Pettis County Eastern Commissioner Israel Baeza announced his 2020 election campaign at noon Thursday at the Pettis County Courthouse.

Surrounded by Republican office holders, co-workers, friends and relatives, Baeza will embark on his first official political campaign after being appointed by Gov. Mike Parson to fill the post after former Eastern County Commissioner Brent Hampy was tapped by President Trump to become State Executive Director for the USDA Missouri Farm Service Agency (FSA). Hampy joined the Missouri FSA team on Oct. 1.

Baeza formerly worked for Pettis County as an Election Clerk and as an assistant soccer coach for both State Fair Community College and Sacred Heart High School.

He serves the community in various organizations such as Citizens Against Spouse Abuse (CASA), the Paul Klover Soccer Association (PKSA), and the Hispanic Baptist Confraternity of Missouri.

Baeza is also a member of the First Hispanic Baptist Church of Sedalia, where he serves as a Youth and Worship Team Leader.

“It is so great and incredibly humbling to see so many friends, members of our community, elected officials, business and industry leaders here showing their support as we move our county forward,” he began. “I want to start by thanking God for giving me the opportunity to serve in this position, my family for their love and support, the Republican Central Committee for their nomination to fill the vacancy, and Gov. Mike Parson for the trust he has put in me to his appointments.”

Baeza said his focus from day one has been “putting the people of Pettis County first, where they belong.”

“These are exciting times for Pettis County, and we have made a lot of progress,” Baeza said, emphasizing the need to keep property taxes low.

“We announced the most aggressive road and bridge plan in the history of Pettis County,” he said. “We set aside funding to reclaim 20 miles of road countywide, we improved the working conditions and hired more people at the highway department, to more resourcefully cover the more than 900 miles of road in our county. We launched an app on our website that allowed citizens to report road maintenance issues straight from their cell phones or computers,” Baeza noted.

“We promised better funding for emergency services, we put it to a vote before the people, and together, we got the job done,” Commissioner Baeza said, to applause from the crowd gathered on the first floor of the courthouse in downtown Sedalia.

“We have come too far to leave this work unfinished. We have to move forward. Our goal is to leave Pettis County better than it was given to us. That's the choice in this election, and that's why in 2020, I am running for a full term as Pettis County Eastern District Commissioner,” Baeza proclaimed.

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