CANDIDATE PROFILE: Bennie Cook

Bennie Cook, a Republican candidate for state representative (143rd district), shares information and answers questions before the August primary election.

Tell readers about yourself.

My wife, Amanda, our children and I live on a farm outside of Houston, where we enjoy educating our children on the value of hard work. During our 20 years of marriage, I have been a commissioned deputy sheriff with the Texas County Sheriff’s Department. I have also volunteered as the emergency management director for Texas County and the City of Houston. I had the opportunity to be the director of the Texas County Food Pantry and Salvation Army for four years, before joining the Congressman Jason Smith Team as a field representative/constituent specialist. I currently serve as a board member for Houston Lions Club, Houston Bright Futures, Texas County Farm Bureau and Oak Hill Christian Church.

What prompted you to run, or rerun for this position?

During the last year, I have worked on many issues to improve lives across the district. We were able to make some progress, but there is much more work to be done. After discussing the possibility of running for reelection with my wife and kids, they agreed that I should continue working to help our district. We still need someone who goes to church in this district, someone who raises a family in this district and someone who works in this district to be up in Jefferson City standing up and fighting for our rural common sense conservative Republican values.

How do you plan to actively engage with our community throughout your term?

Continuing to do what I have done, my first four years: attend local meetings/events, hold mobile offices throughout the district, volunteer for local entities and work on community projects. I will continue doing ‘Capitol Reports,’ news releases in local newspapers and utilizing social media. A new program I started this year was the ‘County Day’ at the Capitol. A special day for constituents from each county in the district is scheduled to come to the Capitol. During the day, meetings are set up with other elected officials and state departments. The goal of the day is for folks to learn more about the legislative process. I am always willing to meet with constituents by phone or in person to help work on any issue. Always feel free to call me at 417-260-2382.

What are your top three priorities for our locality, and how do you plan to address them?

We must strive to continue offering local children quality education to yield productive members for our community. We must prepare our students for higher education and the workforce. By learning the needs of the school, we can find solutions to fully address them. It may require looking for local, state or federal grants, changes in state statute/regulation or funding from the state budget. We need to continuously improve access to health care in our rural areas, by working with our hospital to retain high quality physicians, nurses, health care staff and ensuring our hospital has the equipment needed to treat its patients. Meeting with the hospital to gain knowledge of its critical needs, I can then advocate for funding in the state budget or assist the facilities with state or federal grants. Investing in our infrastructure is very important to the development and connectivity of our area. This would include maintaining and upgrading Shafer Road, addressing concerns with U.S. 63 and other local roads and bridges. In conclusion, it has been an honor and privilege to serve as your state representative. I humbly ask for your vote and support on Tuesday, Aug. 6, to reelect me as your state representative for the 143rd District.

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