Steve Parsons

Candidate Bio

I grew up working in a family business that started as a refurbished chicken coop. I was working in the business before the age of 10 and one year my dad calculated we lived on $0.17/hour– all the rest went to building the business. Eventually our business had over 100 employees innovating technically (patents) and in management (safety pay, and profit sharing). However, my parents complained that taxes and regulations made it difficult to continue to create jobs.

I worked hard to earn two fellowships to attend graduate school where I received a Ph.D. in economics and where I deepened my belief in the power of the free enterprise system. I am now a virtually retired consultant with former clients around the world. I was also an adjunct professor teaching the Economics of Technology to graduate students in engineering at Washington University (St. Louis) for over 20 years.

I moved to Lakeview in 2016 with my wife Dr. Susan Parsons (now a retired pathologist). She is the person I admire most for her hard work and dedication. She was a veterinarian-technician for years doing some of the least glamorous jobs around, before she went to med school.

Voters deserve another choice besides the hyper-partisanship of the two parties with a stranglehold on politics; those two parties have an abysmal record at controlling the size of government, government spending and taxes. My campaign is about less government and more freedom. If elected, I will donate my entire salary to local charities. While less than 2% of Rick Crawford’s campaign finances come from small donors, I do not plan to accept any campaign donations from anyone.