State University Board of  Governors. Aside from the appointment of Kehoe, Parson inherited the same administration as his predecessor Eric Greitens had left. On May 24, 2021, Parson appointed Robin Ransom to the Supreme Court of Missouri; Ransom was the first African-American woman to serve on the court's bench, and the first Missouri Supreme Court justice appointed by Parson. 2020 election. After filing to run for his first full term in the 2020 gubernatorial election, Parson, when asked if he would plan to run for another term in 2024, said "I don't see that in my future." Amid rumors that Parson 's predecessor, Eric Greitens, who resigned over multiple scandals in 2018, would attempt to run for governor once again in 2020, Parson's team said they "doubt" the former governor would consider another gubernatorial run. The chairman of Parson's political action committee released a poll to see whether voters would vote for Greitens or Parson in a Republican primary election; the chairman then said, "I don't expect [Greitens] to run." After denying implementation of voting by mail in Missouri, when asked about voters who have concerns about going to a polling place, Parson said such individuals should prioritize  safety and not vote. Parson defeated state representative Jim Neely and Air Force veteran Saundra McDowell in the Republican primary on August 4, 2020. He then went on to defeat Democratic nominee and State Auditor Nicole Galloway in the general election on November 3, 2020. Tenure. In December 2018, Parson proposed repealing a voter-approved constitutional amendment to establish nonpartisan redistricting of state House and Senate districts. The Associated Press estimated that a nonpartisan redrawing of districts would likely increase Democrats' share of state House and Senate seats. At the same time, Parson expressed support for making it harder to  put issues up for ballot referendum. On January 16, 2019, Parson delivered his first State of the State address to a joint session of the 100th General Assembly. His speech focused on two core priorities: workforce development and infrastructure. In April 2019, Parson was named Person of the Year by the Missouri Association of Workforce Development for his related efforts across the state. In April 2020, after an alleged arson against an Islamic Center in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Parson tweeted "@MoFireMarshal is part of joint local-state-federal probe of this suspicious fire in Cape Girardeau. In Missouri, we wo n't tolerate an attack on any house of worship. This was a cowardly act." Abortion. On May 24, 2019, Governor Parson signed bill HB 126, known as the Missouri Stands for the Unborn Act, criminalizing abortions in the state of Missouri after eight weeks of pregnancy. Under the law, any person who performs an abortion after eight weeks could be charged with a Class B felony punishable by 5 to 15 years in prison. The bill, passed in both General Assembly chambers the week before after debate and protest, does not have exceptions for victims of rape or incest, but  does have an exclusion for cases of medical emergencies. However, the law was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was set to go into effect, but leaving an exception for the "reason ban" portion of the bill prohibiting abortions on the basis of race, sex, or diagnosis of Down Syndrome. In October 2021, the Parson administration added a new rule which would allow state agencies to share health inspection reports about abortion providers with one another, which could make it easier for the state to withhold medicaid funding from abortion providers. COVID-19 pandemic. As of March 13 , 2020, Parson had announced the first two known cases of COVID-19 in Missouri: one in St. Louis and one in Springfield, with both in self-quarantine. Parson said his administration had received $13 million in federal aid to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, and that of every test taken for the virus, only those two were positive. He said there were no cases of the virus spreading in Missouri. On March 17, he announced that Missouri had grown to 15 confirmed cases. Parson said that the state would soon expand to 10,000 tests per day by April 1, and would  look into more protective measures for law enforcement and firefighters. Parson said that his declaration of a state of emergency in Missouri freed $7 million in funding to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite risks over the infectivity of the coronavirus, Parson relegated the decision to close schools to school districts. Following similar actions by Governor of Kansas Laura Kelly, Parson announced that, effective 12:00 a.m. March 17, all casinos in Missouri would close. He made this announcement after consultation with the Chairman of the Missouri Gaming Commission. On March 21, Parson announced a new response plan to the coronavirus  crisis, one precaution of which banned gatherings of more than 10 people in Missouri. The plan was set to move into effect at midnight on March 23 and end at midnight on April 6. The plan also banned dining in restaurants, preferring take-out and drive-through. After declining to close down Missouri, and denying demands from across the nation and the statewide health industry, while more than 1,500 new cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed in Missouri – one of ten states to remain open during the growing pandemic – and after St. Louis and Kansas City issued strict local stay -at-home orders, Parson issued a general statewide stay-at-home order on April 3 to take effect three days later. The order was later extended to expire May 3, mirroring a similar extension by Kansas Governor Laura Kelly. Parson simultaneously issued a statewide order closing public schools until the beginning of the new school year in late 2020. Once the order expired, he delegated responsibility to the counties for enforcing social distancing as the state reopened, comparing the situation to local health departments monitoring restaurants. In May 2020, Parson, along with four other Republican governors, published an editorial in  The Washington Post titled "Our states stayed open in the COVID-19 pandemic. Here's why our approach worked," though unlike the other signatories, Parson had initially supported a shutdown. In July 2020, Parson argued for the re-opening of schools. He said school children "are at the lowest risk possible. And if they do get COVID-19, which they will — and they will when they go to school — they're not going to the hospitals [...] They're going to go home and they're going to get over it." He also strongly opposed mandating the wearing of face masks. On September  23, 2020, Parson and his wife Teresa both tested positive for COVID-19, and they both announced "mild symptoms". In October 2020, Parson announced that he and his wife had both "fully recovered". In January 2021, Parson called up the Missouri National Guard to assist with the vaccination efforts, though he did say that "Supply [of the vaccine] remains extremely limited." In February 2021, a report by Deloitte commissioned by the state found expanding "vaccine deserts" in the Kansas City and St. Louis metropolitan areas. That same month, Missouri was ranked last out of all states in COVID-19 vaccine distribution, which  Parson said would be "a struggle for months to come." "The St. Louis Post-Dispatch" reported that the St. Louis region was receiving less than half of the vaccinations that it should based on population, despite an increased frequency of COVID-19 in urban areas. In response, Mayor of St. Louis Lyda Krewson sent a letter to Parson and Director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Randall W. Williams expressing her concern that the city would become "a COVID-19 vaccine desert." In response to the reports, Parson doubled down, attacking the report and Dr. Alex Garza, the head  of the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force, who he said had cherry-picked data and was "spreading information, false information about the vaccine administration in the St. Louis area to once more spread fear and panic." On June 15, 2021, Parson signed into law a bill banning "COVID-19 passports" and reducing the ability of local leaders in the state to make public health orders. The law limits orders made by local health agencies to 30 days, at which time an extension would require a declaration of emergency by the governor or, barring that, a two-thirds vote by the  local governing board. In July 2021, Parson announced a new statewide Vaccine Incentive Program, giving Missourians who received a COVID-19 vaccine a chance to win up to $10,000. As of September 2021, 550,000 doses of a COVID vaccine were administered since the start of the program. In early November 2021, the Missouri Department of Health concluded a study into the effectiveness of mask mandates at the request of Parson, who has a history of criticizing local mask mandates. The study found that mask mandates reduced COVID-19 infections and deaths. The results of the study were not released publicly by  the health department nor included in Parson's cabinet meeting material. The information became publicly known in early December 2021 following a "Missouri Independent" Sunshine Law request. Parson subsequently argued that the study was wrong and his office said that the Department of Health had put "no time or research" into the analysis. In November 2021, as a result of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 Parson decided to postpone a trade mission to Israel and Greece that had been scheduled for early December, saying, "While we are disappointed that we have to postpone, delaying our trade mission is necessary and  the best course of action to ensure the health and safety of our state leaders, private partners, and staff who were planning to join us. We look forward to traveling to Israel and Greece soon." Gun law. On June 14, 2021, Parson signed a bill banning local police departments from enforcing federal gun legislation, allowing those that do to be sued and fined $50,000. He signed the bill at a gun shop and shooting range. Democrats criticized the law, calling it unconstitutional. On June 16, the U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter to Parson saying the law violates  the Supremacy Clause. Parson and Eric Schmitt later wrote a joint letter in response arguing that the DOJ misunderstood the law and that “Missouri is not attempting to nullify federal law”. On June 18, O'Fallon, Missouri police chief Philip Dupuis resigned over the law, which he said would "decrease public safety and increase frivolous lawsuits designed to harass and penalize good hard-working law enforcement agencies". On June 21, St. Louis and St. Louis County filed a joint lawsuit against the law. In July 2021, Jackson County joined the lawsuit against the law. In August 2021, a judge ruled in  favor of the state on the lawsuit. Low-income housing. Following Greitens' resignation in 2018, Parson initially stated that as governor he had no plans to restart the low-income tax credit. Since, Parson has appointed Lt. Governor Mike Kehoe, State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick, and Attorney General Eric Schmitt, all members of the commission. In May 2019, Parson announced his intention to restart the low income housing tax credit program. Parson also announced that he was considering calling a legislative special session to restart the tax credit program. Medicaid expansion. Parson opposed the ballot referendum on Medicaid expansion, which would  annually cost the state at least $130 million to receive $1.6 billion in federal funds. He argued that the referendum's lack of funding mechanism would harm the state budget, but promised to obey the upcoming vote results. In August 2020, after a decade of advocacy, Missouri voters approved the referendum to become the 37th state with Medicaid expansion effective July 1, 2021. Regardless, on May 13, 2021, Parson declared denial of expansion, again blaming funding, so that the enhanced services and the 275,000 newly eligible citizens would not receive coverage. With the issue headed to court, and  with some state representatives claiming the state actually has more than enough funding, "The Kansas City Star" summarized, "The governor's directive was swiftly condemned as an anti-democratic dismissal of the will of the people." Pardons. Before his re-election in 2020, Parson issued very few pardons, but since then has begun issuing them in a group monthly. As of June 2021, he had a backlog of about 3,000 requests for clemency. In July 2020, Parson proactively pledged to pardon Mark and Patricia McCloskey, a St. Louis couple who pointed guns at unarmed George Floyd protesters walking past their  home on a private street, if they were convicted of crimes and if there was no significant change in the facts as they were understood at the time. In August 2021, he pardoned the McCloskeys after they pleaded guilty to misdemeanor fourth-degree assault and misdemeanor harassment. In June 2021, Parson declined to pardon Kevin Strickland, an African-American man imprisoned for triple murder since 1978, saying it was not a "priority". Strickland, who had been convicted by an all-white jury, had maintained his innocence, and the case's prosecutor said she believes him to be innocent. Strickland had  become the subject of a bipartisan clemency petition by state lawmakers, and several judges and other politicians had called for his release. In November 2021, a judge set aside the conviction and Strickland was released. Parson also refused to pardon Lamar Johnson, an African-American man convicted for murder on the basis of one eyewitness's testimony; a conviction integrity unit later found that there was overwhelming evidence of his innocence. Critics contrasted Parson's decision to decline to pardon Strickland with his decision to pardon the McCloskeys. Section::::"St. Louis Post-Dispatch" DESE database report. On October 14, 2021, the  St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that a flaw on a Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) website exposed the Social Security numbers of over 100,000 DESE administrators, counselors, and teachers by embedding them in the website's public source code. The "Post-Dispatch" notified DESE of the security flaw and delayed the publication of its story "to give the department time to take steps to protect teachers’ private information, and to allow the state to ensure no other agencies’ web applications contained similar vulnerabilities". In response, Parson announced that the Missouri State Highway Patrol digital forensic unit would  investigate "all of those involved", vowed to seek criminal prosecution of the "hacker" journalist who reported the story, and said his "administration is standing up against any and all perpetrators who attempt to steal personal information and harm Missourians". Parson claimed the reporter wanted to "embarrass the state and sell headlines for their news outlet", calling the reporting a "crime against Missouri teachers" and pledging to hold accountable "all those who aided this individual and the media corporation that employs them". On February 21, 2022, The "St. Louis Post-Dispatch" reported that the Missouri State Highway Patrol's 158-page  report concluded after 175 hours of investigation that Josh Renaud, the man who discovered the flaw, had only accessed information that was publicly available. One interview included in the report is with Mallory McGowin, the chief communications officer for the state's Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). As reported by cyber security expert Brian Krebs, "McGowin told police the website weakness actually exposed 576,000 teacher Social Security numbers, and the data would have been publicly exposed for a decade. McGowin also said the DESE's website was developed and maintained by the Office of Administration's Information Technology  Services Division (ITSD) — which the governor's office controls directly. ... The report was a vindication for Josh Renaud and for University of Missouri-St. Louis professor Shaji Khan, who helped the "Post-Dispatch" verify that the security flaw existed. Khan was also a target of Parson's vow to prosecute 'the hackers.' " Parson's response was also criticized by legislators, including State Rep Tony Lovasco (R-MO) and U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), with Lovasco tweeting that "the governor’s office has a fundamental misunderstanding of both web technology and industry-standard procedures for reporting security vulnerabilities". Personal life . Parson married his wife, Teresa, in 1985. They have two children and live in Bolivar, Missouri. Parson endorsed Mitt Romney during the 2012 presidential election and Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election. Parson, a third-generation farmer, started a cow and calf operation near Bolivar in 1985, which he still owns and operates. Parson is a Baptist.