Lamping Settles Into New Role In State Senate

For John Lamping, some parts of life as a state senator representing Clayton and other parts of St. Louis County have a lot in common with the job he has held in the financial services world. The topic up for discussion changes throughout the day— sometimes every 20 minutes or so—depending on the hearing, the debate or the vote.

Lamping, sworn in last month, spoke with Creve Coeur Patch recently for the first time since he was elected to the seat in November, by a margin so close .

Lamping said that after his advisers told him they didn't expect the final outcome to change, he went to work immediately. He assembled a staff, voted in Senate leadership elections and selected an office space, even though his victory over Barbara Fraser wasn't confirmed until a few days before Christmas.

With many of the ceremonial events in the early part of the legislative session largely out of the way, the work of governing is underway. Lamping has not yet introduced his first piece of legislation, but he said he intends to move on bills related to domestic violence, international adoption (he's the father of three children adopted overseas, two from China and one from Russia), and human trafficking. While there is a stereotypical focus on people being brought into the U.S. in trafficking cases, Lamping said, it is a far greater concern domestically.

The budget will be a key agenda item that dominates discussion this session as it has been in past years. While social services and other discretionary expenditures have seen cuts in recent years, education funding could be a target this year. Lawmakers will likely have to address issues with the state's education foundation formula.

That's been made more difficult by rulings in the Turner v. School District of Clayton lawsuit. At issue in that case: Whether school districts must accept transfer students from unaccredited school districts, regardless of their capacity to accomodate them.

"This is going to have a dramatic impact on all our school districts," Lamping said. That's especially true for schools in his state Senate district such as those in Clayton, whose school district borders unaccredited ones such as St. Louis Public Schools, or Riverview Gardens.

In the weeks since being sworn in, Lamping said, he's been reminded of how unengaged people outside of the political process can be about what's going on in Jefferson City.

“People aren’t paying close enough attention,” he said. Talking about lobbyists and constituents alike, he said: “A very small percentage of the population is influencing the direction that our General Assembly takes, and that’s unfortunate.”