Candidates face off for District 10 state rep seat

By Kendra Simpson

A three-term elected candidate and former St. Joseph mayor will go against a union worker with a history of political enthusiasm for the role of state representative.

Republican incumbent Bill Falkner and Democrat Andrew Gibson will contend for the seat of Missouri state representative for District 10.

Gibson was born and raised in St. Joseph and spent his teen years volunteering for candidates such as Claire McCaskill, Susan Montee and Barack Obama. He currently is a forklift operator and union steward at National Beef Leathers. Gibson described himself as a “big union guy” as he is endorsed by the AFL-CIO of Missouri, Northwest Central Missouri Labor Council and IBEW.

“Our unions need to remain strong,” he said. “There’s still a lot of workers’ rights and laws being attacked and being pushed and, of course, Right-to-Work is wrong for Missouri and will always be wrong for Missouri.”

Gibson intends to improve public safety by expanding social services that support St. Joseph’s homeless population.

“There’s a lot of great organizations in town that are doing what they can for these people but the fact is is that the waiting list is monthslong,” Gibson said. “A lot of the times these people are homeless, and because they’re homeless and because that obviously is a horrible situation, they turn to creature comforts to kind of escape that reality … so if we start to eliminate those desperate situations, it’s inevitable that crime is going to come down.”

One of Gibson’s priorities is to lift up marginalized communities by closing the wage gap and promoting ethical practices in the workplace.

“There are a lot of people in this town that feel invisible because of the current structure of our state and how these things are,” he said. “There’s been some very interesting laws that are being passed, that are pushing people out of certain groups and feel like that there’s not a place for them … We just need to really practice on making sure that everyone feels supported in their community.”

Gibson said he also supports helping Missouri farmers keep their land over other foreign entities, is an Abortion Access Missouri endorsed candidate, advocates for public dollars supporting public schools and hopes to expand Medicare coverage in Buchanan County.

A lifelong St. Joseph resident, Falkner graduated from Benton High School and then Missouri Western State University. Along with representing District 10 in the Missouri House of Representatives for three terms, Falkner was mayor of St. Joseph for eight years, served on the St. Joseph City Council for four years as well as owned and operated Falkner Plumbing for over 30 years.

“It’s been an honor to serve St. Joe,” he said. “I mean I love St. Joe. I’ve been working for it for almost 18 years now and I don’t plan for that to change … There’s a few things I’d like to continue on working on. I’ve got two years left, if I get reelected in November, to move, to help move this community forward … St. Joe’s been so good to me. I’ve had a lot of support over the years, and I just would like to return the favor.”

If reelected, Falkner will focus his efforts on advancing the 139th Airlift Wing and constructing the second bridge that would cross the Missouri River.

“We will be the only area that would have economic place that would have air, water, highway and rail,” Falkner said. “So that would be a big boom for this area.”

Falkner will also focus on supporting local government. In his near decades of experience working in St. Joseph’s local government, he learned that a strong community is built from strong representatives who listen and advocate for their fellow residents.

“If there’s a subject matter that we’ve taken a vote on, I go back and look and see how my district voted and then what effects it would have for St. Joe as a whole,” he said.

Falkner’s recent noteworthy accomplishments include assisting in getting Max’s Law approved for Missouri legislation, expanding the Hillyard Technical Center and encouraging St. Joseph’s youth toward a trade career.

“You have to make sure that your workforce is educated and you’re able to maneuver quickly to see what skill set they need,” he said. “We’re always keeping an eye out for that and we’re always working to try to promote the trades because, I tell you, young people need to look at being plumbers and electricians because they’re needed and it’s a skill set that once you acquire it, they can’t take it from you.”

The general election will take place Nov. 5, 2024. To check voter registration or request an absentee ballot, visit https://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/goVoteMissouri/register.