Timothy Shepard for United States Senate

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Raising the Wage Floor – The Fight for $15

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Fight for $15 - Terrence Wise and worker power

Pitting small businesses against the minimum wage workforce is not working. All that fight will achieve is a win for the Walmarts, Dollar Generals, and Amazons of the world.

To raise the wage floor and win this argument, In the Fight for $15, we need to grow our coalition and include small business owners. Our current economy works against entrepreneurs, small business owners, and workers alike, but it doesn’t need to stay like this.

You and I, and everyone else, can band together in the fight for a livable wage. We can demand that we raise the federal minimum wage to $15 while also demanding that America’s small businesses are empowered and given what they deserve.

When I’m in the United States Senate, I promise to strengthen the Small Business Administration with funding to ensure that our small businesses can be allies in our fight to increase the minimum wage.

To ensure that America thrives, we need a significant restructuring of the economy. We need to move away from subsidizing monopolies that drive mom-and-pop businesses into bankruptcy. Entrepreneurs and small businesses alike are hungry for the best workers and talent. But they can’t afford to attract workers because they can’t afford to compete with massive corporations. Meanwhile, those very same corporations like Walmart and Amazon win out and only further harm the small businesses. This cycle is crippling the American economy while empowering the monopolies and oligarchies to further oppress those who can barely survive.

The good news is that we have the tools we need to get the economy working again, for us, not them! We can use anti-trust laws to break up the monopolies that are engaged in competition-killing practices. We can increase the funding for the Small Business Administration and help small businesses pay competitive wages and reward talent. And we can enhance our credit scoring system to enable entrepreneurs to take those risks when launching small businesses without potentially ruining their entire future.

Move over Mark McCloskey. Meet Tim Shepard

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Mark McCloskey vs Tim Shepard

As Mark McCloskey announced his run for US Senate, it’s evident that many Missourians are fighting for a backward view of our national identity. As was enshrined in the Missouri Compromise of 1820. Here at Tim Shepard for United States Senate campaign, we are fighting for a MissouriUnCompromised. When Drek and I decided to get into public service, we did so, knowing that our existence in this race is an act of defiant protest. We need you to stand with us. Too many in our state, including many powerful Democrats, have misread what the rise of Trumpism in Missouri means. They see a racist, backwoods, and backward electorate. 

But here’s the secret, Missouri isn’t as racist, homophobic, and backwoods as we all try to tell each other that we are. Trump carried Missouri in large part because he spoke to the needs of a lot of Missourians; he made them feel heard. We Democrats do such a fantastic job at explicitly calling out so many groups; black and brown communities, people of color, women, indigenous communities, LGBTQ folks, and the list goes on. Don’t get me wrong, it’s critical and vital that we address every marginalized community, but we are missing one which has allowed the Republicans to wedge neighbors apart.

We have many white working and middle-class people on edge, people who don’t have access to high-wage jobs, education, rural broadband, healthcare, good infrastructure, etc. And when we talk about the idea of white privilege, it makes them feel excluded.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.

Declaration of independence

It’s true, Mark McCloskey is a symbol of Missouri’s past and present misdeeds. But we will only make a new future when we demand the opposite. Demanding a Missouri UnComomprimised means we have to embrace and live our values with pride. Our Declaration of Independence has aspirational words that Martin Luther King refers to as our national creed. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” These are the words that have animated the debate over the very soul of our nation. The debate raged at the nation’s founding, again in 1820 when the federal legislature passed the Missouri Compromise, and in the present. We are debating whether it is okay for a few to profit at the expense of human suffering and exploitation. It gets played out in the question of whether Black Lives Matter, whether or not our rural and urban communities are created equal, whether or not every single American deserves healthcare, and education, and a living wage.

As you’re sharing on social media, stop elevating the Missouri Compromise. Don’t share about Greitens or the McCloskeys; that promotes the suffering side of the debate. Instead, proudly declare that we are a Missouri UnCompromised! Proudly share with the world and your neighbors that we have a candidate who truly is here to fight for all of us. Meet me, Tim Shepard, an LGBTQ activist with a beautiful mixed family representative of America’s future. We can choose to have a senator who has blended urban and rural lives and believes in traditional American values, that our diversity is our strength, and democracy is what makes us great.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has!” – Margeret Meade

Now let’s get to work!

-Tim

From St. Louis to Kansas City to Joplin, Missourians gathered to ensure that over 200,000 of us get access to healthcare.

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In August, we voted for Medicaid Expansion here in Missouri. Last Thursday, our Governor threw it out. Friday, I joined Missouri Jobs with Justice and protestors at the Kansas City protest. 

Excerpt from the Kansas City Star

By GlenN E. Rice

Dozens gathered in Kansas City Friday to voice their anger at Gov. Mike Parson’s decision not to expand Medicaid in spite of the fact that Missouri voters approved a state constitutional amendment for it.

During a rally at Trinity United Methodist Church, speakers urged a crowd of about 75 people to take direct action to push the governor and Missouri lawmakers to provide health care to the poor and the elderly. The rally was organized by Missouri Jobs with Justice, a statewide advocacy group concerned with health care, economic justice, and workers’ rights.

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Protect the Right to Vote: Pass the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act

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***MEDIA ADVISORY***

MISSOURI VOTING RIGHTS LOBBY DAY MARCH 31 

Tim Shepard for United States Senate Endorses Missouri Voter Advocates as they Decry Race and Class Discriminatory Voter Suppression Bills in Missouri. Tim Shepard for Senate Supports Passing the For the People Act, John Lewis Voting Rights Act, and Condemns the Nationally Coordinated Effort Attacking The Right To Vote. 

(JEFFERSON CITY, MO) – On Wed. March 31, 2021, at 10:30 am – 12:30 pm CT, Timothy Shepard for United States Senate is joining voter advocates as they hold a Voting Rights Lobby Day at the Missouri State Capitol Steps/South Lawn. The campaign seeks to draw attention to the spate of discriminatory voting bills in Missouri and highlight his intention to support and protect American’s right to vote. 

Tim Shepard is joining the event, organized by the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition and its partners. The nonpartisan organizers have not endorsed Timothy Shepard for Senate. He aims to bring attention to his support of the Federal For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. This is his campaign’s response to the Missouri House passage of Missouri H.B. 738. which would enshrine unconstitutional photo ID requirements to vote, delay the counting of absentee ballots, eliminate a secret ballot for certain voters with disabilities, and expand voter purges. The measure passed the Missouri House the same day lawmakers in Georgia enacted a sweeping voter suppression measure, part of a nationwide attack on the right to vote in 43 states.

“I am disappointed to see the slate of bills passing through state legislatures across the country, including here in Missouri, which further perpetuate a GOP-driven class war against the poor. These bills intentionally disenfranchise our most vulnerable citizens from having access to the right to vote.” Says Tim Shepard, Progressive Democratic Candidate for the United States Senate in Missouri. “In the United States, we should lean into optimism, hope, and inclusion for all of our citizens to ensure a vibrant democracy and not these backward-facing Jim Crow era devices meant to enforce an American caste system.”

“In 1820, Missouri entered our union as a slave state with a bill known as the Missouri Compromise. This compromise flew in the face of our national creed embedded in the Declaration of Independence, ‘For we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men [people] are created equal.’ The Missouri Compromise enshrined a caste system in the United States that we’re still unwinding to this day.” Tim Shepard

“Now, just as then, Missouri is at the center of the national debate of how we wish to define the American experiment. Will we continue to compromise human rights so that those few at the top may consolidate power and wealth while exploiting division and hate? Or are we going to live fully into our creed and demand that every one of our citizens’ voices matters and should get equal representation in our democracy, a Missouri UnCompromised!?”

Tim Shepard is proud to endorse the For the People Act, The John Lewis Voting Rights Act, and other critical democracy reforms to expand access to our vulnerable citizens to participate in our democracy and strengthen our union. “Nobody who faces homelessness or the impacts of poverty, or racism, should ever be restricted from having access to the right to vote, and therefore the right to elevate themselves in our society. We must lead the world and continue to insist on the bedrock foundation of our belief in a free society. Then, we may continue to be a beacon in an increasingly autocratic world for those tired and weary to come to our shores as we proudly declare that we in the United States are truly the land of the free.”

WHAT: MISSOURI VOTING RIGHTS LOBBY DAY 

WHO: Timothy Shepard is a Progressive Democratic Candidate for U.S. Senate demonstrating his support for the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition; his support of their non-partisan work does not equate to their endorsement of his campaign for Senate. There will be remarks from Nimrod Chapel, Jr., President, Missouri State Conference of the NAACP; Rev. Darryl Gray, Missionary Baptist State Convention of Missouri; Rep. Ashley Bland Manlove, Chair, Missouri Legislative Black Caucus; Rep. Crystal Quade, Minority Floor Leader, Missouri General Assembly; Denise Lieberman, Director & General Counsel of Missouri Voter Protection Coalition; Mo DeVillar, ACLU of Missouri, among other invited guests. 

WHEN: Wed. March 31, 2021  

11:30 – 12:30 am CT  

WHERE: Missouri State Capitol Steps/South Lawn and broadcast live at https://www.instagram.com/tshepard4mo/ 
Learn more about Tim’s background at https://tshepard.com/about-tim

Virtual Rally – Prepare for the Justice Road Trip to Jeff City

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Join us on Zoom to learn more about the MO SB26. Help rally folks to protect and defend our democracy and learn at a state as well as federal level what we can do to defend against the Jim Crow 2.0 bills that are popping up all over the country.

This is a virtual rally on Zoom to help get talking points down and get people excited to defend our democracy and state for our first amendment rights.

MEET TIM SHEPARD, PROGRESSIVE CANDIDATE FOR U.S. SENATE

Meet and Greet with Tim Shepard, Progressive Candidate for the United States Senate to represent Missouri, and an info session with Pastor Gray.

JOIN US AT THE CAPITOL [JEFF CITY] ON MONDAY, MARCH 22

For those who are able, join us the following Monday for a day of lobbying and giving testimony at the Capitol in Jefferson City.

VOTE NO SB26

SUPPORT THE FIRST AMENDMENT AND LOCAL CONTROL

SB26 is a direct attack on the first amendment rights of Missouri citizens. The bill is an attempt to make it easier for law enforcement officers to use excessive force and prosecutors to imprison protestors. The bill also takes control of local budgets from the local elected officials by putting a cap on their ability to shift resources away from law enforcement budgets.

  1. SB26 allows prosecutors to charge regular protest leaders with a felony for blocking traffic.
  2. SB26 makes it illegal for local elected officials to shift more than 12% of the police budget to other services.
  3. SB26 allows police departments to “investigate” officers accused of crimes or excessive force behind closed doors and gives the officer being investigated a heads up before they have to start answering questions.

ZOOM DETAILS COMING SOON

Roy Blunt is Out. Democracy is In.

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For Immediate Release – Kansas City, MO

When I entered the US Senate race in the summer of 2020, it was just me against Roy Blunt. From the start, he was our campaign’s only opponent, though more have joined recently. We just found out that Sen. Blunt isn’t seeking reelection. Here’s why I think that’s extremely exciting for the US Senate and the state of Missouri (and it isn’t even really about Roy).

So why am I so excited? 

I’m running a grassroots campaign to restore democracy – we call it making Missouri Uncompromised. One of the greatest tools we have for that is primary elections. With Blunt out of the race, we now have the opportunity for the people of Missouri to actually choose their candidate. We can end the cycle of “king-making,” where candidates are chosen by a small group at the top of the parties. That doesn’t sound like democracy to me, and it’s the entire reason why I am running. 

With Blunt out of the race and primaries in both parties, we have an opportunity to restore the democratic process in Missouri.

For comment: email us@tshepard.com or call 816.343.4714