Keith English (November 4, 1967 – February 28, 2018) was an American politician, union electrician, and business owner from the state of

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. English served as a member of the

Missouri House of Representatives The Missouri House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 163 members, representing districts with an average size of 37,000 residents. House members are elected for two-year terms during general elections ...

from

Florissant, Missouri Florissant () is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, within Greater St. Louis. It is a middle class, second-ring northern suburb of St. Louis. Based on the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population of 52,533, making it the 12 ...

. He was elected to his first two-year term in November 2012.

Biography

English was born in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. He graduated from

Hazelwood Central High School Hazelwood Central High School is located at 15875 New Halls Ferry Road in unincorporated St. Louis County, Missouri, adjacent to the current northeast boundary of Florissant. The school is one of three high schools in the Hazelwood School Distri ...

in 1986 and attended

Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private Jesuit research university with campuses in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, and Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Mississip ...

. He graduated from the IBEW Joint Apprenticeship Training Center in 1989. He grew up in Florissant and previously served as a Florissant city councilman for more than five years. English was a former Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) trainer and enthusiast, who took up fighting professionally after the death of his mother in 2008. English fought as an MMA fighter from 2008 to the fall of 2012, when he retired, with a record of 10 wins and 0 losses. He routinely gave his winnings to charity.

2014 tax cut vote

English made national news in 2014 when he was the only Democrat to vote to reduce Missouri's state income tax for the first time in nearly a century by voting to override the veto of Democratic Governor

Jay Nixon Jeremiah Wilson "Jay" Nixon (born February 13, 1956) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 55th Governor of Missouri from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected to the governorship in 2008 and reele ...

. The vote was 109–46 with English providing the pivotal vote. English contended that the governor had spread "misinformation" about the bill. Immediately following the vote, English was removed from four House committees by House Minority Leader and fellow union electrician Jake Hummel. English was re-elected to a second term in November 2014, and subsequently appealed to have his committee assignments restored. When that proved unsuccessful, English resigned his Democratic Party membership and announced that he would serve as an Independent.

Marijuana

At the start of the 2015 legislative session, English introduced a bill that would, if enacted, legalize medical marijuana in the state.

Death

English died of an apparent

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

on February 28, 2018, in a parking lot, in

Jefferson City, Missouri Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the capital of Missouri, United States. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 census, ranking as the 15th most populous city in the state. It is also the county seat of Cole County and the princip ...

. The police recovered a firearm from the scene.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:English, Keith 1967 births 2018 deaths American electricians American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from Missouri Missouri Democrats Members of the Missouri House of Representatives People from Florissant, Missouri Politicians from St. Louis Saint Louis University alumni 21st-century American politicians Missouri Independents Missouri city council members Suicides by firearm in Missouri American politicians who committed suicide 2018 suicides