Dylan Hassinger

The 5th District needs a senator that can bring people together. Our city is held back by
divisive politics - here at home, and in the statehouse. We need a senator who can build
new coalitions that break through the conventional narratives. We need someone who
can transcend party lines to diffuse the gridlock in Jefferson City. And we need a
senator with vision, who will put forward new solutions to the challenges we face. As a
community organizer, an entrepreneur, a technologist, and a musician, my whole life
has been spent trying to find new ways to create community. I believe this background
and temperament will allow me to find common ground in the Missouri Senate.

I am standing up for a young, involved generation in St. Louis that is fed up with politics
as usual. We have watched established politics, silver bullet projects and heavy handed
government destroy too much and harm too many. My opponent talks a good talk, but
behind the scenes she's cutting deals with these same special interests. Her campaign
fund is filled with checks from the corporations and strings that lead to billionaires. I am
accountable to the people, I refuse corporate donations, I pledge to never take gifts from
lobbyists. I will work in good faith - and with an even temperament - to find new solutions
that deliver progress for families and small businesses.

1) Building a new coalition and a new narrative that breaks through the rural-urban
divide. It won't be easy, but we can do it with a new approach and new ideas.
2) Stopping transactional politics. We need a senator that says no to special deals,
who fights corruption, who stays away from the billionaires and the lobbyists, who
relies on grassroots funding and not corporations.
3) Community collaboration. We need a senator that stays engaged and
collaborative with the community full time, not just during elections, and who
considers input from a diverse array of sources.

#1 Economic Development. We are at the end of a long economic decline in St.

Louis, but we can flip that around by encouraging new growth industries (such as
brewing, urban farming and green tech) and by making it easy as possible to start a
small business. #2 Government Accountability. We need to increase transparency,
reform campaign finance and ethics laws, and get serious about police and
municipal oversight. #3 Neighborhood Empowerment. We need to make sure every
community is healthy, has access to quality education and transportation, provides
local social services and after school programs - and has law enforcement that
reflects and understands them. These will be my priorities in the Missouri Senate.

As a grassroots independent Democrat, not aligned with any political machine or

special interests, I believe I can be an honest broker in the statehouse and offer a
personal and political reset. As someone who believes in balanced budgets and
fiscal sanity, and someone is a bit libertarian on social and economic issues, I can
find new common ground with Republicans (for instance, I would have stood with
the dissenters on the stadium funding). Last but not least, I will build upon my local
activism experience and begin organizing at the statewide level to establish a new
progressive coalition that transcends party lines in our state, and can apply
pressure to the statehouse on behalf of working families and small businesses.
We need an economic revival in our city and state. We can do that by passing laws
that encourage new and growing industries (such as green technology, urban
farming, small scale manufacturing, commercial cannabis, and the rehab
economy), removing regulation on small business and making it easy as possible
for startups & aspiring entrepreneurs to get going, and removing the tax breaks and
special deals that large corporations and established interests receive. Initiatives
like these will empower a new generation of St. Louis entrepreneurs and STL
success stories, spreading out jobs and opportunity that lift everyone up.

On a person to person level, I think a non-confrontational approach and a

willingness to consider new solutions can go a long way. Building on that, my social
libertarian views and my youth spent in tiny Stevensville, Michigan gives me some
ability to talk in their language, and perhaps to rewrite some preconceived notions
of what a St. Louisan Democrat is. In the big picture, we need to reinvent the
narratives around our city, and change the assumptions about what Missouri
Values are. We can do that by organizing at the state level for common sense
progressive change, by standing up for our principles and not cutting deals, and by
staying civil when the rhetoric rises and emotions gets hot.

I think the best option would be a transaction tax - a small percentage on electronic
financial transactions conducted in our state. This would primarily affect financial
institutions and large corporations, and would reduce financial speculation. Another
option would be pollution and vice taxes -- i.e. putting fees and higher sales taxes
on things that are unhealthy. A more creative possibility could be increasing sales
taxes for out-of-state corporations that do business here. This would have the
secondary benefit of providing new opportunities for Missouri businesses.

#1 - Take city/county merger off the table. City and county are different, so lets let
them each do their own thing. By removing this issue from the discussion, there
would be more breathing room to accomplish other forms of collaboration.
#2 - Put sustainability and green tech initiatives at the top of the regional agenda.
These can be non-controversial and can lead the way to other progressive change.
#3 - Build a region wide, non-partisan caucus pushing for grassroots, common
sense change

I will always seek to build common ground, to keep a calm temperament, to be civil
& issue-oriented, to keep my word, to not take things personally, to put out a
positive vibe. I try to consider things from others points of view, weigh the good and
the bad of every case, and not belittle opponents motivations even if I disagree with
their position. I work incrementally - I will try to create small pieces of legislation
based around areas of consensus, and build a track record of common sense
lawmaking. I will push for legislative transparency, post all my bills online before I
submit them, and let my constituents submit comments and suggestions via the
internet. I will be involved in my district full time.

I am running a grassroots, DIY campaign that is primarily self funded. So far all of
my contributions are friends who gave less than $30. I will not take donations from
out-of-state corporations and will not accept lobbyist gifts. I will not accept any
campaign contributions associated with Rex Sinquefeld or Paul McKee. I will work
to enact campaign finance reform, ethics reform, and open data policies at all
levels. I will stand up for these issues in committee, on the floor, and in the media. I
will never miss an ethics vote. I will always vote based on principle, not because of
campaign contributions or cutting deals.

1) I will introduce community policing concepts and ways to empower

neighborhoods. If we amplify local voices, better integrate law enforcement with
their communities, and get serious about urban education, then movement towards
justice will follow. 2) I will fight to reform the drug war, but I will frame it libertarian
and economic terms. If we do so, there is an opportunity to build a new coalition
around cross-party values like police oversight, cannabis decriminalization, and
asset forfeiture reform. 3) I will put pressure on St. Louis County to be accountable.
I am from STL County, I have been through the legal system there, I have seen
firsthand how it is broken. I will be very serious about increasing oversight for the
municipalities AND county government, and will encourage frustrated families &
businesses to relocate to STL City.

I will frame these issues in civil libertarian terms, and make a conservative case for
respecting personal freedom and privacy on social issues. I will also organize at the
statewide level to show Jefferson City that there is broad cross-party support for
progressive stances on these issues. Last but not least, I will build a track record of
finding common ground on less contentious issues, and work earnestly to build a
common sense coalition that changes the dynamic in the Missouri Senate.