What happens when Missouri voters approve an issue at the ballot box, and what power should the legislature have afterward?

Joan VonDras sits down with Benjamin Singer, co-founder of Respect Missouri Voters, for a timely conversation about Missouri’s Amendment 6, the citizen initiative process, and the role ballot initiatives play in Missouri’s democracy.

They discuss how Missouri’s initiative petition process works, the debate over legislative changes to voter-approved measures, ballot language, and what Amendment 6 would change if approved by voters this November.

Amendment 6 would make the initiative and referendum process a fundamental right under the Missouri Constitution, establish new restrictions on legislative changes to voter-approved measures, and require ballot summaries to meet standards for clarity, fairness and accuracy.

Learn more about Amendment 6 and Respect Missouri Voters at RespectMOvoters.org.

Joan sits down with Jennifer Trickey, candidate for Missouri House District 88, which includes parts of Fenton, Ellisville, and Eureka.

Jennifer shares what motivated her to run for office, including her concerns about efforts to restrict Missouri’s citizen initiative process and what those changes could mean for voters’ ability to have a direct voice in state government. She also discusses her background, her decision to become a candidate, and the issues she is hearing about from people across the district.

It’s a conversation about representation, citizen participation, and why Jennifer believes this is the right time to step forward and serve.

Joan VonDras sits down with author Blake Ashby to discuss his new book, Socialism and the Democratic Party: The Case for a Return to Moderated Capitalism. They explore the Democratic Party’s relationship with capitalism, the rise of democratic socialism, and Ashby’s argument for a more balanced economic approach that promotes opportunity while addressing inequality.

It’s a timely conversation about economics, political identity, and the direction of the Democratic Party.

Today, I’m talking with someone who has taken her concerns about her community and turned them into action.

Meredith Sumenek is a small-business owner, longtime community advocate, and president of the Tesson Ferry Democratic Organization. She spent more than 20 years working in finance, and she credits her family, particularly her grandfather, a Pennsylvania coal miner, with teaching her early on about standing up for working people and speaking out when something isn’t right.

Now, Meredith is taking that experience to the campaign trail as the Democratic candidate for Missouri’s 95th House District in South St. Louis County.

We’re going to talk about what brought her into politics, why she decided to run, the issues she’s hearing about from voters, and what she believes needs to change in Jefferson City.

Meredith, welcome to Town Talks Live.