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Tax issues are key in race for Republican nomination in House District 110

Dottie Bailey and Matt Doell are vying for the GOP nod in the primary race for Missouri House District 110.
David Kovaluk | St. Louis Public Radio
Dottie Bailey and Matt Doell are vying for the GOP nod in the primary race for Missouri House District 110.

Taxes on income, fuel and property are driving the Republican contest for the Missouri House seat that covers portions of St. Louis and Franklin counties.

Dottie Bailey and Matt Doell, both of Eureka, are hoping to succeed Kirk Mathews, R-Pacific, who chose not to run for re-election in District 110.

Bailey, 44, is in the banking industry, having worked as a loan officer, accounts manager and most recently, a loan buyer. She supports cuts made to Missouri’s state income tax this year and four years ago, and says property-tax rates also need to be slashed.

“When it becomes an exorbitant amount — 5.3-percent net [increase] over 10 years — that’s a lot,” Bailey said.

She also opposes the ballot referendum in November that would gradually raise the state’s fuel tax by 10 cents a gallon to help fund roads and bridges.

Dottie Bailey.
Credit Dottie Bailey via Twitter
Dottie Bailey.

“Let’s look for a different solution,” she said. “Certainly there’s some sort of way that we can look for a resolution to any problem other than a tax [hike] — they say, ‘Oh, Missouri is the last to do this,’ … well, then, so be it.’”

Doell, 54, is an engineer and president of the Rockwood school board. He didn’t say which way he’ll vote on the fuel-tax referendum, but he supports letting citizens decide the issue at the ballot box.

“No raise in taxes should be done without people approving it,” he said.Loading...

Doell voiced support for the two recent state-income-tax cuts, especially the provisions that spread them out over the next few years.

“They’re kind of doing this incrementally, [which] is probably pretty smart,” he said. “Everybody would like to cut taxes, and I would, too … other states have done that and left pretty big holes in their budgets … [but] if we can make that work fiscally in the state by adjusting the budget, I’m all in favor of it.”

Doell also wants to use his experience as a school board member to advocate for public education in the Missouri House.

“You have to live within your budget, and there’s a demonstrated track record that I can bring,” he said.

Bailey criticized Doell’s record as a Rockwood school board member, accusing him of raising property taxes through his support of various bond issues over the years.

Matt Doell.
Credit Matt Doell via Facebook
Matt Doell.

“Eighty to $90 million in bond issues that he’s voted for,” she said. “Of course we need schools, but I really would like for people to keep more of their money.”

Doell defended his record: “In the seven years I’ve voted on those things, they’ve gone in both directions. A few years ago, property values came down, and in order to collect about the same amount of revenue, the rate went up a little bit — this last year, when property values have rebounded, the rate actually went down 3 ½ percent, and I expect it’ll go down a comparable amount this year.”

On Proposition A, which would make Missouri a right-to-work state, Doell said he’ll support the majority opinion of voters in his district. But he added that it’s not as hot an issue in the 110th as it is elsewhere.

“When I’m walking door-to-door, talking to people, [they] don’t want to talk about that,” he said. “They always want to talk about taxes, infrastructure and education.”

Bailey supports right to work: “I grew up in a union home, and my dad is a retired pipefitter, but now unions have turned into a political arm.”

Bailey has been endorsed by the incumbent Mathews, calling her a “true conservative, tireless and fearless” in a brief written statement on her campaign website.

The winner will face Cody Kelley of Pacific in November. He’s running unopposed in the Democratic primary.

Follow Marshall on Twitter: @MarshallGReport

Copyright 2021 St. Louis Public Radio. To see more, visit St. Louis Public Radio.

Missouri Public Radio State House Reporter Marshall Griffin is a proud alumnus of the University of Mississippi (a.k.a., Ole Miss), and has been in radio for over 20 years, starting out as a deejay. His big break in news came when the first President Bush ordered the invasion of Panama in 1989. Marshall was working the graveyard shift at a rock station, and began ripping news bulletins off the old AP teletype and reading updates between songs. From there on, his radio career turned toward news reporting and anchoring. In 1999, he became the capital bureau chief for Florida's Radio Networks, and in 2003 he became News Director at WFSU-FM/Florida Public Radio. During his time in Tallahassee he covered seven legislative sessions, Governor Jeb Bush's administration, four hurricanes, the Terri Schiavo saga, and the 2000 presidential recount. Before coming to Missouri, he enjoyed a brief stint in the Blue Ridge Mountains, reporting and anchoring for WWNC-AM in Asheville, North Carolina. Marshall lives in Jefferson City with his wife, Julie, their dogs, Max and Mason, and their cat, Honey.
Marshall Griffin
St. Louis Public Radio State House Reporter Marshall Griffin is a native of Mississippi and proud alumnus of Ole Miss (welcome to the SEC, Mizzou!). He has been in radio for over 20 years, starting out as a deejay. His big break in news came when the first President Bush ordered the invasion of Panama in 1989. Marshall was working the graveyard shift at a rock station, and began ripping news bulletins off an old AP teletype and reading updates between songs. From there on, his radio career turned toward news reporting and anchoring. In 1999, he became the capital bureau chief for Florida's Radio Networks, and in 2003 he became News Director at WFSU-FM/Florida Public Radio. During his time in Tallahassee he covered seven legislative sessions, Governor Jeb Bush's administration, four hurricanes, the Terri Schiavo saga, and the 2000 presidential recount. Before coming to Missouri, he enjoyed a brief stint in the Blue Ridge Mountains, reporting and anchoring for WWNC-AM in Asheville, North Carolina. Marshall lives in Jefferson City with his wife, Julie, their dogs, Max and Liberty Belle, and their cat, Honey.