A plan for the Missouri Democratic Party to purchase a $610,000 building in Jefferson City has riled some in the party ranks, who aren’t convinced that real estate is the answer to pulling the party out of super-minority status.
The building that the party hopes to close on by October 31 is located at 407 South Jefferson. It’s a one-story, no frills, 6,000-square-foot space that most recently was home to a business and technology services company, a short walk from the state capitol building.
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According to April Rivera, chair of the LGBTQ+ Caucus of the party, party leaders voted to approve the purchase earlier this month despite still needing to raise $95,000 in total for the down payment (so far, it has just $20,000 lined up for the purchase).
“If we had the down payment and we weren’t a super minority, I would be open to this,” Rivera tells SLM.
But Missouri Democratic Party Chair Russ Carnahan says that purchasing a building is just one part of a much larger strategy that also includes candidate and organizer training, as well as bringing in bold-faced national politicians to Missouri as the party heads into next year’s midterm elections.
“We’ve looked at successful state parties around the country, and virtually every one of them has a permanent, long-term headquarters for their party,” Carnahan tells SLM.
Party leadership voted 30–21 on August 7 in favor of the purchase. The overwhelming majority of members from the St. Louis region were against the plan. Part of the building’s appeal is said to be its ample parking, including a lot that accommodates 19 cars in the heart of the state capital.
Asked what she thinks the party should spend its money on instead, Rivera says, “Staff. We have no staff.”
Specifically, she says the party needs to hire people who can message effectively to Missourians as well as find out what Missourians want from the Democratic Party. “So that we can start winning elections,” she says.
Chelsea Rodriguez, a former communications director for the state party, was critical of the planned purchase as well, writing on Facebook that her communications and messaging budget for all of last year was $0. She added that the state party has three full-time employees, but none of them live in Jefferson City.
Carnahan says that critics of the building’s purchase are misframing it as an either/or, in terms of it taking away from other initiatives like communications. “It’s not a choice between one or the other,” he says “It’s both/and.” He says that funds for the building have come from regular donors giving extra on top of what they were already contributing.
Rivera says that when she talks to people about donating money, they’re less than enthused about contributing to the purchase of real estate. “But Russ is saying he’s talking to different people that are happy to give money for a building,” she says. “And you know what? He is Russ Carnahan, he may have access to more people that are open to more things. I hope he’s right.”
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story referred incorrectly to Chelsea Rodriguez’s role with the Democratic Party. She is a former communications director for the state party, not a member of the county Democratic committee. We regret the error.
