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Nixon’s Ham Breakfast attendance reminds Missourians he’s not fighting for every job

August 16, 2012

Just days after the release of a dismal July jobs report, Jay Nixon attended the Missouri State Fair’s Ham Breakfast this morning—but his visit was another reminder than Nixon has broken his promise to fight for every job, every time.

Three years ago, Jay Nixon blew off Harley Davidson executives considering an expansion in Missouri to attend the Ham Breakfast.  Nixon’s then-Director of Economic Development, Linda Martinez, worried in an email that people would want to “throw him (Nixon) under the bus” because he “did not appear in person at the presentation.”  Martinez also noted that, contrary to Nixon’s absence, “governors from the competing states showed up in person.”

Martinez resigned after less than a year on the job, claiming in her resignation letter that Nixon refused to meet with her.  Martinez wrote: “I am sorry we have been unable to meet and therefore we have been unable to discuss and reconcile our different views on how to move the state that we both love forward.”

“Over the past year, Jay Nixon has desperately attempted to distort the facts and claims that Missouri’s economy is gaining momentum.  But that’s not the case.  Just this week, we learned that Missouri had the third worst job loss record in the country over the last year, and Missouri’s economy lost 7,700 more jobs in July,” said Lloyd Smith, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party.  “But Jay Nixon’s visit to the Ham Breakfast is yet another reminder of his failure to fight for every job, every time.  Three years ago, Nixon skipped a crucial meeting with job creators to attend the State Fair.  Missouri missed out on thousands of new jobs because Nixon refused to even show up.”

While Nixon wastes Missourians’ hard earned tax dollars to travel the state for photo-ops, the state’s economy continues to lag behind.  The most recent jobs report showed that 7,700 jobs were lost in July, the labor force dropped by another 8,400 people, and the state’s unemployment rate increased.  Since Nixon took office, more than 95,000 people have quit looking for work, and the labor force participation rate is at its lowest level since 1985.