Tuesday marks the beginning of a new era for Gov. Mike Parson as party primary elections begin the process of selecting his successor.
Five months from retirement, the governor sat in his Capitol office last Thursday for an interview with the Missourian and KBIA as he looked back on his tenure and displayed pride in his accomplishments despite its tumultuous beginning.
Parson’s office, with its sweeping view of the Missouri River, is filled with symbols of both Missouri history and Parson’s tenure as the state’s chief executive. The office includes a photo of Mark Twain on a steamboat and a signed 2020 Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl ball.
An hour earlier, the same room felt small and cold, as dozens of reporters encircled Parson and his podium. His demeanor stern, Parson announced an executive order banning some cannabis edibles. In an impassioned, solemn and scripted speech, the governor lambasted the hemp industry for the harm cannabis products can inflict on children.
But for the interview, Parson seemed relaxed. Shedding the suit jacket and frown he wore for the news conference, he openly reflected on his place in state history, the pride he has in his accomplishments and the tall hurdles he had to overcome at the beginning of his term.
Parson took over for a disgraced predecessor, oversaw the state’s response to a historic pandemic, and signed bipartisan workforce development and infrastructure bills while passing a conservative agenda.
“About everything we’ve set out to do, even with the way I became governor, even the way I want to finish up, I about checked every box I started out to do,” Parson said. “I just don’t have much left on the table. And maybe you’re going to ask me that question, ‘what did you not get done?’ Most of it’s been done that I set out to do.”
Unlikely beginning
Since the 19th century, no Missouri governor has entered office like Parson. Eric Greitens resigned after sexual assault allegations led the legislature to call a special session to consider impeaching him.
“The way I became governor with where the state was, there was so much disruption, uncertainty for people at that time,” Parson said, emphasizing the importance of his first 30 days in office.
“I think one of the accomplishments I had, I was able to come in here and settle things down, just to be a person of reason,” Parson said. “And say, look, we can do better in Missouri, and we all just need to get the past behind us and figure out how to move forward.”
Missouri House Minority Leader and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Crystal Quade — who remains critical of the governor’s policy positions, particularly on abortion — said she appreciated Parson’s leadership during that time of turmoil.
“I can’t tell you how much respect Gov. Parson has earned from me and our caucus when he had to step into such a terrible situation and try to bring some calm back to Jefferson City,” she said.
“We talk often about how almost every woman has had some sort of experience in sexual harassment or sexual assault, and you could walk the halls and make eye contact and know who had been through that because of what we had to read and what we had to see (when the allegations came out),” Quade said in reference to the worries she had about how Parson would address the situation.
“A lot of it for me was the tone that he just gave to the building of like, OK, this was a terrible situation. We recognize it and we’re going to come back and get some work done,” she said.
Policy wins
When he took over the governorship on June 1, 2018, Parson said his top two legislative priorities were workforce development and infrastructure. On both fronts, Parson has passed major bipartisan pieces of legislation.
The governor signed several pieces of legislation aimed at workforce development, including a 2019 law that provides grants for people 25 and older to get degrees in high-demand areas of the workforce. All but one Democrat in the Senate voted for it.
On infrastructure, his $350 million Focus On Bridges program fixed 250 of the state’s “poorest” bridges. In January 2023, he pitched a plan to use one-time federal funds to expand portions of I-70, then backed legislators’ decision to make that expansion statewide. The plan was commended by most on both sides of the aisle.
“The things I’ve been talking to you about workforce and infrastructure, that’s not a Republican or Democrat issue,” Parson said. “There’s going to be times we’re not going to agree on certain issues. It’s okay, let’s just take that off the table.”
“I’m not going to convince anybody (to change) the way they believe,” he added, reflecting on his personal leadership style. “But let’s talk about the things we can agree on, how do you get them done? That kind of leadership is what we’re missing in this country.”
While Parson says his main priorities were nonpartisan, he proudly stands on his conservative record, citing two high-profile pieces of Missouri law that he approved.
In 2019, he signed a law banning abortions in all cases except medical emergencies, which took effect after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
He also signed a bill that banned minors from receiving gender-affirming surgery and drugs, as well as a bill blocking “biological male students from participating on sports teams designated for biological females.”
Despite Parson’s signing of a slew of conservative bills, Sen. Bill Eigel, a Republican vying to replace Parson, has been a vocal critic of the governor for not being conservative enough.
In an interview with ABC17 News, Eigel said the reason Missouri isn’t “seeing bigger red conservative ideas pass and be enacted into law is because we have a lack of leadership at the top of the ship.”
“I think my record speaks for itself,” Parson said in response to conservative criticism. “It’s unfortunate in today’s world, and we’ve been seeing this in the political arena now. How people, what they will say to get elected anymore, it’s like there’s no limit to what somebody will say or accuse somebody of doing.”
Last November, Eigel criticized a video of Parson promoting political civility alongside Democratic Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly.
“This (is) why Republicans lose elections,” Eigel wrote on X in response to the video. “Dems are destroying our cities, mutilating our kids, trampling our rights and defunding our police — but (Parson) is worried about being nice. What a joke. (Jefferson City) needs a reckoning.”
Eigel and others in the conservative Missouri Freedom Caucus bear responsibility for sinking some of Parson’s agenda.
For years, one of the governor’s legislative priorities was passing a series of child tax credits, an effort that had bipartisan support in the legislature. The House version was the first bill approved in that chamber at the beginning of this year’s legislative session.
In the Senate, the bill was sponsored by a Democrat, Sen. Lauren Arthur, but despite bipartisan support, it died after opposition and repeated filibusters from Eigel and his caucus members.
“You got to realize you don’t have to agree with everybody on all the issues, but you still got to govern, and that’s what we come up here to do,” Parson said.
“All the people that are the loudest and are in the papers and doing the interviews sometimes are probably the ones that get the least done, other than they hear themselves a lot or get to read about themselves,” he said.
Parson takes significant pride in the hope his legacy will be carried into the future by the people he’s elevated. The governor has appointed several Republicans to state office including Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, Attorney General Andrew Bailey and state Treasurer Vivek Malek.
A lasting legacy
“I will tell you the secret to being a good leader,” he said. “It’s never about being the best, it’s about making everybody else around you better. That’s what real leaders do.”
Parson still has five months of his term remaining, and he intends to use it. Within the last week, he’s issued an executive order, announced pardons and continued to work through the backlog of clemency applications he inherited.
And he announced yet another personal income tax cut. During his tenure, Missouri has cut the state income tax rate over 20% from 5.9% to 4.7% over the last six years.
Parson said he’ll gladly return to his farm in Bolivar alongside First Lady Teresa Parson come January .
“I started with my head up, and I’m going to leave here with my head up,” he said. “And I hope people say, ‘you know what, he was a pretty good governor.’ And if they say that, I’m good to go. I’m good to go.”
