Dusty Blue Talks Amendment 5, Data Centers and Transparency at 50th Annual Lewis County Fair
LEWIS COUNTY, Mo. — Dusty Blue, a Republican candidate for Missouri Senate District 18, stopped by the Lewis County Scoop booth during the 50th annual Lewis County Fair for a short interview focused on transparency, data centers, Amendment 5 and why he believes elected officials need to stay more connected to the people they represent.
Blue said he has been traveling throughout the district during fair season, meeting voters and listening to local concerns. He said the Lewis County Fair has been one of his favorite stops on the campaign trail.
“We have been hitting all of the fairs, and I’ll tell you what, Lewis County is one of my favorites,” he said.
The conversation began with the fair, campaign travel and local food before shifting into the issues Blue said he is hearing about from voters across northeast Missouri.
A major concern, he said, is the disconnect between Jefferson City and the communities state lawmakers are supposed to represent.
“At the end of the day, there’s a disconnect of what’s happening in Jefferson City and what’s happening on the ground in Senate District 18,” Blue said.
He said one of his goals, if elected, would be to hold quarterly meetings with local elected officials across the district. Blue said those meetings would help keep him accountable and help him better understand what each county is dealing with.
“I’m never going to understand Lewis County like you guys do that live here,” he said. “I’m never going to understand Putnam County unless I open the door, close that gap of bringing in that conversation with the people that are on the ground.”
“You can’t hold me accountable if you don’t know what I’m doing,” – Dusty Blue
The Missouri Senate candidate also called for more transparency in state government. He said Missouri is one of only two states without cameras in the Senate chamber and said he previously testified in support of bringing more public access to the Missouri Senate.
“You can’t hold me accountable if you don’t know what I’m doing,” Blue said.
Data centers were another major topic of the interview.
Blue said the issue comes up more often as he travels the district. He pointed to concerns over farmland, private property rights, water use, eminent domain, shell companies and a lack of public information surrounding proposed projects.
“We need to protect Missouri farmlands,” he said. “We need to protect these people’s rights and their liberties.”
He said he is not arguing that every data center proposal should be rejected, but he believes local communities should have protections in place before large projects move forward.
Blue said he has shared a proposed ordinance with county commissioners across the district. According to Blue, the ordinance would require data center companies to pay their own costs, avoid using local aquifers or wells, rely on rainwater if possible and prohibit the use of eminent domain to take private property.
“If you’re going to come here, you’re going to pay for everything,” he said.
The interview also focused heavily on Amendment 5, which will appear on the August ballot in Missouri.
Blue said he is a “hard no” on the proposal, calling it a “bait and switch.” He said the measure would reduce or eliminate income taxes while opening the door to higher taxes on goods and services.
“They want to minimize the income tax by adding taxes on goods and services,” he said.
“I’m not suspending any of my rights back to the government,” Blue said. “I’m not running to grow government. I’m running to minimize government.”
He also criticized the provision tied to suspending the Hancock Amendment, which was added to the Missouri Constitution in 1980 to protect taxpayers from certain tax increases.
“I’m not suspending any of my rights back to the government,” Blue said. “I’m not running to grow government. I’m running to minimize government.”
While Blue said he is not opposed to reducing or eliminating income taxes, personal property taxes or real property taxes, he said Missouri needs to have a serious discussion about cutting the state budget first.
He said the state budget has grown significantly in recent years and argued that government spending must be addressed before shifting the tax burden.
“We’ve got to have a real conversation about cutting our budget,” he said.
Blue also said he has called on Gov. Mike Kehoe to suspend Missouri’s gas tax, saying that would provide immediate relief to working families.
“That’s 30 cents a gallon right now back into the people’s pockets,” he said.
The candidate said inflation, regulations, utility giveaways and corporate incentives are also concerns he hears from farmers, small businesses and working families.
“We keep bailing out the corporations and keep doing utility giveaways for things like data centers,” he said. “Enough’s enough.”
Before leaving the booth, Blue encouraged voters to participate in the Aug. 4 primary and said he remains available to answer questions from residents across the district.
“I’m always an open book, transparent,” he said.
The interview is part of the Lewis County Scoop’s effort to provide voters with direct access to candidates running for public office. The Lewis County Scoop does not endorse any candidate. Podcast interviews are provided for informational purposes only so voters can hear directly from the candidates and make their own decisions.
