On September 15, Cole County Circuit Judge Dan Green removed a people-led reform initiative, Amendment 1, from the November Ballot. Clean Missouri, the group behind Amendment 1, submitted over 300,000 signatures from Missourians who want to fight corruption. Supporters vowed to immediately appeal the decision.

Lobbyists and special interests are trying to silence Missourians by stopping us from voting on Amendment 1, but we won’t let them get away with it.

Lobbyists in Missouri can give unlimited gifts to our elected officials to influence them. Last year they gave more than $1 million worth of meals, drinks, sports tickets, and travel to politicians. While politicians and lobbyists are off drinking at the big game, Missourians are working overtime and watching our communities struggle to make ends meet. We’re picking up the tab. No wonder they’re trying to take away our chance to change things.

Amendment 1 is designed to clean up Missouri politics. It’s a strong, bipartisan effort to make government more transparent, limit the power of big money in our legislature, and hold legislators accountable when they fail to act in the public interest. Solutions like these are incredibly popular with Missouri voters.

That’s why special interests and lobbyists are suing to stop us from voting on it. But if they think they can quietly silence our voices, then they don’t know Missourians. We stand up for what is right, just, and fair. We stand up for the best interests of our state, and for each other.

It’s our right to petition our government to reform this broken political system. The lobbyists’ anti-voter tactics and culture of backroom dealing goes against the very principles of our republic. The very nature of this lawsuit is undemocratic - if they disagree they should run their own campaign, and let the people choose.

We must peacefully shine a light on those suing to try to silence our voices. I’m volunteering with the nonpartisan anti-corruption group Represent Missouri to hold these bad actors accountable. We’ve launched a video and a petition at represent.us/nomolobbyists calling on the lobbyists to drop their lawsuit and let us vote.

This is personal for me. As a St. Louis resident, this issue is important to me and my family. The problems facing everyday Missourians from health care costs to improving our schools are not addressed by the legislature. We need Amendment 1 to clean it up and to ensure elected officials are working for us, not just the big special interests and lobbyists.

Without compromising my conservative values, I’ve found common ground with progressives and independents on the problem of corruption and the Clean Missouri solution. I want an end to corruption and the elimination of the fraud, waste, and abuse in government. I don’t want meaningless red tape or cumbersome government regulations, but I do want to draw a line in the sand for politicians to know where the ethics boundaries are so we can hold them accountable if they cross that line.

I'm proud to stand with fellow Republicans for Clean Missouri: former US Senator John Danforth, Hon. Paul DeGregorio, State Senator Rob Schaaf, and numerous local officials. We all want our elected officials to do the right thing and work on behalf of the people.

I signed the Clean Missouri petition because I want to vote on a tough anti-corruption law that matters. I gathered signatures from voters who also want a say on fixing our state’s corruption problem. Together, we were part of the hundreds of volunteers who helped gather the more than 300,000 signatures to get Amendment 1 on the ballot.

This grassroots, anti-corruption campaign rises above the toxic partisan bickering we see in Washington, and brings people together to do something good for our state.

Amendment 1 is a common-sense policy to increase integrity, transparency, and accountability in government. You can read the full policy at www.cleanmissouri.org. It should be voters, not lobbyists, who make the choice by voting YES on Amendment 1 to clean up Missouri politics.

Photo Credit: Tasko / shutterstock.com