Candidate for US MO 5th District Jacob Turk
Lee Summit, MO – May 29, 2012 – Jacob Turk has lived in the 5th District of Missouri for over 30 years. Today, just before the long holiday weekend (usually a sign the news is bad for regular people and good for the political class) the Missouri Supreme Court ruled to uphold the new Congressional District plan for Missouri. Many have noted how the new District 5 was so conspicuously drawn around Jacob and Donna Turk’s home in Lee’s Summit, MO after Turk came so close to defeating Cleaver in 2010.
“I should be happy because the demographics of the new 5th District makes it statistically more competitive for us to defeat Cleaver in November. We saved for a long time to pay off our home and afford a modest remodel of our kitchen. We did most of the work ourselves. Now we will have to move less than a mile away to be back in the District I lived in for 30 years. It is sad the political class would hurt so many people to try and scare me away from opposing Cleaver.” Jacob Turk said.
2000 - 2010 MO 5th Congressional District
Turk added, “Considering how bad economically things are in the 5th District, Donna and I, while sad, feel blessed we have a home to move out of. Every person they hurt, every voter they displace becomes a Turk supporter and many have become contributors. They don’t care about districts and political games; they care about what is right. That is what we share and that is exactly why I am running for Congress.”
Current map of the 5th Congressional District in MO
Judge Price entered a Dissenting Opinion May 25th in which he states:
“The map, which was stipulated, carves out a “teardrop”-shaped portion of the Kansas City suburbs in Jackson County, which otherwise is in district 5, and places this portion in district 6. It then places part of Clay, Ray, Lafayette and Saline counties into district 5. Specifically, the effect of the teardrop is that Blue Springs, Independence, Lee’s Summit, Oak Grove and other Jackson County communities are split between the two districts. This split – which displaces more than 150,000 Missouri voters from two otherwise-compact voting districts – is not a “minimal and practical deviation” from compactness. In contrast, the alternative maps introduced into evidence by the challengers visually are contiguous and compact…”
Turk said that “I agree with Judge Price’s dissenting opinion that the new plan is not good for any of the citizens around Kansas City who are in new districts. The great difference between myself, Emanuel Cleaver and all his buddies ruling in the political class, is that I don’t think government service means self-service. So while the new district is good for me politically, I opposed it because it is not good for the people I seek to represent. “
As you look at the new map, it is easy to see what Judge Price is talking about, and one can easily see the special carve out that Turk and others who oppose the new 5th District are talking about. As we approach the elections here in Missouri, it is incumbent upon us to elect the right people to the US Congress, the fiscal fights of 2013 to 2016 are likely to rancorous and require conviction and a strong backbone from our Representatives, and our Senators (both State and Federal level).
Respectfully Submitted
The Lee’s Summit Conservative
May 31, 2012 at 9:48 pm
It’s time to give Cleaver the boot! It’s scary when our political leaders carve up districts through backroom deals. They have no regard for the constitution! Time to send Jacob Turk to Washington to represent us!
June 12, 2012 at 7:25 pm
Am I surprised at Cleaver’s underhanded scheming? Not at all!
The only reason Cleaver’s been attacking the House Ethics committee is because he’s next in line to busted for corruption!