Ben Keathley is an American politician and lawyer who has 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 ...

since January 4, 2023. He represents the 101st district, which as of 2022 encompasses a majority of the city of Chesterfield in West

St. Louis County, Missouri St. Louis County is located in eastern Missouri. It is bounded by the City of St. Louis and the Mississippi River to the east, the Missouri River to the north, and the Meramec River to the south. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1, ...

. Keathley was first elected to the Missouri House of Representatives on November 8, 2022. Keathley is a lifelong resident of St. Louis County. He has Indian and Malaysian ancestry through his Mother, who was born in

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. He graduated from Marquette High School in Chesterfield. He attended Knox College, earning a Bachelor's Degree. Afterwards, Keathley graduated from Law School at

Syracuse University College of Law The Syracuse University College of Law is the law school of Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. It is one of only four law schools in upstate New York. Syracuse was accredited by the American Bar Association in 1923 and is a charter member ...

and obtained a Master's degree in Political Science from the

Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs (Maxwell School) is the professional public policy school of Syracuse University, a private research university in Syracuse, New York. The school is organized in 11 academic departments and 1 ...

. Since graduating from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

, Keathley has worked as an attorney, with his practice based in Chesterfield. In 2017, Keathley was elected to Chesterfield City Council where he served as a council member until 2021. Keathley attends King of Kings

Lutheran Church Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...

in Chesterfield.

Politics

Chesterfield City Council (2017–2021)

Keathley was first elected to the Chesterfield City Council as the Ward 2 Council Member on April 4, 2017, winning a four-way race with 43.8% of the vote. In 2019, Keathley was re-elected, receiving 80.08% of the vote on April 2, 2019. On September 18, 2018, Keathley was the

Constitution Day Constitution Day is a holiday to honour the constitution of a country. Constitution Day is often celebrated on the anniversary of the signing, promulgation or adoption of the constitution, or in some cases, to commemorate the change to constitut ...

speaker at

University of the Incarnate Word The University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) is a private Roman Catholic university with its main campus in San Antonio and Alamo Heights, Texas. Founded in 1881 by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, the university's main campus is lo ...

, discussing the constitutional role of local government. Keathley served two terms as chair of the Public Health and Safety Committee for the City of Chesterfield. As a Council Member, Keathley supported body cameras for police officers, opposed a merger of

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

City and St. Louis County, and opposed the creation of special taxing districts, such as

Tax increment financing Tax increment financing (TIF) is a public financing method that is used as a subsidy for redevelopment, infrastructure, and other community-improvement projects in many countries, including the United States. The original intent of a TIF program i ...

districts.

State Representative (2023)

In 2025 Keathley introduced a bill which would create a "Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Fund" for Missouri and which would allow the state to "accept gifts, grants, donations, bequests or devises of Bitcoin" and would force the state to keep the cryptocurrency for five years before selling or transferring it. In 2025, Keathley co-sponsored legislation to void

non-discrimination Discrimination is the process of making unfair or prejudicial distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong, such as race, gender, age, class, religion, or sexu ...

ordinances for Section 8 tenants passed in several Missouri cities. Representative Keathley serves on the following committees: * Utilities (Vice chairman) * Professional Registration and Licensing * Healthcare Reform * Special Interim Committee on the Earnings Tax * Subcommittee on Appropriations – General Administration

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keathley, Ben 1988 births Living people Republican Party members of the Missouri House of Representatives People from Chesterfield, Missouri Knox College (Illinois) alumni Syracuse University College of Law alumni Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs alumni American Lutherans 21st-century members of the Missouri General Assembly