Tuesday, October 10, 2017
Hawley In
Attorney General Josh Hawley is finally officially in for U.S. Senate. There were rumors of this run back when he was running for attorney general (a year ago), but then a few hems and haws. Now the plunge. See the announcement video here. (The snarkers among us will note this does not appear to be filed at his constitutionally mandated Jefferson City residence.)
The announcement came the same day Hawley was able to pin down Alt-Right dark lord Steve Bannon to endorse his candidacy. See the Springfield News-Leader article about that here.
Q&A #1: Is the U.S. Senate Race Finally Set?
Short answer: Yes.
Hawley’s got Jack Danforth from the middle of the road, and Steve Bannon from the right-of-Trump crowd, and all the donors in between. There’s no space for Reps. Paul Curtman and Marsha Haefner to make a credible insurgent campaign.
Early Quarters
Republicans hoping for former Rep. Sue Allen to take the bait and run for Senate 24 get no comfort from his October quarter… $0 raised, $23K on-hand.
Same goes for Dems looking to Craig Hosmer to try for the Dixon senate seat…. $0 raised, $2K on-hand.
Rep. Bill White put up an average $25K raised and now has $118K on-hand for his campaign to replace termed Sen. Ron Richard.
Keep in Mind
It may be that post Amendment 2 we’re not going to see blow-out quarters anymore. Instead we’re just going to see blow-out independent expenditures later in the cycle. That means that these quarterly fundraising numbers may be less important now than lining up PACs and outside support.
eMailbag on O’Laughlin’s (Senate 18) Quarter
With that donor list it’s hard to run as outsider…
And
Rep. Craig Redmon unveils a snazzy new website for his Senate 18 bid. See it here.
NBW Contra NFL
Rep. Nate Walker (also running for Senate 18) wants the legislature to review any subsidies for the Kansas City Chief after the “taking a knee” protests. See the Kirkville KTVO story here.
This seems like a similar principle to one articulated by the commander-in-chief of the United States of America this morning… Why is the NFL getting massive tax breaks while at the same time disrespecting our Anthem, Flag and Country? Change tax law!
What It Means
On its surface this is simply one more battlefield in the country’s cultural war.
But for MOScouters this is also the continuation of a decades-long practice of politicians using the urban areas as a bogey-man. Missourah = common sense; Missouri = cra-cra.
When St. Louis City issued its RFP for a lobbying contract, I wrote last month that one of the difficulties with the job is that there are constant distractions.
Pretty much each week, there is an example of a politician using St. Louis or Kansas City as a punching bag.
Instead of Missourian politicians should thinking about the economic power of the urbans areas, their ability to create and attract capital and labor, they use it as a soundbite for political purposes. (Recall Governor Eric Greitens calls St. Louis the country’s “most dangerous city.” Does that help sell Missouri or declare that Missouri is “open for business?)
To get serious about economic growth, Missouri needs political leadership that puts an end to this silliness.
And
Sen. Denny Hoskins on twitter says he won’t be taking a knee and he encourage the rest of us to stand as well….
MMJ Bits
Eapen Thampy posts on Facebook that “It's now an open objective of Our Revolution to use an alliance with New Approach Missouri to use medical marijuana to boost turnout for ‘progressive candidates.’” See what he’s referring to here.
And Better Way Missouri offers this update on their efforts. See it here.
Kendrick on Circuit-Breaker Talk
Rep. Kip Kendrick gives an update on the talks for a special session to restore cuts to senior programs. See it here.
Pull Quote: The only solution that Republican leadership would entertain was a rollback of the Circuit Breaker Tax Credit for low-income seniors. Literally, the proposal would take money from low-income seniors and redistribute it to other low-income seniors and people with disabilities… It is reported that the House Budget Chair will soon float two scenarios to the Governor with the hope that he calls yet another special legislative session to resolve this issue….
PSC Seeks Auditing Services
From the RFP: Liberty Utilities submitted the natural gas rate increase filing to the Missouri Public Service Commission on September 29, 2017. Liberty Utilities (Missouri Water), LLC will also likely file a request to adjust the rates of Liberty Utilities, LLC’s Missouri water and sewer operations… In most large company rate cases, it is necessary to perform a true-up beyond the known and measurable update period to incorporate financial information that will not be available for regulatory review until the latter stages of the rate case process… The contractor shall provide a rate case audit of the accounting and financial issues, supporting documentation, and other necessary data of Liberty Utilities for the Missouri Public Service Commission (hereinafter referred to as the state agency), in accordance with the provisions and requirements stated herein…
New Committees
MWLC PAC was formed. Its treasurer is Margaret Weir. It’s presumably the political action committee for the Missouri Women’s Leadership Coalition.
Lobbyists Registration Changes
Tracy King added Pelopidas LLC, and its clients; and deleted Missouri Chamber Of Commerce And Industry.
$5K+ Contributions
KC Transportation Transit and Tourism Committee (KC3T) - $25,000 from International Union of Operating Engineers Local 101.
KC Transportation Transit and Tourism Committee (KC3T) - $25,000 from Black & Veatch Corporation.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Roger Wilson, Sen. Denny Hoskins, Bruce Holt, Terry Jarrett, and St. Louis Alderman Jack Coatar.
Congratulations
To Jay Hahn and his wife Kayla Hahn on the birth of Clara Ann Hahn… 6 lbs and 1 oz, 18 1/2 inches….