Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Hale Leaves Hospital Association
The Email Announcement
David Hale is pursuing other opportunities and is no longer serving as Vice President of State Legislation for the Missouri Hospital Association. MHA will be recruiting to fill the position.
Daniel Landon
Senior Vice President, Governmental Relations
Missouri Hospital Association
What’s Up
There were no specifics out there about the sudden departure. MHA topper Herb Kuhn has been slowly reshaping the organization since he assumed its leadership some years ago. And this could just be an indication that he’s revamping their legislative affairs department.
One Reaction
Hallway Walker: The wildly inappropriate and entirely tone deaf email that MHA sent out about David Hale is a perfect illustration that the problem with MHA is their leadership, not David.
Drebes: The email I saw was only like two sentences long. Is there another?
Hallways Walker: No. That’s the one. There was no need whatsoever to send that shit out, and even if you’re so self-involved that you think you need to, maybe thank him or word it in a way that doesn’t look like it was drafted in 30 seconds.
House 18 Rumors
Word is that the AFL-CIO endorsed Kevin Garner last night in the House 18 Democratic primary. If true, this is a huge blow to whatever is left of the “Skaggs machine” and their chosen candidate, Lauren Arthur.
And
It’s said that AFL-CIO also declined to endorse Jay Swearingen in his presiding commissioner bid.
Utility War Coverage
Here’s the Post-Dispatch’s article about last night’s St. Louis public hearing concerning the Noranda complaints against Ameren.
Pull Quote: Many of the 120 or so people who filled the auditorium at Harris-Stowe State University’s campus were there on behalf of one of the two deep-pocketed, politically connected companies dueling in front of the Missouri Public Service commission.
And
From one outside observer: Staff doesn’t like this… (because Noranda’s) the number was below the “cost of service” which has been the basis for utilities for the last 100 years.
Transportation Tax Bits
Citizens for Modern has taken no position on the transportation sales tax yet. CMT is waiting for the final project list from MoDOT for the St. Louis region before they weigh in as an organization.
Tax supporter: “It is interesting that a group calling themselves Missourians for Better Transportation Solutions has precisely ZERO solutions to offer…They are following the Jay Nixon model....gripe and complain about the unfairness of a potential solution that has been vetted for years, but offer no alternatives.”
The opposition unveiled their website, see it here, and their spokesperson, Terry Ganey. Ganey took early retirement from the Post-Dispatch, where he served for 30 years after starting his Capitol career with the AP. He finished his daily journalism career as special projects editor of the Columbia Daily Tribune, and relocated to Columbia several years ago.
Meanwhile the money started flowing into the supporters’ campaign committee. See the large contributions below… $97K from five sources yesterday.
Teacher Tenure Bits
A Californian court ruled that teacher tenure is unconstitutional in a case that some believe could have repercussions elsewhere. See the Washington Post article here. And read the ruling here.
Children’s Education Alliance of Missouri’s Kate Casas is taking a leave of absence from that organization to work full-time on the statewide ballot initiative called TeachGreat which would dismantle teacher tenure in Missouri.
McCaskill’s World
Press release on student debt: U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill today announced her support for a sweeping bill to allow individuals to refinance their student loan debt at lower interest rates, helping address the record high levels of crippling loan debt and delinquencies increasingly affecting millions of students and their families. Student loan debt today totals $1.2 trillion, $864 billion of which is backed by the federal government. More than 70 percent of students who graduated from college in 2012 had student loan debt. The average debt for a 2012 graduate from a Missouri university was $23,030.
Press release on weight-loss scam: As millions of Americans fall prey each year to weight-loss diet scams, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill-who chairs the Senate's Consumer Protection panel-will lead a hearing next Tuesday with testimony from Dr. Mehmet Oz, host of the Dr. Oz Show, to examine deceptive advertising of weight-loss products and to determine what more can be done to protect consumers.
New Committees: Protect Harvest PAC
Protect the Harvest, a national group funded primarily by Forest Lucas to combat the Humane Society of the United States, has started a Missouri campaign committee. It will probably put some money into the ballot campaign for the “Right to Farm.”
Former MO Soybean topper Dale Ludwig, who sits on the national board, is the treasurer of the committee. Sen. Mike Parson is also on the national board.
New Committees: Protecting 2nd Amendment
A campaign committee was formed to support Constitutional Amendment 2 on the August ballot. That’s the one to protect Missourians right to bear arms. The deputy treasurer is Yancy Williams, chief of staff to Sen. Kurt Schaefer.
New Committees: We The People
Rep. Brandon Ellington’s mom, Gloria, appears to have started a PAC called We the People. Be interesting to see with this goes…
eMailbag: Junkie Talk
“Ashcroft vs. Barklage and Dooley vs. Dueker -- maybe it won't be such a boring 2014 after all!”
Help Wanted
Advisory Committee of the Supreme Court of Missouri seeks Assistant Legal Ethics Counsel
“This is a part time, hourly position to assist the Legal Ethics Counsel. The primary duty will be providing informal advisory opinions in response to telephone ethics questions from attorneys under Rule 5.30(c). This job will also involve assisting with research and drafting written ethics opinions, summarizing files in which review is sought under Rule 5.12, as well as other duties as assigned. While this is an hourly position, it requires a regular schedule of attendance. No benefits. Compensation commensurate with experience.” See the ad here.
Fundraising Calendar
Today’s fundraising events from Mary Scruggs’ indispensable events calendar:
Reps. Sue Allen and Tom Flanigan Reception – Metropolitan Grill, 2931 E. Battlefield, Springfield – 5:30-7 p.m.
Rep. Mike Colona Reception – Sports Bar & Grill, 3503 Roger Place, St. Louis – 5:30-7 p.m.
Lobbyist Registrations
From the Gate Way Group website:
Dave Murphy deleted Conservation Federation of Missouri.
Caitlin Whitworth deleted Ozarks Community Hospital.
Patrick J Wilson deleted Earth Island Institute DBA Renew Missouri.
Max Magruder deleted The Associated Students of the University of Missouri.
$5K+ Contributions
Missourians for Safe Transportation and New Jobs Inc. - $25,000 from APAC- Kansas Inc.
Missourians for Safe Transportation and New Jobs Inc. - $25,000 from Jacobs Good Government Fund.
Missourians for Safe Transportation and New Jobs Inc. - $25,000 from Burns & McDonnell Engineering Co Inc.
Missourians for Safe Transportation and New Jobs Inc. - $15,000 from Transystems Corporation
Missourians for Safe Transportation and New Jobs Inc. - $7,500 from Coastal Energy Corporation.
Happy Birthday
Happy birthday to Steven Tilley (43).