With Rep. Betsy Fogle running for the Missouri Senate, her seat representing Missouri House District 135 is open for a newcomer. Republican Michael Hasty will face Democrat John Chiles on the Nov. 3 ballot.
The seat, covering northeast Springfield, has remained Democratic since Fogle flipped the district in her initial run in 2020 by only 76 votes.
Who is Michael Hasty?
Hasty previously ran unsuccessfully for this seat against incumbent Rep. Betsy Fogle, so campaigning is not new for him. He said he is running as an everyday person, being a veteran, a husband and a father at his core, in hopes of making the world a better place.
A Realtor and part-time substitute teacher, Hasty has been involved in Springfield politics for several years. He founded the Queen City Watchdog
group, which in the past raised concerns regarding Springfield Public Schools and its leaders. As a Realtor, he said he is familiar with negotiating and finding compromises.
"I kind of feel like I have a pretty good pulse on the average everyday people," Hasty said. "I hear the frustrations — they want politicians that listen, they want people that understand what they're going through. And I mean, I live what you guys do every day."
If elected, he said, his main focus will be education. Hasty wants to see administrative salaries capped, with more money going to classrooms. He said he also wants to see a shift away from standardized testing and a greater focus on teaching life skills such as problem solving. Hasty said every child should have the same starting point after finishing high school and be prepared to either go to college, a trade school, the military or to enter the workforce.
"We need the money in the classrooms because, drawing from my military experience, the classrooms are the front lines of education, and that's where we need to have our education dollars focused most," he said.
Affordability is another issue that Hasty sees as a priority as families continue to struggle with higher prices. To relieve Missourians of some of those pressures, Hasty said he would like to undo the gas tax and provide small businesses the same economic development opportunities given to large corporations.
In his campaign, Hasty said he is emphasizing the opportunity for people to be heard. He said regardless of whether locals voted for him or not, they would have a "seat at the table."
"If I'm elected, the governor is not my boss, the Republican Party is not my boss, the people that elected me are," he said. "While my ideologies fall more under a Republican umbrella, I'm not unwilling to break from the party ... I'm not beholden to a party, I'll be beholden to the people that vote me in the office."
Who is John Chiles?
Chiles, a Springfield native, is an entrepreneur with a background in sustainability. After spending time in the Pacific Northwest working on startups, learning carpentry and continuing his education, he returned to the Ozarks and created Embersound, a company that creates wooden art speakers.
Chiles had volunteered for Fogle's campaign, so when the representative was looking for someone to run for her seat, she approached Chiles. He said he thought about the matter for several months but ultimately felt it was an important step to take. Civic engagement has been a theme throughout his life; the nephew of former Springfield Councilman Dan Chiles, John Chiles has served on the board for Springfield Community Gardens and the local Sierra Club.
"I think that it is a calling I feel to be a part of the change, and frankly, to represent," John Chiles said, noting that much of what he has heard knocking doors is that people are eager to be heard — and for leaders in Jefferson City to listen.
He sees protections of people's voice and the state's initiative petition process as one of the top priorities. Chiles supports Amendment 6, which would raise the threshold for the legislature to change what voters approve through initiative petition.
Public education is also on Chiles's radar as a top issue to address if elected. He has heard constituents' concerns about defunding public schools while tax dollars are diverted to private schools that are not held to the same standards. To address affordability, he sees a particular need to make healthcare more affordable. A part of the solution, Chiles said, is providing support for advanced practice registered nurses transition to practice, which would allow APRNs to practice to the full extent of their training after meeting certain requirements without physician oversight. He also believes raising the minimum wage, something that garnered voter support in 2024, is a way to ensure all people prosper equally.
Where candidates stand on data centers, Flock cameras
Chiles has previously worked on data center issues, particularly the Bluebird data center in Springfield Underground, to find sustainable solutions for combining the cooling for data centers with the need for heating for greenhouses. While the project did not end up panning out, it allowed him to build familiarity with the systems at play, though at a smaller scale than some of the large developments now becoming more common.
On his campaign website, Chiles includes a Community Bill of Rights for data centers that seeks to put the decision-making power for such developments in local hands. He told the News-Leader data center developments should not receive tax breaks without creating permanent local jobs and that decisions on data center operations should be made locally and protect local interests.
"Business should work for people, not against them," Chiles said. "And fundamentally, a data center should add more value to a community than what it takes away."
Hasty said he is against unregulated growth, believing the state should set a basic framework structure for regulations that codifies closed-loop systems for data center cooling and then leaves further specifics to localities to address using public input. He added that tax breaks should not be offered on utilities.
Both candidates are generally against the use of automated license plate readers such as Flock cameras, with both citing concerns about privacy. Chiles said the main concern is the privatization of data that is used by law enforcement agencies for the public good, characterizing it as a "break in the social contract" that is supposed to benefit all. Hasty said he sees them as a violation of Fourth Amendment rights, largely because the public has not had much say in the use of the cameras. He noted there has been a lack of information of how effective such technology truly is and greater consideration needs to be given to how to balance public safety with citizens' rights.
How much money has each campaign raised
According to reports filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission, Chiles is outpacing Hasty in campaign contributions.
The reports filed for each candidate in early September showed Hasty had raised more than $22,500 total since the start of the year, though he had about $2,000 on hand, while Chiles brought in more than $67,000. Hasty's more recent report, dated Oct. 1, shows an additional $11,800 in contributions. The committee for Chiles's campaign had not yet submitted the October report due Oct. 15.
Top contributors to Chiles' campaign include:
- $2,000 - Mid America Carpenter Regional Council Missouri, Access MO, Teamsters 245 PAF, Missouri and Kansas Laborers PAC, Missouri House Democrats Fund (contribution of $1,985), Kent Childs, of Springfield, Illinois; Margy Chiles, John Chiles' aunt
- $1,500 - Richard Chiles, president of Buckner Industrial; and Greene County Democratic Central Committee ($1,330 in total contributions)
- $1,000 - Randy Alberhasky, a Springfield lawyer; Gwen Childs, of Springfield, Illinois; JM Sims, local labor arbitrator; Orthodontist Jerry Cash; Dan Chiles, former Springfield councilman and John Chiles's uncle ($1,125 contribution)
Chiles has also received monetary support from notable Springfield donors including Springfield Councilmen Craig Hosmer and Bruce Adib-Yazdi, both of whom contributed $125; former Missouri State University president Clif Smart and Springfield School Board member Gail Smart, with both donating $250; Crista Hogan, the executive director of the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association, contributed $200; retired CEO of Conco Rob Baird and wife Sally Baird, both of whom have been active philanthropists in the Springfield community and have contributed $500 each to Chiles's campaign; and Crystal Quade, former Missouri House minority leader and now the executive director of the Downtown Springfield Association, donated $50.
The campaign has also received contributions from the Franklin D Roosevelt Club ($850), MO State Council of Fire Fighters PAC, Smart Transportation Division PAC ($500), Better Schools for Missouri ($500), Dade County Democratic Club ($500), Missouri House Democrats Action Fund ($245), and Lawrence County Democratic Central Committee ($250).
Top contributors to Hasty's campaign include:
- $4,000 - Missouri Leadership PAC; Springfield School Board member Maryam Mohammadkhani ($1,000 of this was in-kind for a fundraising event);
- $2,000 - Greene County Republican Central Committee; Todd Hill, retiree;
- $1,500 - 964 PAC, Real Action PAC;
- $1,000+ - Michelle Herring, Hasty's campaign committee treasurer (contributed at least $1,200); Dianne Ely, retiree ($1,389);
- $1,000 - Michael Ingram, president of Ingram Enterprises; Putting People First PAC; Missouri Realtor's PAC; Michael Klem, of Market Liquidation Sales; Mitchell Jenkins, Realtor and developer behind controversial Galloway plans ($959 contribution).
Hasty also received support from the White River Leadership PAC ($500); Steve Makoski, district manager at Rapid Roberts and former Springfield school board member ($500); NFIB, a Nashville-based nonprofit that advocates for small businesses ($250); Greene County Presiding Commissioner Bob Dixon ($150) and Commissioner John Russell ($135).
Marta Mieze covers local government at the News-Leader. Have feedback, tips or story ideas? Contact her at mmieze@news-leader.com.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Michael Hasty, John Chiles face off Nov. 3 for MO House District 135
