This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Aug. 13, 2012 - Republican Steve Tilley stepped down as Missouri's speaker of the House on Monday, stating that, among other things, his incoming role as a consultant would interfere with his duties as the General Assembly’s highest-ranking Republican.
Tilley, from Perryville, Mo., also is resigning as a member of the Missouri House. He would have left the chamber as of 2013 anyway, because of term limits.
Tilley made the announcement Monday morning in a letter sent to Republican colleagues.
The speaker, who is getting divorced, wrote that he wanted to spend more time with his two daughters. But Tilley said he also made the decision because he didn’t “want to be a paid consultant while serving as the Speaker of the House.”
“Over the past eight years I sometimes put the interest of the (Republican) Caucus and the House ahead of my family, however my decision to resign early is a decision that I made with my daughters and puts my family first," Tilley said. “I will continue to practice optometry, but as all of you know I enjoy campaigns and public policy and will be consulting on both.”
He went on to say that “serving in the Missouri House has been one of the greatest honors of my life.”
“I will always cherish the opportunity we shared to move our state in a positive direction, and to make an impact on people's lives,” Tilley wrote. “Being a member of the Missouri House of Representatives is a profound responsibility, and I know that our accomplishments have lived up to that expectation.”
A spokesman for the House Communications confirmed that Tilley was also resigning from the Missouri House.
The spokesman added that House Speaker Pro Tem Shane Schoeller – a Willard Republican who is running for secretary of state – will assume the duties of the speaker until the members elect a new person to that leadership role.
House Majority Leader Tim Jones, R-Eureka, has been elected by the caucus to take over as House speaker, as of January 2013, if the Republicans keep a majority after this fall's election.
(Start of update) Jones released a statement on Monday afternoon that he's "been diligently and seriously preparing for this transition" to becoming speaker. He added that he's looking "forward to taking office as the speaker of the house if I am asked to assume that leadership position earlier in time."
"In the meantime, I know the House will be in good hands over the next few weeks as Speaker Pro Tem Shane Schoeller, myself and the rest of the leadership team handle day to day responsibilities and duties," Jones said. "Our Republican majority has been working very hard to support the election of Republicans across the state, and I am confident that we will return in 2013 with a very strong common sense, conservative, Republican majority." (End of update)
Rising star, then changed course
Tilley rose through the Missouri House ranks quickly, taking over as House Majority Leader in 2007 after St. Charles Republican Tom Dempsey won a special election for a state Senate seat. Tilley became speaker in 2011 after helping in the 2010 elections to widen the Republicans’ already stout majority in the Missouri House.
While the big Republican majority was often able to pass bills quickly, Tilley sometimes came into conflict with members of the GOP-lead Missouri Senate. Such was the case in 2011 when a wide-ranging special session fizzled due to disagreements between House and Senate leaders.
But his tenure also brought some legislative successes, including a dramatic override of Gov. Jay Nixon’s veto on a congressional map that placed U.S. Rep. Lacy Clay, D-St. Louis, and U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan in the same district. A press release also cited phasing out the state’s franchise tax, drug testing welfare recipients and passing an amendment changing the state’s nonpartisan court plan as successes.
Although Tilley held many conservative views similar to his Republican caucus, he departed from some in his party by embracing legislation ending state control over the St. Louis Police Department. He also was a proponent of embryonic stem cell research, which set him apart from more socially conservative colleagues.
When Tilley announced a bid for lieutenant governor in 2011, his prolific fundraising abilities scared a number of Democratic opponents away. But Tilley eventually dropped out of the contest after announcing his divorce, and citing a need to be with his family.
Tilley ended up playing a major role in former state Treasurer Sarah Steelman’s unsuccessful U.S. Senate campaign, and also supported Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder’s successful primary bid against state Sen. Brad Lager. Lager, R-Savannah, and Tilley had quarreled during the 2011 special session over the breakdown of an economic development bill.
This is the second leadership shakeup for the Missouri House in recent months. House Minority Leader Mike Talboy, D-Kansas City, announced he would not run for re-election after taking a job at Burns & McDonnell.
