About Jim Bates

I’m a lifelong Missourian. After my parent’s divorce, I grew up in two distinct parts of this great state. During the school year I lived with my Mother and Step-Father who was a Wal-Mart store manger in Ava, MO. I spent the summers with my Dad, a farmer and later a truck driver, in north central Missouri near Mexico.

I graduated from Missouri State University with a degree in Political Science and a minor in Sociology. During college I served in the US Army Reserves and the Oklahoma National Guard.

In 2005 my family moved to Liberty and fell in love with the city and the Northland. I am married to Leslie, an elementary school counselor. We have three children together. Our oldest is a graduate of Liberty High School and a student at Missouri State. Our second daughter is a graduate of Liberty High School and will be attending Missouri State in the Fall. And our son is a junior at Liberty High School.

My whole professional career has been devoted to sales and customer service. I believe too many of our elected officials forget that this is a service job. I will work to serve you, the community, the district, and Missouri to the best of my ability.