MOScout Daily Update: Oct Revenues Down - LeVota Sues Sanders - Senate Bits - New IEs and more...

October Revenues Sink

State tax receipts continued to disappoint in October.  Net general revenues collections were 6.1% lower in October 2018 than they were in October 2017.  The main culprit again was individual income tax receipts which were 6.2% below the previous year’s figure.  This appears to be residual damage from the erroneous withholding tables were which corrected by the Department of Revenue last month.

Fiscal year to date, state revenues have declined 3.87%.

LeVota Sues Sanders for $1M

File under What the What?!... KC Star reports that “Phil LeVota claims in a new lawsuit that his business relationship with the city [of Independence] ended in 2016 because [Mike] Sanders engaged in an aggressive and ultimately successful campaign to wrest the contract away from LeVota’s firm, Midwest Mediation & Consulting LLC. That effort, the suit says, involved steering thousands of dollars in donations to the campaign committees of council members up for election that year… LeVota is seeking $1 million in damages. He filed for and received a temporary restraining order signed by a Jackson County judge Wednesday that prevents Sanders for Jackson County from spending any of the $435,000 still left in that account until the litigation is completed… Both Democrats, Sanders and LeVota have clashed for years in Jackson County political battles. Each has accused the other of political misbehavior on multiple occasions…”

Unmentioned in the article, Phil’s brother, Paul LeVota resigned his senate seat not long before this episode after he was accused of inappropriate behavior toward an intern.

Turnout Watch

AP reports that “Missouri election officials are expecting voter turnout in Tuesday’s midterm election to be the highest in more than two decades. Estimates submitted to the state by local election officials project that nearly 2.3 million people will cast ballots. That would equal almost 55 percent of registered voters. The last presidential midterm election to exceed that mark was in 1994, when 59 percent of registered voters cast ballots…”

But

This twitter-pic from MO Club for Growth’s Melanie Abrajano makes me wonder if that number is going to be low.

US Senate Bits

Dems are glomming onto a KC Star report about a political consultant with his hand in the AG’s office.  See it here.

GOP are bothered over anonymous mailers pushing conservative voters to a third-party candidate. See it here.

And McCaskill makes the cover of the NYPost.  See it here.

Trump Visit Clogs Mail

On Facebook from a large and busy Jefferson City company’s office manager on Thursday: “The area Post Office Sorting Facility, located next to Columbia Regional Airport, was shut down as of 12:01 a.m. Thursday in preparation for President Trump's rally at another part of the airport more than 18 hours later. This translated to little (if any) mail delivery on this 1st day of November in mid-Missouri. Probably going to be a strong persuader for Direct Deposit - especially small businesses on tight margins with payments due from customers on the first of the month.”

Romine Gives $$$

One lobbyist tells me to keep an eye on Sen. Gary Romine as a continuing factor in the floor leader’s race.  He’s been giving consistently to the caucus, and may have more sway in the vote than folks are expecting.

Romine for Senate’s contributions to Missouri Senate Campaign Committee this year:

5/17/18 - $35,000

6/12/18 - $15,000

8/27/18 - $50,000

10/23/18 - $25,000

10/30/18 - $25,000

Previewing the Weekender

One last MOScout poll before Election Day is coming in tomorrow’s Weekender.  It’ll have the statewide races, plus a survey of Prop D.

And the hallway tells MOScout what their guesses for the biggest thing to be watching for on Tuesday night.

Help Wanted

Charter Communications seeks Manager-Government Affairs.  “The Manager of Government Affairs will report to the Sr. Director and will be responsible for developing, coordinating and implementing government affairs strategies and activities that advance the company’s interests in Missouri, primarily at the state and local level. The job may include representing the company before state and local governments and administrative agencies, franchising and procurement, community affairs, as well as strategically planning, managing and executing other activities and events that advance the company’s overall objectives…”  See the ad here.

New Large ($10K+) IEs

$40,240 – Middle Class Missouri PAC opposing Tony Luetkemeyer (Senate 34).

$33,825 – Middle Class Missouri PAC opposing Lincoln Hough (Senate 30).

$20,414 – Safer Families for Missouri opposing Kevin Corlew (House 14).

$17,925 – Safer Families for Missouri supporting Martin Rucker (Senate 34).

$14,685 – Middle Class Missouri PAC opposing Steve Helms (House 135).

$14,685 – Middle Class Missouri PAC opposing Michael O’Donnell (House 95).

$14,685 – Middle Class Missouri PAC opposing Tom Hannegan (House 65).

$10,340 – Missouri Senate Campaign Committee supporting Paul Wieland (Senate 22).

$10,139 – Safer Families for Missouri opposing Victor Allred (House 13).

$10,139 – Safer Families for Missouri opposing John Lovell (House 35).

Lobbyists Registrations

Rodney Boyd, Katherine Casas, Brian Grace and Kelvin Simmons added Communities In Schools of Mid-America Inc.

New Committees

Cedric Redmon formed a candidate committee (C Sharp Redmon For 6Th Ward) to run for St. Louis City Alderman as a Democrat.

$5K+ Contributions

CLEAN Missouri - $9,097 from Missouri Rural Action PMB.

CLEAN Missouri - $14,000 from Missouri Rural Action PMB.

House Victory Committee - $11,888 from Lavendar for State Rep.

MO Republican Party - $25,000 from Gregory Manocherian.

SaferMO.Com - $100,000 from CHIPP Political Account.

SaferMO.Com - $15,000 from Municipal League of Metro St. Louis.

Missouri Senate Campaign Committee - $10,000 from Major Brands Inc. Political Action Committee.

TheLOUpac - $10,000 from Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc.

CLEAN Missouri - $6,000 from Action Now Initiative.

CLEAN Missouri - $15,423 from Advocates of Planned Parenthood of St. Louis ad Southwest Missouri.

House Republican Campaign Committee Inc - $7,000 from Caremark Rx Inc.

Birthdays

Happy birthdays Rep. Peggy McGaugh, Susan Carlson, Richard Craighead, and Shane Kinne.

Saturday: Clint Zweifel, David Linton, Kim Cella, Emily Waggoner, and Kevin McManus.

Sunday: Tony Messenger, Amy Gunn, Mike Allen, and Patrick Hamacher.