State Rep. Tom Flanigan to seek commission post

Nov. 04--CARTHAGE, Mo. -- State Rep. Tom Flanigan, of Carthage, announced on Tuesday that he will be a candidate for the Republican nomination for a Jasper County Commission post.

Currently in his fourth and final term in the Missouri House of Representatives, he said he is seeking the office because he "wants to continue serving Jasper County."

Flanigan said he works frequently with county commissioners, and with the Missouri Association of Counties and the County Commissioners Association of Missouri.

The two groups honored him last year for his efforts to increase the amount counties receive for jailing inmates who are being held on state charges. A measure passed the House and Senate, he said, but the additional funding was then withheld by Gov. Jay Nixon.

Flanigan said his service as chairman of the House Budget Committee gives him an understanding of county budgets and the challenges counties face.

"Just like the state, there's never enough money for everything that needs to be done," he said.

"And just like the state, the county needs to attract more businesses to help improve the economy and the revenue stream."

Filing for county offices does not open until February, but Flanigan said he is announcing early because the House committee starts work on the state budget in mid-November, forcing him to spend more time in Jefferson City.

He said he also is running because "I'm interested in good government, making sure that people's questions are answered and concerns are addressed, if possible."

Flanigan said he has been asked if moving to the commission from the House would be a demotion.

"I don't see it that way because I live here," he said.

"My family has been in and out of the courthouse since the 1870s, if anyone puts any stock in longevity."

Flanigan's great-grandfather was a state representative, and his father and grandfather were attorneys, frequently working in the Carthage courthouse.

Flanigan was a longtime member of the Carthage City Council.

He is a member and a former president of the McCune-Brooks Health Care Foundation. Before serving in the House, he owned an insurance business and was district director for former state Sen. Gary Nodler.

Money

The Jasper County Commission post that Tom Flanigan is declaring for pays about $58,000 per year.

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