John "Jay" R. Ashcroft

Criminal Justice / Public Safety

Will launch an initiative to hire 1,000 more officers, dispatchers, deputies, and other law enforcement personnel to make sure we have the people we need to keep our communities safe. I will also put a preference on military veterans transitioning from the armed forces to civilian life. Learn more

It is time for the State to assert control of those departments and protect the people, property, and future of these vital Missouri cities, as well as those who serve those departments. Learn more

It is not enough to focus on prevention, we also need to focus on rehabilitation so one-time criminals don’t become career criminals. We must reduce recidivism with sensible reentry programs that includes transitional housing, continued counseling, skills development, job placement support and mentoring opportunities that support self-sufficiency, and employment to reduce the risk of reoffending. Learn more

Social Services

I want to invest in state mental health facilities that gets those with mental health and drug addiction off the streets and into treatment. Learn more

We also need to strengthen Missouri's foster care system, which oversees the care of more than 10,000 children. The best way to reduce the number of children in foster care is to focus on preventative services that help families work through difficult situations before they escalate into the necessity for foster care services. When these preventative measures fail, we must prioritize the good of the child and focus on finding forever homes outside of the state system. Other areas ripe for improvement are our hotline and case management systems – we must ensure concerned Missourians get valid responses and appropriate follow-up when they report child abuse. We can also do a better job tracking money the state spends to support children in the foster care system, ensuring the funds are going to those actually caring for our foster children. Learn more

Taxes / Budget

Subsidizing people who don’t work, while taxing people who do, is the wrong formula for success. We should be encouraging people to work, and I want a tax code that incentivizes productivity rather than rewarding inactivity. The safety net will always be there, but the hammock will not. Learn more

I also plan to repeal the 12.5 gas tax, which is scheduled to increase again in July. This regressive tax disproportionately punishes working people, allows unaccountable bureaucrats to spend the money without accountability, and is frankly, unnecessary. Roads and infrastructure are a foundational responsibility of state government and should be funded using general revenues. Learn more

Another thing that ends with a Governor Jay Ashcroft is automatic budget increases. I will implement Zero-Based Budgeting and make our departments and agencies justify every dollar of taxpayer money requested in their annual budgets, rather than rely on automatic increases, approved by a pliant governor and legislature to use however they see fit. Learn more

I plan to phase out our state income tax. Some may think that’s radical, but it’s not: nine other states (red and blue) have no income tax, including Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. It can be done. Learn more