Tell us why, Wes

What’s the most important piece of information to ask a candidate running for any office?

• Do you want to know his or her stance on hot-topic issues like the economy, reproductive rights, health care or the war?
  
• Do you care most about his or her education, experience or background?
  
• What about plans for if he or she becomes an elected official?

And we’d agree; all of these things are important to know when deciding how you will vote. If you have the answers to all the questions above, you can make an educated decision on Election Day. But there’s something missing in that list of questions. It’s the most basic thing you could ask a candidate and our previous commenter, Michael, hit the nail right on the head.

Why are you running?

Simple, right? It’s direct. It’s to the point.

The answer, though, isn’t always so simple. We here at A New View on Shoe think this question can be one of the most difficult yet important for a candidate to answer. They must think about how it’ll appeal to their audience, especially those undecided voters every candidate is after. We aren’t big fans of “cookie cutter” answers and we hope candidates realize this in their audience.

We want a real answer. An original answer. An answer that actually shows the candidate cares about his or her potential constituents.

That’s why Senator Shoemyer’s answer pleasantly surprised and interested us. Take a listen for yourself.

Why.mp3

Through some quick research, we found a House Bill that was first introduced in February of this year:

• The bill's goal is to combat the problem of Congress members not being equally accessible to all constituents
• This bill, if passed, will accomplish what Senator Shoemyer sees lacking in Missouri Congress: Congress members will have to inform constituents if their offices are handicap accessible (through their website and other electronic/print resources)
  
• If their offices are not accessible, the bill will designate an area in the capitol to hold meetings so that mobility-impaired constituents may meet with their elected official in private

We feel confident that Shoemyer will continue his dedication to this issue. The bill has since been referred to the House Health Care Transformation Committee and may end up in the Senate where Shoemyer can continue to fight for it.

And beyond this specific issue of giving increased rights to mobility-impaired constituents, Shoemyer shows his commitment to increasing government transparency and accessibility to all of District 18 and the state of Missouri.

What do you guys think?