Tilley: 'To whom much is given, much is expected'

Many are probably familiar with the maxim, “To whom much is given, much is expected.” I believe that simple philosophy couldn’t be truer this week as we started the 96^th legislative session in Jefferson City.

Looking back over the last several years, the opportunity I have been given as your State Representative has been such an amazing honor and privilege. The thousands of people I have met, families that have opened their doors, and friends I have made are humbling beyond belief.

The past election cycle marked my last and final term to serve in the Missouri House of Representatives for the people of the 106^th district, and in addition I was chosen by my peers in the state legislature to serve as Speaker of the Missouri House.

The magnitude of this responsibility at times has seemed overwhelming, but “to whom much is given, much is expected” and I fully recognize that much will now be expected of me. I have always been someone who believed leadership does not only fall to the individual with the most striking personality, but also to the one who demonstrates they can find results and sets an example to others by their deeds.

My comfort has always been in leading by example, in working together to find solutions, and always respecting the individual not just their position. This is the way I have attempted to represent our district in Jefferson City and why I believe I was chosen by my colleagues to serve as their leader.

Missouri is at a pivotal crossroads and the future of our state, and frankly our country, will be taking on changes very soon. I believe Missourians want action, they want common sense solutions to our problems, and they know the status quo has not been working. These are the very things I have always taken with me to Jefferson City and have now been asked to lead the Missouri House by.

On the opening day of session, I made the promise that the people of Missouri would and should be able to expect more from their state government because they deserve it. The largest part of that responsibility lies on me, but I am proud that I have already taken action on that pledge.

I bucked the trend of waiting until session started to organize ourselves and named chairmen more than a month in advance. We also established what members would be serving on the different committees and notified them before opening day even came. Further, I asked three Democrats to serve as Chairmen of substantive committees because I was more interested in their ability than their party designation.

I cut my own office budget by 15% and asked the rest of our leadership teams to meet a 10% reduction in theirs. I think these things were an important part of demonstrating that just because things are always done one way doesn’t mean they should always be done that way.

I also laid out a plan called the Show Me Solutions Initiative that rests on four core principles: fiscal prudence, limited government, personal responsibility, and individual freedom. Based on those principles we crafted a series of legislative proposals aimed at balancing our state budget, improving the economic environment, rooting out more waste, fraud and abuse from government, protecting education, and increasing the quality of healthcare.

My goal is to make the citizens of Missouri proud in my capacity as Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives during the next two years, but my success and appreciation goes out to the people of the 106^th district for choosing me as their Representative along with the common sense values we share and they have taught me.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve here in the House of Representatives. As always, I welcome your comments. You may reach me at 573-751-1488, send your e-mails to steven{dot}tilley{at}house{dot}mo{dot}gov or write to me at the Missouri House of Representatives, State Capitol, Room 308, Jefferson City, MO 65101. If you know of anyone who would like to receive my Capitol Reports electronically, please contact me with their e-mail address.