A retired naval officer and a civil rights attorney are competing for the right to represent Missouri's 50th state House District. Each says their experience makes them the best candidate for the job.
The race pits retired naval officer James Musgraves, a Republican, against civil right attorney Douglas Mann, a Democrat, in the Nov. 8 general election.
Candidates' backgrounds
Retiring after 31 years of active service, Musgraves said he decided to run for office after seeing the government make decisions that were detrimental to the country and the economy.
"I think that engagement has to be all the way from the top to the bottom and the bottom to the top. I just happen to engage at the state level, and I'm working closely with some folks that are running for local level," he said.
Musgraves grew up in North County, St. Louis, and enlisted in the United States Navy after graduating Hazelwood Central High School. In 1990, he was awarded a Navy ROTC scholarship and studied at the University of Missouri where he received his undergraduate degree.
Afterward he went to flight training, received his "Wings of Gold" as a helicopter pilot and performed several other jobs, transitioning from "blue-collar to white-collar" positions within the same organization. He said going from a recruit to a full commander over the course of 31 years taught him a lot about leadership and management, which will serve him in the position of representative.
This is not his first time running for office. In 2020, he ran for associate commissioner in the northern district for Boone County. Since then, he said he has been knocking on doors and meeting people to hear their concerns.
Mann, a Columbia civil rights attorney, is a newcomer candidate, but he said he has always been politically engaged. His mother, a member of the LGBTQ community, taught him the importance of being civic-minded and working together with one's community. This inspired Mann early on to advocate for this group as well as volunteer for Planned Parenthood.
As an attorney, Mann's focus is on employment discrimination and discrimination in school settings. He received a bachelor's degree in history and a master's degree in education from Niagara University in upstate New York, a master's degree in public policy from the University of Illinois in Chicago and his law degree from the University of Missouri.
Mann said he would bring effectiveness and empathy to the 50th District seat.
"I would use 'effectiveness' in that I have experience building relationships with a diverse set of community stakeholders to try to get things done, as well as experience working with people across the political aisle in order to achieve our goals," Mann said. "And 'empathy' in that ... I've had a variety of life experiences, and I've interacted with a wide diverse group of people. I believe that gives me the empathy necessary to be an effective and good representative for the people of the 50th (District)."
Top issues
Musgraves said the No. 1 concern people have raised to him are the economy and inflation and how it's affected budgets at home. If elected, Musgraves said he would be focusing on eliminating a percentage of tax on groceries as well as either repeal or delay the gas tax increase on Missourians.
Another concern of his is education. According to Musgraves, Columbia public schools have been on a downward trend since 2016. He said he observed a presentation which showed local schools failing to keep up with key performance indicators in comparison to other schools in the state. His proposal is to evaluate teachers, parents and students to see what could be improved within the district to fix this issue.
Mann said he would try to find places where Democrats and Republicans could work together. He said as a Democrat in Missouri, it would be hard to plow through legislation in the state (by himself), so finding Republicans he can work with would be a first step toward building those relationships.
Douglas Mann