Republican candidate for governor Sarah Steelman stopped in St. Joseph Wednesday morning to announce her tax relief plans for Missourians. And nobody came.

Undaunted, the Missouri state treasurer took her place behind the podium at the East Hills Library meeting room and explained how she would provide nearly $200 million in real estate and tax relief for working Missourians and their families. For starters, she would put a lid on wasteful spending.

“When I am governor, we will not run our state with the same fiscal irresponsibility they do in Congress,” she told the audience of a News-Press reporter and photographer. “I will be a governor who stands up for taxpayers and families. That is my record and that is how I will make our state stronger.”

Ms. Steelman proposed a six-step plan for providing tax relief:

Increase the dependency deduction in Missouri from $1,200 to $2,100 per dependent.

Increase the personal exemption in Missouri from $2,100 to $2,625 per person.

Greater tax relief through the Missouri Taxation Review Commission.

Supporting a property tax reform bill with a provision that will protect Missourians from unpredictable jumps in property taxes.

Protection against judicial taxation.

Eliminate the earnings tax in St. Louis and Kansas City.

Ms. Steelman said her experience as state treasurer and fiscal watchdog for the Senate is evidence of the financial responsibility she will provide for the state. She cited how she has stopped hundreds of millions of dollars in wasteful spending, such as legislative pensions and taxpayer-funded ballparks, since she was elected state treasurer in 2004.

“As governor, I will not allow a Washington-style spending spree and I will not support tax increases,” she said. “I will limit spending, cut waste and return money to taxpayers and families.”

She is running against Kenny Hulshof, a U.S. Congressman from central Missouri, in the August primary.

Alonzo Weston can be reached

at alonzow@npgco.com.