JEFFERSON CITY – A Missouri Baptist pastor serving in the state’s House of Representatives has announced his candidacy for Speaker of the House this coming fall.
Rep. Doug Richey (R-Excelsior Springs and co-chair of the legislature’s Joint Committee on Education) is senior pastor at Pisgah Baptist Church, Excelsior Springs, where he has served since 2005. He began his first two-year term in the House of Representatives in 2018.
Although news of Richey’s bid for the Speakership broke last summer, he addressed his intentions for running for the seat in a Jan. 8th open letter. Lawmakers will choose their Speaker for the 103rd General Assembly in September.
Unlike many previous lawmakers who have run for Speaker of the House, Richey is pursuing the position without first having served as Majority Floor Leader.
“Thus far, I’ve exceeded all of my benchmarks in establishing a successful Speaker’s race, but I acknowledge the obvious,” Richey wrote. “Political expedience has reigned for several cycles, where no one dared to run against the newly elected Floor Leader. Who would want to? I ask, ‘Why not?’ We face times of tremendous consequence, times that compel me to ‘…dare and endure…,’ in spite of political difficulty.”
Nevertheless, Richey aimed to make it clear that his bid for the Speakership doesn’t reflect on the current Majority Floor Leader, Jon Patterson (R-Lees Summit), whom Richey called a “trusted friend”.
“With that,” he wrote, “I announced prior to the election of the Majority Floor Leader, to clearly communicate to our caucus members that I wasn’t running ‘against’ the Floor Leader, rather I’m running ‘for’ Speaker of the House.
“Now the 102nd General Assembly is convened, and my effort continues with encouraging results,” Richey added. “Becoming Speaker shouldn’t be easy. There should exist no unobstructed path to that consequential responsibility for anyone. I intend to persist in garnering the trust and confidence of House colleagues while hoping for, and fully supporting, a very effective Floor Leader. I want Floor Leader Jon Patterson to shine so brightly in his task that it makes it harder for me in my task; he must be effective. To desire otherwise, would be a disservice to my caucus, in particular, and to Missourians, in general.”
In his letter, Richey also outlined his standards for leadership and integrity in office, as well as his desire to stand for truth, freedom, morality, respect and accountability. Read the letter online at https://mbcpathway.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/I-Serve-Not-for-Political-Expedience.pdf.