Missouri state Rep. Aaron Crossley is the latest guest on Politically Speaking, where the Independence Democrat talked about the 2024 session.
Crossley represents Missouri’s 29th House District, which takes in a portion of Independence. He was elected to the House in 2022 after winning a closely watched race against Republican David Martin.
Here’s what Crossley discussed on the program:
- How the death of Grayson O’Connor in Kansas City should be a wake-up call for legislators to devote more money toward investigating child abuse. Missouri has struggled to recruit and retain Children’s Division investigators, especially in the St. Louis area.
- Crossley talked about expectations for the 2024 session, which are fairly low because of election year politics. But Crossley is hoping that lawmakers at least come together to renew the Federal Reimbursement Allowance, a tax that is critical for funding the state’s Medicaid program.
- Even though similar ideas crashed and burned in Ohio, Crossley expects lawmakers to try to put something on the ballot that would make it more difficult to amend the state’s constitution.
Crossley is a social worker who first decided to run for office in 2022. While Independence has historically been a Democratic stronghold, parts of that city have become more competitive in recent years. And his contest against Martin was one of the more expensive contests of the cycle.
Ultimately, Crossley won his race with more than 52% of the vote. He currently serves on the House Budget Committee and the House General Laws Committee — two bodies that often make key financial and policy decisions in the General Assembly.
In a twist, Crossley’s father, J.C. Crossley, ran as a Republican in the same 2022 election cycle. He narrowly lost to Rep. Kemp Strickler. Had he prevailed, it would have been the first time in recent memory that a father and son served in the Missouri House together for opposite parties.
