Incumbent Travis Fitzwater hopes to continue progress

Travis Fitzwater, the four-year Republican incumbent of the Missouri House of Representatives' District 49, said he would continue to focus on workforce development and education if re-elected.

The direction of Missouri and the nation is exciting, Fitzwater said, but he believes more can be done.

"That's why I'm running for re-election," he said. "There's things that are left unfinished and we need to accomplish those, especially pertaining to workforce development and education, and providing our kids with opportunities and our adults with opportunities to excel and power themselves to succeed in our economy."

Fitzwater has sponsored legislation dealing with both topics during his tenure, including an adult high school bill that later had its measures attached to another House bill signed in 2017. The first adult high schools resulting from that legislation are set to open in October, Fitzwater said.

"There are some ideas around providing adults with further education, getting them connected with our two-year colleges and some workforce training," he added.

He also sponsored a widely supported STEM and computer science curriculum bill, which was vetoed by Gov. Mike Parson in July, claiming the bill favored a specific company, but Fitzwater said work is being done to resolve those concerns in time for this week's special session.

Other legislation Fitzwater said he is proud of includes an energy bill reducing rates for Ameren customers and state tax reform reducing income tax across Missouri.

Fitzwater said he plans to run for a leadership position in the House as well.

There is a number of local issues Fitzwater said he wants to focus on, including creating a new circuit court for Callaway County to separate it from Boone County.

"We'll see if we can get any movement on that, but I've filed that bill a couple times," he said.

Fitzwater said he wants to help local municipalities to improve, citing the merger of Holts Summit and Lake Mykee as an example.

Fitzwater has worked for the Missouri Pharmacy Association since he first moved to Missouri 12 years ago and handles membership retention and recruitment. He said he is involved with Jefferson City Young Life and has worked closely with the Callaway Chamber of Commerce.

Missouri was not a permanent plan at first, Fitzwater added, but he started a family here and became invested into the community.

"I just really fell in love with Missouri. It became home for me," he said.

House District 49 covers the southern half of Callaway County, including Fulton, Holts Summit, Kingdom City, New Bloomfield and Mokane, and a small portion of Cole County.