SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey spoke at the Springfield Chamber of Commerce on Thursday as a part of the chamber’s Public Policy Speaker Series.

Attorney General Bailey hit his six-month mark since swearing in as attorney general on July 3. He shared the accomplishments of his office. At the start, cracking down on St. Louis area crime was a goal for Attorney General Bailey. He said over 500 businesses had left the St. Louis area in the last few years due to crime.

“One of the biggest issues I came into the office wanting to tackle was crime in St. Louis,” Bailey said. “There’s a perception problem. Outsiders don’t disassociate St. Louis or crime problems in one jurisdiction from the rest of the state. Crime itself doesn’t care that there are 46 judicial circuits and that there are 114 counties plus the city of St. Louis. So it becomes a regional problem, it becomes a statewide problem,” Attorney General Bailey said.

His office led efforts to remove the city of St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner from office before she resigned in May. He said he was proud of the work his team did.

“I think that we’re in a much better place now,” Bailey said.

The attorney general also emphasized one of his goals is to increase recruitment and retention for his offices across the state.

“Having sufficient staff to manage our operations and meet the needs of the state of Missouri is critical,” Bailey said. “I want to train people who want that experience,” he said.

Attorney General Bailey said his office has hired a full-time staff member dedicated to recruitment and retention, started a law school practicum for students to earn college credit and experience, and started trial masters and trial fellows programs to get experienced attorneys in the courtroom and mentorship.

KY3 participated in an exclusive one-on-one interview with the attorney general. KY3 asked Attorney General Bailey how he felt about Senator Josh Hawley’s Sunshine Law violations case that resulted in a fine of over $240,000 to be paid by the state of Missouri

“We did not feel that there were sunshine law violations. The court went in the opposite direction,” Attorney General Bailey said. The court is constantly interpreting the statute in new ways and providing operational guidance to states and local governments as well,” he said.

When asked about his office’s over 400 Sunshine Law request backlog, he said his team is working on it.

“We’ve dedicated two full-time staff members to make sure that people get the records they request,” Bailey said. “We’re dedicated to transparency and enforcing that law as written,” he said.

He said his team is seeking more members to join the attorney general’s office to assist with those requests.

KY3 then asked if he would challenge an abortion referendum.

“I think the people have expressed their voice through their elected representatives and if they don’t like the outcomes, then they certainly have the ability to push initiatives for petitions,” Attorney General Bailey said.

KY3 also asked about the impending lawsuit against President Biden and his contact with his technology and social media companies.

“We’ve gotten a court order prohibiting the Biden administration from silencing American voices on big tech social media platforms,” Bailey said. “We’re proud of that. We intend to defend that all the way up to the United States Supreme Court if necessary,” he said.

He also talked about his background in public service, starting with his service in the military after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Bailey said he went to the University of Missouri’s Law School after two deployments to Iraq and became a prosecuting attorney for Warren County, Missouri. He also worked with the Missouri Department of Corrections, where the governor promoted him to a staff member.

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