MOScout Daily Update: HRCC Drops $150K into Corlew Race - Quade for Minority Leader - GOP Plots to Neuter CLEAN - Haahr Takes Reins and more...
HRCC: Boom!
In the large independent expenditure reports (below) Republicans drop $150K into House 14 defending incumbent Rep. Kevin Corlew against Democrat Matt Sain. And in House 70, there’s a $74K expenditure to help incumbent Rep. Mark Matthiesen against Democrat Paula Brown.
Quade for Leader
Rep. Crystal Quade sent an email to the Democratic Caucus yesterday announcing that she was running for Minority Leader. Rep. Gina Mitten, who is currently Assistant Floor Leader, is also running.
Dear Colleagues,
I’m reaching out to you all today to announce my candidacy for Minority Floor Leader. After much thought and many conversations with other caucus members I believe I can bring a fresh perspective to this role and the direction of our caucus, and I would be grateful for your support.
The Minority Floor leader obviously has many responsibilities from strategy to working with the Republican leadership. It is my belief, however, that the person in this role should always maintain a focus on supporting and lifting up our members. We have so many skills and talents among our members and I want to be sure they are utilized so that everyone has influence in what the Democratic Caucus is doing. I also believe our caucus is strongest when our members are informed and a part of the discussion. It is the Minority Leader’s responsibility to ensure our member’s voices are heard when big decisions need to be made, especially when the impact of those decisions could greatly affect our individual districts differently.
As a social worker, I am trained to listen and communicate effectively, take many personalities and create a cohesive environment for success, and multitask. I want to bring my professional skills to this position to not only be effective this legislative session, but to invest in our caucus for years to come.
Also, I feel our Minority Leader needs to be a bold and unapologetic voice for our core values but also be able to work effectively with the Republican Leadership. I do this every day at home and I believe I have done this effectively in Jefferson City as well.
I will be reaching out to members in these final days to ask your input on what you would like to see in this position and how you think our caucus could be better served. I have several ideas from adding chairs from our official caucuses to leadership discussions to strategic ways to be on offense with our legislation, but I want to hear your ideas as well.
I realize this is a late announcement for this important position. I have spent this summer working with our candidates across the state trying to grow our caucus and felt that my time would be best utilized in that way. Now that we are near the end of the season, I feel it is an appropriate time to reach out to you for your support. I look forward to this next session and what the future holds for the Democratic caucus.
What It Means
Leadership races are normal and good. There may be some gnashing of teeth from supporters of the favorite or perceived heir to the position, but that’s normal too.
And in the case of the super-minority lower chamber, the stakes are relatively low.
The Talk: GOP Plots Anti-CLEAN 2020
Much like labor leaders strategized about reversing right to work before it was implemented, Republicans are now mulling how to best neuter CLEAN Missouri’s redistricting changes before they could take effect.
Operating on the assumption that CLEAN will be passed by voters next week, Republicans are starting to access their options. In addition to the perfunctory court challenges which will likely be filed, they are considering proposing their own redistricting process to substitute for the CLEAN process.
Because redistricting won’t start until the census is completed in late 2020, they beginning to game out a scenario where they place a new proposal on the 2020 ballot which would have the effect of reversing or revising CLEAN’s redistricting process.
We’ll see…
Spot the Similarities
Scott Holste – who was Jay Nixon’s Director of Communications – tweets that he noticed the same kids in different state representative mailers. See it here. A tipster says that Reps. Sara Walsh and Chuck Basye “both consulted by Palm Strategic, working on the cheap by combining shoots, borrowed the offspring of statehouse activist Robin Schelp…”
Simpson Promoted
With the merger of Monsanto and Bayer, Duane Simpson has been promoted. He’s now Bayer’s North America Vice President of Government & Industry Affairs.
Driving the Day:
Press release: House Speaker Pro Tem Elijah Haahr today assumes the duties of the Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives. Elected Speaker Designee by House Republicans for the 100th General Assembly, Haahr begins his service as speaker in the wake of former Speaker Todd Richardson’s resignation to become the state’s Director of Medicaid.
“I am excited to serve in this capacity as we prepare for the 2019 legislative session,” Haahr, R-Springfield, said. “This early experience of leading the Office of the Speaker will ensure we hit the ground running in our mission to deliver bold, 21st Century solutions to meet Missouri’s challenges.”
According to the National Conference on State Legislators, Haahr is the youngest Speaker in the country at 36 years old. He will also be the first speaker in state history to hail from Springfield. A native of southwest Missouri, Speaker Haahr was first elected to the Missouri House in 2012, and has served the past two years as the Speaker Pro Tem…
New Large IEs
$150,044 – House Republican Campaign Committee Inc opposing Matt Sain (House 14).
$74,808 – House Republican Campaign Committee Inc opposing Paula Brown (House 70).
$51,937 – Missouri Senate Campaign Committee opposing Hillary Shields (Senate 8).
$38,936 – House Republican Campaign Committee Inc opposing Robert Revis (House 97).
$30,001 – Missouri Senate Campaign Committee opposing Martin Rucker (Senate 34).
$13,500 – Missouri Senate Campaign Committee supporting Tony Luetkemeyer (Senate 34).
$13,500 – Missouri Senate Campaign Committee opposing Martin Rucker (Senate 34).
$13,250 - Missouri Republican Leadership PAC supporting Mike Cierpiot (Senate 8).
$12,500 – Missouri Senate Conservatives Fund supporting Tony Luetkemeyer (Senate 34).
$12,500 – Missouri Senate Conservatives Fund opposing Martin Rucker (Senate 34).
$10,000 - Lincoln PAC supporting Lincoln Hough (Senate 30).
Lobbyists Registrations
Jacqueline Wood added Governmental Services Group Inc.
Duane Simpson deleted Monsanto Company.
Rodney Boyd, Katherine Casas, Brian Grace and Kelvin Simmons deleted Beyond Meat.
$5K+ Contributions
MO Energy Dev Association Gateway Political Action Committee - $33,333 from Ameren Missouri.
Missouri Senate Campaign Committee - $15,000 from Citizens for Riddle.
Missouri Rural Action PAC - $21,000 from MOVE Ballot Fund.
Missouri Insurance Political Action Committee - $10,000 from RightCHOICE Managed Care Inc.
Missouri Democratic State Committee - $15,000 from Schupp for Senate.
Accountability PAC - $10,000 from Orscheln Management Co.
Voters for Good Government - $15,000 from Missourians for Freedom to Work.
House Republican Campaign Committee Inc - $10,000 from Friends of Kathy Swan.
House Republican Campaign Committee Inc - $10,000 from Citizens for Wiemann.
Citizens for Steve Stenger - $20,000 from MACFPD.
Citizens for Steve Stenger - $20,000 from Tristar 411 LLC.
Condolences
To Mike Kelley on the passing of his father Bob Kelley. See the Post-Dispatch article here.
Robert “Bob” Kelley, a past president of the Greater St. Louis Labor Council who was active in union issues for decades, died Saturday (Oct. 27, 2018) at DePaul Health Center in Bridgeton of heart failure after an extended illness. He was 75 and lived in St. Charles… Mr. Kelley started working in his teens bagging groceries at the former Rapp’s Supermarket. He quickly moved through the union leadership ranks until he was elected president of the labor council, an umbrella group representing St. Louis-area unions, in 1978. He served in that role until retiring in 2004…