Thursday, June 13, 2013
Targeting Wagner
Yesterday I wrote that some powerful St. Louis Democrats are in a fighting mood to challenge Congresswoman Ann Wagner after her votes have defined her as an ultra-conservative.
Another Democrat wrote in with a few quick observations…
First, Missouri’s Second Congressional District is a +8 GOP district. It will naturally run 54-46. Therefore to best improve odds at an upset, Democrats should look at running in an off-presidential election when lower turn-out will make it easier to influence the voter profile.
Second, the best times to beat an incumbent in congress are either immediately – two years after their election – or decades later when voters may have tired of them and view them as part of the problem. This is, twenty years later.
Both of these factors would indicate 2014 as the ripest time to go after Wagner.
Third, to this person’s knowledge the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee hasn’t been calling around looking for a candidate. Some elected Democrats in that district are: Steve Stenger, Vicki Englund, Bob Burns, Genise Monticello and Jill Schupp.
St. Louis to Launch $100 Million Start Up Fund
At a press conference today, St. Louis civic leaders will announce that they plan to create a $100 million fund to invest in start up companies in the St. Louis region.
Here is the St. Louis Business Journal’s coverage: $100 Million Start Up Fund, and “How It Will Work.”
Pull Quote: “A new $100 million fund created by city and county governments and several private groups hopes to raise private dollars to provide both seed money and expansion funds to St. Louis startups. The fund, which is scheduled to be officially unveiled Thursday, will seek to raise funds from local companies, investors and foundations, the Wall Street Journal reports. The goal is to ‘grow the resources to keep the companies here,’ Katy Jamboretz of the St. Louis County Economic Council told the newspaper. The Economic Council is one of the project's sponsors.
“According to the Wall Street Journal, the fund is St. Louis' latest effort to ‘regain its startup mojo.’ The region trails behind much of the rest of the country in its funding for startups. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association, Missouri is the 18th largest state by population but ranks 34th in venture-capital dollars awarded last year.”
MEDA Calls for Gov to Seign SB 240
Following yesterday’s statement from FERAF calling for a veto, here is MEDA’s call for a signature… “The Missouri Energy Development Association (MEDA) strongly urges Governor Nixon to approve SB 240, legislation that would increase the pace of Missouri’s gas pipeline replacement and enhance gas pipeline safety while protecting consumers from unnecessary rate expenses. SB 240 received overwhelming support in the legislature by a vote of 26-6 in the Senate and 110-45 in the House… [The enhancements to gas ISRS in SB 240 would enable gas utilities to file general rate cases less frequently and would limit gas rate increases resulting from the ISRS mechanism to a lower percentage per year than currently allowed. Since the processing of a rate case can cost consumers millions of dollars, less frequent rate cases truly benefit consumers. In addition, SB 240 will more accurately reconcile the unpaid customer gas bill levels in between general rate cases and will ensure for the first time that consumers do not overpay for the actual cost of those uncollectibles.”
Supreme Court Throws Open Student Transfers
Children’s Education Alliance of Missouri (CEAM) issued a statement praising the Missouri Supreme Court’s ruling… “The Supreme Court Ruling is a huge victory for the children who are stuck in a failed school district. This is the second unanimous decision on this issue by the High Court. I think the message is pretty clear: The court wants the law enforced. The question now should be, will districts finally be held accountable for following the law?”
And
The statement included praise from a current parent for Attorney General Chris Koster… said Kim Williams, “I want to add that I am so thankful to Attorney General Chris Koster and all the lawyers on his team who didn't give up on my son and daughter.. You don't see courage like that everyday, and he deserves a lot of credit."
Koster winning praise from the Rex Sinquefield crowd, and money from former Republican Speaker Steve Tilley (see below) shows the breadth of his support…
Help Wanted
Secretary of state seeks enforcement counsel. “The Enforcement Counsel manages a caseload of securities investigations and enforcement actions and works closely with, and at times directs, the efforts of, enforcement investigators.... The Enforcement Counsel also prepares and presents cases for and at administrative hearing or civil trial.” See the ad here.
eMailbag on Dooley’s 1000 Paper Cuts
“You don’t know the facts (again). The development was approved LAST YEAR. NO DISSENTION FROM STENGER. You’ve got to get beyond surface reporting. It could be deemed as playing favorites. This is not the first time. I know the facts and that’s not even my area.
“Your heading should have been ‘a lot too late.’ Folks should have been paying attention instead of sleeping on the job yet again. Please do more depth research on these matters at least for the appearance of balanced reporting.”
Lobbyist Registrations
From the Pelopidas website:
John E Bardgett Jr, Brian Millner, John Parris, and Kimberly Tuttle deleted City of Blue Springs.
Scott Penman deleted Missouri Society of Eye Physicians & Surgeons.
$5K+ Contributions
Friends of Judge Stacey Lett - $10,000 from Perry Gough.
Committee to Elect Ron Richard - $6,000 from Harry Cornell.
Missourians for Koster - $7,500 from Friends of Tilley.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Rep. Roy Ellinger (72) and MEDA’s Michelle Galloway.
Friday: Judi Roman.
Saturday: Former Rep. Martin Rucker (56).
Sunday: Congressman Jason Smith (33) and Reps. Bill White (60) and Bob Burns (65).