Kristen Radaker-Sheafer, running for House of Representatives in Missouri, District 7
Kristen believes in the importance of this position because it is the most direct link that the people have to the government. She knows that people need someone on the ground listening to them.
As a small business owner in Missouri, Kristen has gone through the journey of starting a business from nothing. She realized she wanted to do more for her community when she saw that there were people around her willing to work just as hard as everyone else but still encountered significant roadblocks to success. She wanted to do more for her community and provide people with the resources they need to build a business and life for themselves. Kristen’s goal is to make sure that all people are able to thrive and find success.
In Kristen’s community, inflation strongly affects everyone’s lives. Especially small business owners. Many have had to sacrifice or cut back on normal operations, Kristen herself. She believes in supporting local farms and vendors and does her best to buy locally. Still, Kristen has seen businesses and farms close down over these past couple of years due to rising costs. She believes that our country is prioritizing corporations while many of the people are overlooked.
Kristen’s vision for the future of Missouri is one where there are many thriving small businesses, including those run by women and minorities. She also wants to see to it that all people have their needs met and that we can all learn to become less polarized in our thinking. Another one of Kristien’s goals is to see farms thriving and to make sure that corporations cannot come into small towns and drain them of money and resources.
We learned that in Kristen’s community, the people are constantly looking for new ways to make their state better. Her home is full of caring people who are creative and innovative. She says that they don’t get enough credit for how collaborative they truly are. Kristen also told us that in her town, there is the second highest per capita of women and minority owned businesses! The level of collaboration her community has is very high and Kristen doesn’t see that anywhere else.
Kristen has two giant dogs, a Newfoundland and a St. Bernard mix! She is a creative person who designs wallpaper in her free time. Just as Kristen likes to collaborate with other artists and business owners, she aims to collaborate with other leaders in order to find common ground and move forward. Her goal is for people to see those on the other side of the aisle as collaborators and partners, not enemies.