MOScout Daily Update: Arpaio for McDowell - Hyperloop Love - Chamber's Talent Tree and more....
McDowell Endorsed by Arpaio
Saundra McDowell, Republican candidate for auditor, announced she was endorsed by Sheriff Joe Arpaio. See the video here of the former sheriff standing next to McDowell’s campaign car. It unfortunately has a misspelling (“coruption”) throughout the video.
Hyperloop Hype
St. Louis Public Radio reports: The company behind a hyperloop transportation system between St. Louis and Kansas City is touting a new feasibility study. The study, released on Wednesday, was done by the Kansas City-based engineering, consulting and construction company Black & Veatch…. The technology uses a pod that transports passengers and cargo by electric propulsion through an aboveground vacuum tube, at speeds as high as 640 miles an hour….
Austin Walker, director of government affairs at the St. Louis Regional Chamber, said the hyperloop would be a game changer for Missourians, creating an economic development corridor from St. Louis to Kansas City. “It takes me about a half hour to just to get to our outer suburbs in St. Louis. Well, if I can be in Kansas City in the same time what does that mean for employment and transportation and work enforcement?” Walker asked. “That means I could work in Kansas City possibly and live in St. Louis.”
A route from either of the state’s regional hubs to Columbia would also slice the two hour travel time to just 15 minutes….
And
Speaker-designate Elijah Haahr is captivated by the potential of this technology to advance Missouri’s standing on the national scene. Hyperloopers have been saying that the futuristic construction would be privately financed. But that doesn’t mean they won’t need help from state government. One imagines they’ll need right of ways, if not some outright land grants or conveyance.
GOP Fear of Prop D
The Prop D campaign has done an amazing job creating a bi-partisan list of endorsements. The backing of top Republicans, including Senator Roy Blunt, has given cover for others to support the transportation tax without the usual knee-jerk anti-tax reaction.
It helps that even hard-core conservatives accept that maintaining functional roads is a proper function of government.
However the “no new taxes” mantra has been hard-boiled into the Republican mindset for decades. That’s why you still see it bubbling up her and there. And privately Republicans who are politically ambitious tell me they imagine Prop D being used in some future campaign to tag pols as “tax-and-spenders.”
Among the data points…
· KSGF’s Nick Reed coins a nickname for governor Mike Parson… “Tax Hike Mike.” Listen to his podcast here (at the 13:30 minute mark).
· Former Republican Sen. John Lamping calls it the “largest tax increase in state’s history.” See it here.
· Senate 34 candidate Tony Luetkemeyer came out in opposition. “We need to be looking at private-public partnerships.”
Correction: No Rematch
One MOScouter corrects me about Mik Chester’s 2020 campaign committee for House There aint gonna be no rematch because Sheila Solon, who previously served in the House, will be term-limited after this session.
eMailbag on Schatz’ $10K
To be fair, Sen. Mike Cunningham gave $50K just a few weeks ago...
eMailbag on MOChamber’s Talent Tree
Smart move by MO Health Care Association… Ryan Stauffer has quickly climbed the ranks at the MO Chamber and is a talented up and coming lobbyist to keep an eye on. Equally a great opportunity for him to land a spot with the state’s largest health care association. Another example of how Dan Mehan and MO Chamber continue to be farm system for grooming rockstar lobbyists.
Press Releases
Press release: The Missouri Office of Administration (OA) announced that Mike Cheles, a longtime information technology leader, will be the new State of Missouri Chief Information Officer and lead the OA Information Technology Services Division (ITSD), the state’s consolidated IT organization. Cheles will lead a team of almost 1,000 IT professionals that support the IT systems and services used by 14 executive departments and three statewide-elected officials in their daily operations. He will officially take over as CIO on Oct. 22… Cheles previously served in the CIO role for Gibson Guitar Corp., Hussmann Corp. in Bridgeton, Missouri, and MEMC Electronic Materials in St. Peters, Missouri. Most recently, Cheles was the Director of Quality and Enterprise Projects at Centene Corporation, a St. Louis-based healthcare company serving millions of people across the U.S. and internationally.
Press release: Employment in Missouri grew by 3,300 jobs in September, and the state’s unemployment rate edged down another tenth of a point to 3.2 percent… In September, employment grew in durable goods manufacturing (+2,200); construction (+1,300); transportation, warehousing, and utilities (+1,200); and accommodation and food services (+1,200)…. Missouri’s not-seasonally-adjusted rate for September was 2.6 percent; the comparable U.S. figure was 3.6 percent…
Events
LaKeySha Bosley Wine Tasting Fundraiser at The River Lillie, St. Louis – 5:30PM
Fundraiser for Reps. Doug Beck, and Mike Revis, and Dem candidates Erica Hoffman, Jean Pretto and Mike Walter at Maggie O’Brien’s, Sunset Hills – 5:30MPM.
Lobbyist Registrations
Chandra Mauli Agrawal added University of Missouri Kansas City.
Nathan Nickolaus added Lauber Municipal Law LLC.
Antwaun Smith added UM System.
Mike Grote deleted Missouri Ambulance Association, Missouri Pork Association, Missouri Propane Gas Association, Penn National Gaming, and Port Authority of Kansas City.
$5K+ Contributions
Missouri Health Plan Association PAC - $50,000 from Comprehensive Health Management Inc.
WPG PAC - $7,500 from Winton Policy Group LLC.
Keep Government Accountable - $15,000 from Alliance for Economic Progress.
UAW Region 5 Midwest States Political Action Committee - $6,000 from UAW Region 5 Exchange Account.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Jim Talent, Rep. Chris Dinkins, Ray McCarty, and Cindy O’Laughlin.