State Rep. David Tyson Smith says the back-and-forth began because his staff was referring constituents upset with federal policies to U.S. Rep. Mark Alford’s office
BY: RUDI KELLER
Missouri Independent
A Missouri Republican congressman and a Democratic state legislator with overlapping districts are engaged in a social media battle over a staff visit to the state Capitol Building this week.
State Rep. David Tyson Smith, a Columbia Democrat, hit first, accusing U.S. Rep. Mark Alford, a Raymore Republican, of sending three staff members to his office to intimidate his legislative assistant.
The staff, Smith said, demanded his office stop giving out contact information for Alford’s official offices to people upset with federal policies since President Donald Trump resumed office.
“They said he was getting inundated with calls and was cornered in a coffee shop by angry people,” Smith wrote Thursday afternoon in his social media post. “A VA employee came to my office and we sent her over as well. The staffers said the congressman doesn’t want to talk about the VA.”
On Friday morning, Alford posted his response, saying the visit was not just to Smith’s office but to several lawmakers who have constituencies in the 4th District in order to build a better relationship. The subject of referring constituents never came up, he said, noting addresses and telephone numbers for his offices are posted online.
“It is extremely unfortunate that an elected official feels the need to make up politically motivated lies about our team, who work tirelessly for the constituents of the Fourth District,” Alford wrote. “They do not deserve this.”
In an interview with The Independent, Smith said Alford was the liar, and he checked with other Democrats who represent the area and none received visits.
“If they were just making house calls why didn’t they visit the other Democrats?” Smith said. “You know, we’re the ones that are sending people to his office.”
William Barry, Alford’s communication director, said staff visited the offices of six lawmakers, including state Rep. Adrian Plank, a Columbia Democrat.
Alford is in his second term representing the 4th Congressional District, which covers all or part of 24 counties along and south of the Missouri River from Boone County southwest to the Kansas border. Smith is in his third term, and represents areas of Columbia generally north of Interstate 70 in the 46th Missouri House District.
The coffee shop incident Smith referred to occurred Feb. 25, when Alford encountered a large, angry crowd at a Belton coffee shop who were upset with federal job losses since Trump took office.
Throughout the event, Alford defended the administration’s actions, saying at one point that “not all chaos is bad” and that “God has a plan” for federal workers who lost their jobs, KSHB reported.
In response to that angry crowd and others, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson is advising Republican members of Congress to skip town halls, calling the people who attend “professional protesters.”
Smith said he thinks the visit by Alford’s staff was prompted by the referral of the Department of Veterans Affairs employee. The worker had been performing duties remotely and feared being told there was no space and no job upon returning to the office.
His legislative assistant helped set up an appointment with Alford’s staff, Smith said.
He’s not certain whether that person has kept her job, Smith said. The federal job cuts being implemented by Trump are creating anxiety among 30,000 employees in Kansas City, IRS agents in St. Louis and several federal employees have reported losing their jobs in Columbia.
“Obviously, we have federal offices all over the state,” Smith said. “But even bigger than that, it’s going to affect small businesses, because if people don’t have jobs, they’re not going to patronize small businesses. And so everyone is going to feel this.”
Alford included a photo of Smith’s legislative assistant in the social media post, standing next to his staffer. He is smiling broadly, while her mouth is closed.
Smith said his legislative assistant grumbled about the photo.
“That’s a form of intimidation,” he said. “She shouldn’t be thrown into the middle of this. They shouldn’t have taken her photo. They shouldn’t be posting on her website. They’re trying to intimidate her, and they’re trying to intimidate my staff, and they showed up to complain.”
In his social media post, Alford said the legislative assistant willingly posed for the photo.
“The truth is that Rep. David Tyson Smith’s legislative assistant welcomed my team with open arms, smiles and pleasant conversations,” Alford wrote. “The meeting was full of professionalism and constructive conversations, and nobody ever discussed our public phone number.”
The photo was not going to be published or posted “until Rep. Smith made baseless accusations on social media,” Barry said. “Our team has zero knowledge of any comments made to them about her being uncomfortable with the picture.”
Smith is seeking attention with the post, Alford wrote.
“Misleading voters for partisan political points is abhorrent,” Alford wrote. “But this is what radical progressive politics is about – no agenda, no vision, no leadership. Just performative outrage and shameless grandstanding. Missouri deserves better than this.”
Alford should have the courage to call him if he has a complaint, instead of sending the message through staff, Smith said.
“If Congressman Alford has an issue with what we’re doing,” Smith said, “he needs to pick up the phone and call me or come and see me, not come and complain to my staff.”