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Published November 05, 2008 02:36 pm - The “Mr. Speaker” title won’t be official until Jan. 7, at the next opening session of the Missouri House of Representatives. But state Rep. Ron Richard, of Joplin, for practical purposes, became speaker of the House on Tuesday when the Republican Party maintained the majority in the Missouri House. Joplin lawmaker ascends to post of House speaker w/ link to learn more about Rep. Ron RichardBy Susan Redden sredden@joplinglobe.com The “Mr. Speaker” title won’t be official until Jan. 7, at the next opening session of the Missouri House of Representatives. But state Rep. Ron Richard, of Joplin, for practical purposes, became speaker of the House on Tuesday when the Republican Party maintained the majority in the Missouri House. Members of the House Republican Caucus will meet today to elect officers for the legislative session that begins in January, Richard said Wednesday in a telephone interview from Jefferson City. The vote will involve all positions except speaker, a post won by Richard more than a year ago. A former Joplin mayor and councilman, he will be the first Joplin-area House speaker since Richard Webster, of Carthage, held the post in the 1950s before he was elected to the state Senate. Richard on Tuesday was elected without opposition to his final House term. He said he is interested in seeking the Missouri Senate seat that will be vacated in two years by Sen. Gary Nodler, of Joplin. “And, I’ve had some people talk to me about statewide office, but I haven’t made any decisions there,” Richard said. House Republicans lost four seats and gained one, ending up with 89 on the GOP side of the 163-member body. Richard was voted speaker-elect in September 2007 as part of a plan proposed by then-Speaker Rod Jetton to fast-track training for party leaders in the face of term limits. For the past 14 months, Richard has been campaigning and raising funds on behalf of House Republicans, and he said he was pleased with the election outcome. “I thought we did a great job holding the seats we did,” he said. Voters also returned a Republican majority to the Missouri Senate, at the same time they elected Democrat Jay Nixon to the governor’s office. Nixon, the state’s longest-serving attorney general, got 58 percent of the vote to defeat U.S. Rep. Kenny Hulshof, who ran after Republican Gov. Matt Blunt decided not to seek a second term. Richard said he will meet soon with the governor-elect, “to see where we agree and disagree.” He said he has no reservations about working with a Democratic governor, saying he worked with former Gov. Bob Holden, a Democrat, on economic-development projects. “I carried all of his economic-development legislation and traveled with him on economic-development trips,” he said. 
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