Ron and Travis Fitzwater sat across a wooden table last week, facing each other, wearing matching white button-ups and gray slacks. The father and son laughed because they hadn't planned to match that day; it just happened.
Ron Fitzwater was elected in April to the Jefferson City Council to complete former 4th Ward Councilman Glen Costales' term after Costales resigned in November for family reasons. Fitzwater also was appointed to the city's Transportation and Traffic Commission and Planning and Zoning Commission and works full time as the chief executive officer of the Missouri Pharmacy Association.
His son, Travis Fitzwater, is a state representative for Callaway and Cole counties.
Getting involved in politics was not Travis' original goal. He was recruited to play sports at Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina, and didn't know what he wanted to major in until his dad invited him to the South Carolina statehouse while he was attending college. Ron was talking to Senate and House members, lobbying with the South Carolina Medical Association.
"It was interesting because it was at that point I realized, 'Wow, this is fascinating to me,'" Travis said. "Sports and having fun was kind of my go-to thing, but as I realized that I wasn't that good at sports to make a living and you don't make money just having fun, that there was a path for me in an area that's very interesting to me."
Travis got his bachelor's degree in political science from Presbyterian College and would later help Republican state Sen. Jeanie Riddle and Republican state Rep. Tim Remole with their campaigns before running for office himself. (Remole is his father-in-law.)
Growing up, Travis said he saw "a lot of failings in human beings," but he never saw those issues in his dad, whom he described with one word: integrity.
"That really rubbed off on me - because everybody kind of has this idea that politics is messed up, and my dad showed me this version of politics that was much more 'get things done, do it in a way that's honest and that's fair,' and I've always really appreciated that," Travis said. "It kind of gave me hope that you can be in this role and integrity will get you far, as it has for him."
Even though Travis and Remole work at the state level and Ron is at the city level, they still go to each other for advice and talk about things happening in Jefferson City and around the state. Travis said he trusts his dad and father-in-law's opinions, and they sometimes use each other as sounding boards for ideas.
They don't always agree with each other, though, which all three think is good because they can argue but remain friendly. Ron said disagreement and dialogue can lead to understanding different opinions and perspectives, which is something he has tried to instill in his son.
"There's representatives from all over the state coming from different backgrounds, and I think he does a good job with connecting with folks with different views, trying to find common ground and do what's right for everybody in the state of Missouri," Ron said. "Obviously, you have to be loyal to your political party, whichever side you're on, and there's core issues that you have to work on. But there's so many other issues that impact Missourians, and he has been able to see both sides of those issues."
Travis - who has two young daughters and is expecting another daughter next month - said, similar to his dad, a life lesson he hopes to teach his children is to see both sides of an issue and to carve their own paths in life.
"When they get older and become adults, they've got to kind of go their own paths, and I hope I'm as good at helping push them on their own paths as my parents were when they helped me figure out who I was and what I needed to be," Travis said.
Ron and Travis stood from their chairs after describing their bond, giving their matching white button-ups and gray slacks another glance before walking out of the room.