MISSOURI HOUSE, DISTRICT 56
By Trey Swaggart
NCH intern
RAYMORE – If you were to stop by Integrity Real Estate Group offices in Raymore on any given day, you’d see a woman running around with several tasks on her plate but with one consistent goal: being a voice for those who may not have one.
Democrat Pam Jenkins Hatcher was front and center fighting against the proposed landfill as well as book banning. In addition, Hatcher is arguably living the dream of so many Americans. She owns her own real estate and brokerage firm and is active in both the Raymore-Peculiar and Belton Educational Foundations and Chambers of Commerce, and is a part of the Cass County Public Library Foundation.
As an area resident since 1977 and a Belton High School graduate, Hatcher has seen northern Cass County grow and change. She spent over three decades in corporate real estate before starting her own company. Now she is ready to close on her biggest property…. a seat in the Missouri General Assembly.
Hatcher admits she isn’t overly political, but when a planned landfill that was in the planning stages on property adjacent to Raymore started gaining attention, she had a revelation. “For 38 years, I had probably been doing what most other voters were doing – making an assumption that your city, county, and state representatives were going and doing what they were supposed to be doing, and what they said they were going to do. When I started going to Jefferson City, I found out those people were not doing what they said they were going to do.”
She sounded off on what she saw as politicians being “bought off” by people, such as the landfill developers. “You were willing to sell out 40-60 thousand people, plus 600 elementary school children with a landfill directly across from you for sheer greed.”
Hatcher expressed her exasperation and contempt for politicians this way: “I am so tired of candidates preaching about family values and Christian values, but they aren’t walking the talk.”
She went on to describe how alarming it was when current Cass County North Commissioner Ryan Johnson testified in support of a bill put forth by State Sen. Rick Brattin (R-Harrisonville) that would allow the county commission to replace library board members. That bill came on the heels of calls to ban certain books for inappropriate content. “If you don’t want your child checking out a book, don’t have them check out a book.”
And the irony, she said, is, “You want less government, yet you’re trying to force things on other people.”
Hatcher is currently running unopposed in the Democratic primary and is set to face off against one of three Republican candidates vying for the District 56 seat in the State House, including current incumbent Michael Davis, current Cass County North Commissioner Ryan Johnson, and former Summit Christian Academy football coach Todd Berck. Hatcher criticized Davis specifically for being a no-show on the landfill. “Michael Davis never engaged in helping our community and our constituents. He was the very last representative to co-sign onto the bill.”
She lambasted the General Assembly as being “dysfunctional,” and went on to contrast herself against the Republicans, saying, “Michael Davis is a part of that problem. Ryan Johnson is a part of that problem, and Todd Berck, who seems like a really nice guy, he hasn’t even lived in Raymore for two years.”
Hatcher focuses on what she calls “the eighty percenters.”
“I’m not representing the 10 percent on the far left, or the 10 percent on the far right.”
She said she would be the one fighting for the people.
“It’s not Michael Davis. It’s not Ryan Johnson, and it’s not Todd Berck.”
Editor’s note: The North Cass Herald is thrilled to welcome Belton High School alumnus and Missouri State University senior Trey Swaggart to our team for the summer to cover the upcoming August Primary. Swaggart will be interviewing candidates for county and state offices in the upcoming weeks before writing wrap-up analyses on the major races just prior to the Aug. 6 election.
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