This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, March 30, 2011 - Former state Rep. Sue Schoemehl, D-Oakville, announced this afternoon that she's challenging state Sen. Jim Lembke, R-Lemay, in 2012. Schoemehl is the first Democrat to declare their candidacy for the seat, which Lembke narrowly won in 2008.

Schoemehl, who just completed the maximum eight years in the state House, said in an interview that she was declaring her candidacy now, in part, because she is outraged by Lembke's effort to prevent the state from receiving $109 million in federal unemployment benefits that would go to more than 30,000 Missourians without jobs.

"People do not choose to be out of work," said Schoemehl. She added that any money that Missouri refuses to accept for such benefits would simply go to other states.

Lembke has maintained that the money reflects the type of federal overspending that needs to stop, and that refusing it would help send a message to Washington. He also has said that the unemployed recipients need to quit relying on federal largesse.

Schoemehl (who is married to a cousin of the former St. Louis Mayor Vincent Schoemehl) is the first Democrat to declare a bid for the 1st Senate District seat, which currently takes in much of south St. Louis County and a small part of the city of St. Louis. The post is in swing territory, and has been held by Republicans and Democrats. Its boundaries could change dramatically under the legislative redistricting now undertaken by a bipartisan panel appointed by the governor.

Candidate filing, however, doesn't begin until next February.

Lembke, who previously had been in the state House, has been a major figure in the statewide fight over red-light cameras at traffic intersections. He has sought to outlaw them, and is currently fighting in court a traffic ticket he received via a red-light camera.

In her announcement, Schoemehl cited what she called "Jim's blindness towards the people of South County."

She also asserted, "While unemployment has hovered at nine percent for two years, Jim Lembke is sitting back smoking cigars and doing all he can to play partisan politics and stop critical dollars for unemployment benefits for Missouri families.; It's Missouri taxpayers' money, and because of Jim Lembke, those Missouri dollars may now go to other states..."

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