Senator-elect Brian Nieves said the changes in Senate leadership positions will end an era of the "tyranny of the minority."

Nieves, who is now the 98th District state Representative, defeated Democrat opponent George "Boots" Weber and Richard E. Newton, Constitution Party, after Nieves received 65.6 percent of the votes in the Nov. 2 election.

Nieves told The Missourian the new Republican Senate leadership will no longer allow Democrats to threaten a filibuster, and then not carry through with any delay of legislation. He added that this reinvented Senate will be the result of a change in senatorial leadership that will take the legislative body back to its roots.

"The culture from the past has slipped away, so this is priority No. 1," Nieves remarked.

Southeast Missouri Sen. Rob Mayer emerged the victor Thursday, Nov. 4, in a Republican leadership shakeup that revealed divisions in the chamber's largest GOP majority since at least the Civil War era, according to the Associated Press.

Mayer, of Dexter, was nominated for Senate president pro tem - the chamber's top position - with the backing of a coalition of conservative colleagues frustrated about the inability of Republicans to advance a strong agenda in recent years, the AP reported.

Mayer prevailed in a closed-door meeting over Senate Majority Leader Kevin Engler, of Farmington, who traditionally would have ascended to the top position.

But it was not a resounding victory. After several tied votes between Mayer and Engler, the senators drew lots to select a winner, according to the AP.

Nieves was not forthcoming on who he voted for in the leadership election, but he did say he would have been pleased with either outcome.

"I am very happy with the outcome of these elections. I didn't have a problem with either one of these guys," he said. "I really do think that Rob Mayer is an integral part of turning this back into a center-right organization."

Engler was noticeably absent as most of the 26 incumbent or newly elected Republican senators stood around Mayer in a show of unity at a Capitol news conference, the AP reported.

"Basically the more traditional scenario would be that the majority leader would ascend to position of president pro tem," Nieves said. "It is not in writing, but it seems that is how it normally works - there was not any controversy but it was an unusual path.

"Anytime that you see a nontraditional thing happen with a governmental body. . . anytime you see something happen outside the box, that represents great opportunity for change, Nieves added.

Republicans gained three Senate seats and 17 House seats in the general election, which gives them a 26-8 majority over Democrats in the Senate and a 106-57 majority over Democrats in the House.

"A new leader brings new opportunities - I am just going to be part of the crew that no longer accepts tyranny of the minority," Nieves said. "No longer will we allow the threat of filibuster to carry the weight of a filibuster."

Furthermore, Nieves explained that the "architects" of the state Constitution intended for the state House to be ruled by the majority, but the Senate was protected by filibustering.

"When architects of the system drew up plans for how the Legislature operated, it was intended to be completely different - by design the House was to be a tyranny of majority.

"In the Senate, the architects gave certain protections for the minority. Minority is protected in the Senate with the ability to give a filibuster," he added. "Now, in recent years the minority party in Senate has begun to use the filibuster willy-nilly - it has become a culture where the minority party has overstepped its power, the reason we have allowed this to be the case is because the Republican Party has not had the fortitude to say, ‘If you're going to threaten a filibuster, then you have to actually conduct it.'

"That flies in face of what our Founding Fathers had in mind - we should protect minority in the proper way that the Senate was set up to function," Nieves added. "They should be given the ability to exercise the right to filibuster in the Senate, but Republican majority has to, not with bad attitude, say ‘Go ahead.' When they are done we can continue moving on - we won't just instantly fold and compromise because of a threat of a filibuster."

Mayer's Agenda

During the press conference following Mayer's election to the top Senate position, he mentioned efforts for a "right to work" law in the state, which prohibit some agreements between labor unions and employers.

Nieves said he was not expecting Mayer to tackle that issue during the press conference.

"That issue has always been a million miles away from being on the table. His mentioning that totally caught me off guard," Nieves said. "I would really have to take a look at that, but I am in favor of creating Missouri as a small business-friendly state.

"Now that it is on the table we really need to dig into that and I do agree that it is worthy of discussion," Nieves added.

Both Nieves and Mayer also support a "fair tax," also called a "consumption tax" in Missouri.

"I am specifically in favor of a fair tax and of reforming our tax system," Nieves said. "I think our current taxing system is regressive, not progressive - in all of the fair tax studies that I have seen, it would actually lower our tax burden on each individual Missourian."

A fair tax would replace income tax with a consumption tax on retail goods.

"Right now there are tons of people earning income who never pay taxes," Nieves said. "Like a drug dealer who might make $100,000 and never pays a penny of income tax." Those people making money illegally still spend and many actually spend more - this would create a more fair environment, and recoup the tax dollars of people making money illegally."

Opponents of the fair tax say those who make between $15,000 and $200,000 would be taxed much more than those who make more than $200,000, among other criticisms.

Tea Party Connection

Nieves added that he wants "people to look at my office as their office."

"If we all embrace a little bit of the tea party and hold officials accountable it will attract people rather than create a wall between government and people."