Friday, October 7, 2016
French in for STL Mayor
St. Louis City Alderman Antonio French announced yesterday via a two-word tweet (I’m in.) that he’s in for the mayoral race. Embedded in the tweet was he previous teaser video – a montage of press clippings. See it here.
For those keeping score, here’s the field of in, or sort of in: Collector Gregg Daly, Chief Sam Dotson, Alderman Antonio French, Treasurer Tishaura Jones, Alderwoman Lyda Krewson, Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, and President Lewis Reed.
As beautiful as it would be, I don’t think anyone believes we’ll see a seven-way. But a good four-way is very possible.
And
Yesterday on Twitter, French said he’d “I'd fire [Dotson] on Day 1.” Could be some great public forums and debates if this race shapes up the way it’s headed…
More Speculation on Greitens Tax Returns
The speculation about why Eric Greitens won’t release his tax returns continues. I heard a new theory yesterday. This person – a Republican – thinks that it may be that in along with his salary from The Mission Continues, Greitens was also receiving additional compensation. This person suggested maybe TMC bought lots and lots books that Greiten had written and gave them to donors or sold them at fundraising events. And the payment for these books would be on a 1099 form – not the salary people see on the non-profit’s 990 form.
Seems like a small reason not to release your taxes. But this person said, maybe they were substantial enough that it would look really bad.
Meet Amy Fite
Amy Fite is the new president of the Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys (MAPA). Fite is the Christian County Prosecuting Attorney. See her bio here.
She lays out her thoughts on criminal justice reform:
“Some of [criminal justice reform] ideas are rooted in myth and must be de-bunked. For example, simply reacting to the myth of ‘mass incarceration’ of the wrong people could result in us opening the floodgates of our prisons and putting violent criminals back on the streets. The facts speak otherwise. We know that just 1% of the criminals in Missouri’s prisons are first-time, non-violent felony offenders. The other 99% are repeat career criminals, violent offenders or probation and parole violators. In other words, Missouri’s prisons are occupied by exactly who we would expect and need to be there. Instead of swinging prison doors wide open and returning violent and career criminals to our streets, we should invest in programs that keep people from winding up in prison in the first place, such as treatment courts that get offenders needed treatment instead of incarceration; diversion programs that replace jail time with things like community service, drug and alcohol testing, counseling, and supervision; swift, certain, and short jail stays for offenders who violate the terms of their probation; and re-entry programs that help prisoners transition back into the community after release.
“Likewise, efforts to ‘legalize’ marijuana rely on the myth that marijuana is harmless or medicine. It is neither. Today’s marijuana is far more addictive than it was 40 years ago, and it is driven by a cash-industry that markets the product to youth, hoping to hook them early as life-long customers. True medicine is tested and approved through the FDA, and there are some promising tests for pain relief and epilepsy going through that process right now. We need to focus efforts on those tests and trust in legitimate, scientific research instead of allowing the promoters of greed and addiction to cash in on our empathy for others.”
Meanwhile
President Barack Obama granted commutation of sentence to the following 102 individuals. They are almost all drug related offences. Here are the ones with a Missouri connection:
Lemond Carmickel – St. Louis, MO
Offense: Possession with the intent to distribute cocaine; Eastern District of Missouri
Sentence: 360 months' imprisonment; eight years' supervised release (February 25, 2000)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on October 6, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.
Marc Collins – St. Louis, MO
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine base (mixture); Southern District of Indiana
Sentence: 210 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release; $1,000 fine (March 4, 2008)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on October 6, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.
Lincoln Cardell Henderson – Kansas City, MO
Offense: Conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of “crack” cocaine; possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of “crack” cocaine; Western District of Missouri
Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (August 31, 2004)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 240 months' imprisonment.
eMailbag on Nixon’s Latest PubDef Appt
Ron Bockenkamp is a total Nixon [ally]…. He is affectionately called “The Colonel” by Nixon… but you got to hand it to Michael Barrett, he ain't going gently into the night…
Blunt Kander Tight
I missed this NYTimes article the other day (see it here).
Pull Quote: [R]epublicans… have also become just as worried about Senator Roy Blunt’s prospects in Missouri. Strategists in both parties who have seen internal polling say Mr. Blunt, whose seat initially seemed safe, is now trailing his Democratic challenger, Jason Kander, a deft campaigner who has been helped by Mrs. Clinton’s narrowing deficit in the state…. House Democrats, however, finished polling 30 battleground districts last week — before the fallout from the first presidential debate — and concluded that Mr. Trump remained toxic for Republican congressional candidates. Geoff Garin, one of the Democratic pollsters who conducted the survey, said undecided or wavering voters tended to see Republicans as “putting party loyalty ahead of the country by supporting Trump.”
Non-Committee Expenditure Report
The recently filed non-committee expenditure report by the AFL-CIO details how they spent $55,700 in recent weeks mostly on mail and fliers supporting Chris Koster. See it here.
Englund Catty Corner to Shooting
Post-Dispatch reports on that the “St. Louis County police officer answering a call shot ‘almost immediately’ after he got out of his car Thursday morning has died. See it here. Former Rep. Vicki Englund makes a cameo in this tragedy
Pull Quote: Vicki Englund, a former state representative and a current member of the Lindbergh School Board, lives catty-corner to the shooting. She said the sounds woke her up. At first, it was a couple shots and she didn't think much of it. "You think it's a car backfiring, what else could it be?" She didn't see what happened but heard a series of shots and someone — she presumes an officer — yelling at someone else to get back inside a house. "I heard couple shots then a pause then I heard 10 or so in a row and someone yell 'Get back in the house' or 'Are you gonna get back in the house?' in a very strong, controlled voice," she said. "And then a few more shots."
Auditor Action
Someone finally does it… The press release: Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway today issued the first ever excellent rating awarded to a county government. The audit was issued to Carroll County, located in Northwest Missouri. An excellent rating is the rarest rating issued, with only about 5% of all audited entities receiving the rating, and no counties having received it since the ratings system was established in 2011.
Carroll County is represented by Sen. David Pearce and Rep. Joe Don McGaugh.
Bits
Big Money from Little Tobacco… a tipster says that the overall Little Tobacco radio and TV buy is $1.9 million…
Another million dollars for Greitens from the Republican Governors Association. The fresh infusion of money means that they’re not discouraged by his weakness in the polls.
Senator Claire McCaskill scores a win with the arrest of the Backpage.com CEO. See it here.
Freedom Inc has come out against Amendment 3. In the large contributions see money to help the organization spread the word.
Committeewoman Marie Ceselski is no fan of President of the Board Lewis Reed’s latest legislation to mandate open meeting alerts online. She thinks it misses an opportunity. See her post here.
eMailbag on Cute Onder Phone-banking Photo
To the grumbling person: Awww shut up and get over it. Your candidate lost. Even if you can't/won't vote for the winner, just stop…. It's what Dem's do better than Republicans and Republicans had better figure it out-just shut up, circle the wagons and VOTE!
eMailbag on Drebes Calling RYH4K “Do-Gooders”
Is Big Tobacco a do-gooder for helping gain market share in the state, which studies show will bring them around $500 million in profit? They have now spent more than $7 million "for the kids."
Help Wanted
Missouri Department of Revenue seeks Legal Counsel “to represent the Department in drivers licensing and motor vehicle matters in circuit court bench trials… The position is located in St. Louis… Starting salary is $44,344 plus full state benefits. “ See it here.
The Missouri Ethics Commission seeks Staff Attorney. “The staff attorney works directly with the Commission’s General Counsel and is responsible for conducting litigation work for the Commission… The starting salary range is from $50K-$58K, but may be adjusted commensurate with experience.” See it here.
Today’s Events
Powered by Mary Scruggs’ indispensable events calendar:
Sen. Dave Schatz Golf – Sullivan Country Club – 10AM.
Rep. Joshua Peters Luncheon – The Grand Café – Jefferson City – Noon
Saturday - Raise Your Hand for Kids (RYH4K) “Revitalizing our Region” – Holiday Inn – Downtown St. Louis – 8AM.
Saturday – Town Hall with Eric Greitens – 1050 Des Peres Road – St. Louis – 9:30AM.
Saturday – Tailgate with Teresa Hensley – William Jewell – 11AM.
Sunday - Official Hillary for America Debate Watch Party – The Pageant – St. Louis – 7:30PM.
Changes in Lobbyist Registrations
Rodney Boyd, Kelvin Simmons, Katherine Casas and Brian Grace added O’Reilly Development Company LLC.
Steven Carroll deleted Missouri Solar Energy Industries Association.
$5K+ Contributions
Koster for Missouri - $10,000 from Schlichter, Bogard & Denton LLP.
MO Republican Party - $10,000 from HRCC Inc.
Russ Carnahan – IBEW PAC Voluntary Fund.
Hawley for Missouri - $10,000 from IMMVAC Inc.
Koster for Missouri - $99,000 from Missouri Democratic State Committee.
Hawley for Missouri - $15,000 from Harry Cornell Jr.
Greitens for Missouri - $1,000,000 from Republican Governors Association Missouri.
Missouri Democratic State Committee - $15,000 from Missourians for Byron DeLear.
Greitens for Missouri - $25,000 from Michael Grewe.
Greitens for Missouri - $5,001 from Anthony Stubblefield.
House Republican Campaign Committee Inc- $30,000 from Friends of Caleb Jones.
RSLC Missouri PAC - $15,000 from Republican State Leadership Committee.
Freedom Incorporated - $25,000 from MO Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Assn (MPCA).
Freedom Incorporated - $10,000 from Cleaver for Congress.
Teresa Hensley for Missouri - $25,000 from Operating Engineers Local 101 PAC.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Judge Jeff Harris, former Rep. Zach Wyatt, Kenny Ross and Sam Barbee.
Saturday: Rep. Pat Conway, and Emily Wright.
Sunday: Lewis Reed, Caroline Battles, and Erin Elliott.