On the latest edition of the Politically Speaking podcast, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies welcome state Treasurer Clint Zweifel to the program.
The Democratic statewide official was kind enough to record the show on his last working day in office. He’s departing from elective life on Monday, primarily because state treasurer is one of two statewide offices that have term limits.
Before he entered the Missouri House, Zweifel was the research and education director for Teamsters Local 688. He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Zweifel first won election to the Missouri House in 2002, when he defeated a Republican incumbent to represent a portion of north St. Louis County. In the House, Zweifel was often a Democratic point person who offered alternative policies to the Republican majority. He helped run the House Democratic campaign effort in 2006, a year where his party gained seats for the first time in years.
After then-state Treasurer Sarah Steelman announced her gubernatorial bid in 2008, Zweifel jumped into a somewhat crowded Democratic primary for the statewide office. He narrowly defeated then-Arnold Mayor Mark Powell and went onto defeat GOP state Sen. Brad Lager in the general election. He won re-election against GOP state Rep. Cole McNary in 2012.
The treasurer’s office is responsible for investing the state’s money and running Missouri’s college savings plan. The officeholder also sits on a number of key boards, including the Missouri Housing Development Commission. Even though the legislature became more and more Republican as his time in office wore on, Zweifel managed to get lots of treasurer-related bills passed and signed into law.
In early 2013, Zweifel announced he wouldn’t run for governor – and subsequently declined to run for any office last year.
Here’s what Zweifel had to say during the show:
- He's had success working with the Republican legislature in passing bills important to the state's finances. “Many legislators understand the important operational impact that this office has and that there really isn’t a lot of room for error," he said.
- One of the keys to being a successful statewide officeholder is forging relationships with people.
- President-elect Donald Trump's huge margin of victory in Missouri made it difficult, if not impossible, for some of his Democratic colleagues to prevail last Tuesday. He said there needs to be a concerted effort to harness the Democratic Party's "human capital, especially when it comes to recruitment for legislative seats"
- When asked what advice he had for Treasurer-elect Eric Schmitt, Zweifel said "keep things simple." “Keeping it simple is important," he said. "So if you have integrity, if you believe in service to others and if you believe in actually knowing this job and doing it well, things tend to work out. You can get the politics right as you go along."
Follow Jo Mannies on Twitter: @jmannies
Follow Jason Rosenbaum on Twitter: @jrosenbaum
Follow Clint Zweifel on Twitter: @ClintZwiefel
Music: “A Town Called Malice” by The Jam and “Vote Thatcher” by American Wrestlers
