Thursday, July 27, 2017
US Senate Talk
KC Star reports that AG Josh Hawley was in DC… prepping for the Senate run against McCaskill? See it here.
And
One building denizen says that allies of former Sen. Kurt Schaefer are doing their best to undermine Josh Hawley and advance other candidates as the enmity from their primary race last year has not abated…
Senate 8 Talk
Folks still expect a Sen. Will Kraus appointment to come very soon from the Trump Administration… we’ll see.
Meanwhile Hillary Shields started a campaign committee to run as a Democrat in Senate 8. This is a Republican district, and it’s not clear that Shields will be able to grab many cross-over votes.
Brownback Get Trump Appointment
NYTimes reports that “Sam Brownback, the beleaguered governor of Kansas whose aggressively conservative fiscal policies turned some fellow Republicans against him, will be nominated to serve as ambassador at large for international religious freedom…” See it here.
Former Rep. Cooper Featured in RFT
Riverfront Times has a fascinating article about former Rep. Nathan Cooper. It makes him out to be a slum landlord. Read it here.
Pull Quotes: “[T]he Republican was elected in 2004 to represent Cape Girardeau in the Missouri House of Representatives. "He was kind of a rising star; they were giving him leadership roles in the party," recalls St. Louis Alderwoman Sarah Martin, who was working in Jefferson City as a field organizer with ProVote at the time. During his second term, however, Cooper was charged with two felonies: H2B visa fraud and lying to the Department of Labor. Cooper was accused of running an immigration scheme for his clients in the trucking business using fraudulent shell companies. He pleaded guilty in December 2007 and was sentenced to fifteen months in federal prison. He was disbarred shortly thereafter. Following his release from prison, Cooper began acquiring properties in the city of St. Louis…. Cooper is a member of nine LLCs, which own 209 properties in the city of St. Louis as of June 2017….
[Alderman Shane] Cohn says, "Folks like Nathan will buy them and perpetuate the decline." The alderman continues, "Has it contributed to the stagnation in terms of properties rebounding and what not? Yeah, I would say to a certain degree it has, especially when you have a large number of properties that aren't being managed and maintained."
And
"He really is preying on vulnerable people," says Alderwoman Sarah Martin.
MO Delegation on Trump Ban
Most articles about President Donald Trump’s transgender military ban featured Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler who’s been supportive of the move, but Senator Roy Blunt was less adamant quoted as saying the decision “probably deserves more than a Twitter conversation.” See it here.
Galloway Praises Morgan County
The press release: Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway has released a regularly scheduled audit of Morgan County, located in central Missouri. The county received an overall performance rating of good, which is an improvement over the previous audit, which received a rating of poor in 2014. "Since their last audit, officials in Morgan County have made significant
improvements in their operations," Auditor Galloway said. "While there are some areas of concern, I'm hopeful the county will work to incorporate current audit recommendations to improve efficiency and increase accountability."
The audit raised concerns related to the public administrator not filing annual
settlements on time… The report also identified $52,851 of funds spent from the Sherriff's Revolving Fund for purposes not allowed by law…. See the audit here.
MO’s Use of “Oriental”
KC Star reports: Despite a federal government ban of the word “Oriental” to describe Asian Americans in federal documents, the state of Missouri still uses the antiquated term in official forms and documents — including employment applications… In May 2016, President Barack Obama signed into federal law a bipartisan measure to stop using the terms “Negro” and “Oriental” in federal documents. The new official federal terms: African-American and Asian-American. That bill also changed references from “American Indian” to Native American. “American Indian” is still used in Missouri state documents… See it here.
Osmack in CD-2
It’s an uphill fight for Dems to win against Congresswoman Ann Wagner. And yet it seems there has been no shortage of folks interested in the race. Here’s the latest…
Press release: Mark Osmack announced today he is running for Congress against incumbent Ann Wagner in Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District.
A 4th-generation St. Louisan, Mark was born and raised in Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District in south St. Louis County. Mark attended public schools and graduated from Lindbergh High School before attending the University of Missouri-Columbia. During college, Mark worked at Busch Stadium and local grocery stores as a member of UFCW Local 655. Later, Mark joined the Army where he served two combat tours in Afghanistan and received a Bronze Star…. See his website here.
eMailbag on Bechtold’s Humphreys’ Check
I believe Courtney Curtis also received a Humphries check. Which could come in handy if he has to pay a $114K fine.
Help Wanted
The St. Louis Office for Developmental Disability Resources seeks Executive Director. “The ED is the chief administrator, providing the professional leadership in planning, developing and implementing the services of the organization. He/she is responsible for facilitation of the organization’s strategic plan. He/she is responsible for the fiscal management of the organization’s $9.5 million budget…” See it here.
St. Louis City issues a RFP for a search firm to find their next police chief. See it here.
Today’s Events
From Mary Scruggs’ indispensable calendar:
Rep. Joshua Peters Dinner – Mango Peruvian Restaurant – St. Louis downtown – 6:30PM.
$5K+ Contributions
Stand Up Missouri - $5,750 from Empire Finance Co LLC.
Stand Up Missouri - $8,750 from Brundage Management Company.
MO Republican Party - $10,000 from House Republican Campaign Committee.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Congressman Lacy Clay, Shanon Hawk, Crystal Brinkley, and Jim Avery.