Greitens campaign stop includes Q&A with audience

Eric Greitens, Republican nominee for governor, speaks to voters Friday at the Missouri Chamber of Commerce. Greitens is a former Navy SEAL and will be running against Democratic nominee Chris Koster in November.
Eric Greitens, Republican nominee for governor, speaks to voters Friday at the Missouri Chamber of Commerce. Greitens is a former Navy SEAL and will be running against Democratic nominee Chris Koster in November.

About 100 people crowded into an open area of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry building Friday to hear Eric Greitens campaign for governor just 17 days before the general election.

The Chamber's Political Action Committee has endorsed the Republican newcomer, who's challenging Democrat Chris Koster, Missouri's current attorney general, and three others for the chance to succeed incumbent Jay Nixon.

Missouri's Constitution prohibits Nixon from seeking a third four-year term in the office.

As in previous campaign appearances, Greitens talked about forming The Mission Continues, a charity that helps returning veterans return to society - and how that work and some other experiences will help him be governor if he wins the Nov. 8 election.

He ended his appearance with a 20-minute question-and-answer session with some in the audience.

One woman asked how those experiences would make him be a good leader.

"I've talked about the key virtues of leadership, and the first one is humility," Greitens said. "That means that you recognize that every person around you is better than you in some way - has some experience wisdom (or) knowledge that you don't have.

"In order for us to move this state forward, we have to recognize all of the promise and potential (and) talent that is around us."

Greitens said his leadership abilities come from "building great teams to take on nearly impossible missions."

Greitens' campaign has focused on Koster's more than two decades in political office and a complaint Koster "is not going out and making his case to the people," while Greitens will bring changes to Missouri government by adopting and adapting "what's working (now) in other states."

Greitens also has promised to "clean up" and "change the culture" in Jefferson City, including banning "all gifts from lobbyists" to lawmakers and other office holders.

Another audience member asked Greitens how he would be able to work with lawmakers and lobbyists "who have different ideas than you have," especially after waging a campaign against them.

"I'm really heartened by so many of the conversations that I've had with a lot of our legislators," he answered. "What they've lacked for a very long time is strong executive leadership; they have not had a governor (or) an attorney general they can work with."

He promised to "bring everybody together, sit down around the table and figure out how we can solve these problems" in improving the state's economy, "making sure that our kids in foster care get quality outcomes" and making Missouri "the best state in America for veterans."

The former member of the U.S. Navy's SEAL Team program acknowledged the work would be hard "but not harder than taking out al-Quaeda."

Greitens said he expected negative advertising when he decided to run for governor but not challenges to his work for veterans.

The Koster campaign has argued Greitens took more than $700,000 in pay from The Mission Continues, when that money should have gone to the veterans the charity serves.

But Kaj Larsen, who trained and served with Greitens as a Navy SEAL, helped him start The Mission Continues and also has been a news producer and CNN reporter, told a nine-minute news conference Friday: "I sat on the board (and) we forced Eric to ultimately take a salary."