Wednesday, November 1, 2017
Q&A #1: Where is Greitens?
Short answer: Oddly AWOL on Messenger’s expose of poor treatment of veterans.
Post-Dispatch’s Tony Messenger pens a follow-up column and it’s not pretty reading… William Luebbert survived radiation fallout from an atomic blast… He barely lasted a month in the St. Louis Veterans Home. Luebbert, who had ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) and dementia, was admitted to the veterans home off Lewis and Clark Boulevard on July 3. He was 85. A couple of weeks later he celebrated his 86th birthday. By Aug. 7 he was dead. The way his son describes it, Luebbert, who needed help eating and drinking, was left to die in a facility in which some veterans receive inadequate care. He remembers stopping to see his father and finding him in his recliner, with his mouth very dry. There was water on the table next to him. But his father couldn’t lift it, and nobody helped him. “The conditions are beyond minor complaints,” Jim Luebbert says. “Family have to beg for basic care.”
Lieutenant Governor Mike Parson released a statement… “As a veteran, I am personally offended by any allegation of mistreatment… The recommendation of the Lieutenant Governor's Office is a full investigation of allegations of mistreatment at the St. Louis Veterans Home by an independent agency.”
U.S. Senators Claire McCaskill and Roy Blunt also asked Greitens for an investigation. See it here.
And remember this all started with former Rep. Rick Stream raising red flags and saying that he couldn’t get people’s attention.
Q&A #2: What Do Stockley Protests Have to Do With Blue Springs Senate Race?
Short answer: When in doubt, run against St. Louis.
Rep. Mike Cierpiot’s latest ad is all law and order and starts like this... “I’m Mike Cierpiot. The St. Louis riots have made Missouri a national disgrace…” See the ad here.
Cierpiot is running in a special election in Senate 8. That’s Grain Valley, Lee’s Summit, Blue Springs, Oak Grove and Lone Jack. Not the places you’d expect the Stockley protests to be top on the list of voters’ priorities.
But remember: out in red district Missouri, “St. Louis” is code-word for “the other side” in the cultural divide. It’s the place where “the good old days” are under siege, and “the way things used to be” have been cast aside. Want to Make Missouri Great Again? Keep St. Louis from infecting the rest of the state.
Bruce Holt Retires
Former Rep., former staffer, former lobbyist Bruce Holt has retired from the building. His Facebook post yesterday… I officially retired today. I would like to thank Gregg SMITH BM/ST DC#58, Greg Raftery IUPAT Spec. Assistant to the GP, the Leadership Team of DC#58, and the Members for the privilege of representing them in the Capitol. When the below article was written by (one of the best political reporter I had ever encountered), Jeannie Seibert, everyone thought I was going to retire, little did I know Senator Scott Rupp had other plans for me, as his COS. I have been Blessed to surrounded by great friends, and the most supportive Wife and family. I owe my success to Ginger Holt, Melissa Haley and her husband Mike, Tom Holt and his wife Karen Holt. Without their patience (especially Ginger) none of my success would have been possible. They took all late nights, missed meals, interrupted, or postponed celebrations which come with the territory in stride. I look forward to spending more time with Ginger, my children, and grand daughters, Scarlett Clare, and Juju. It has been a great ride. Thank You to all of my friends, co-workers, and acquaintances in the Capitol. It was not always pleasant, or easy, but nothing worthwhile ever is.
I leave with no regrets. Thanks to all.
eMailbag on Pre-K and Tight Budgets
It’s telling that today’s update contained references to additional pre-k funding and nursing home/in-home care cuts. The dirty little secret about pre-k, is that contracting is already allowed, so the question comes down to whether the state can afford it.
How long will it be before all of these groups dependent on state funding begin working together to first stop the bleeding (spending). Until that happens, we’re going to continue to see cuts that jump from one group to the other and the Legislature will continues escape pressure to discuss the budget situation that they are responsible for creating.
Bits
US Senate caricature Courtland Sykes stands against marijuana reform. See it here.
But the “Silver-haired Legislators” put it marijuana reform as one of their top five priorities. See it here.
Missouri Times reports that Ginger Steinmetz is joining Andy Blunt’s Statehouse Strategies. See it here.
City Treasurer Tishaura Jones is bankrolling radio ads against the Prop P public safety sales tax in St. Louis. See it here.
Pat Rowe Kerr’s $2.8 million discrimination judgement was upheld. See the opinion here.
Seeking Healthy Marriage / Fatherhood Programs
From the RFP: The Child Support Enforcement Program, established by Congress in 1975 as Title IV-D of the Social Security Act, mandates that states enact laws and carry out required functions to ensure that legally responsible persons, to the best of their ability, contribute toward the support of their children. The program serves children in families receiving public assistance (i.e. Temporary Assistance to Needy Families [TANF]) and children in non-public assistance families, regardless of family income level, thus aiding such families in avoiding future dependence on public assistance. Assigned child support collected on behalf of TANF families and some child support collections on behalf of former TANF families is shared by the federal and state governments to reimburse those governments for TANF public assistance payments previously made to the family. Child support collected for non-TANF families is distributed directly to these families to help them remain self-sufficient. There are approximately 351,231 open Title IV-D cases in the Missouri Child Support Program, of which approximately 311,179 are open enforcement cases.
The Missouri General Assembly appropriated funding to the Department of Social Services during the 2017 session as a result of the passage of SB 24 of 2015 pursuant to section 208.067, RSMo. (http://www.moga.mo.gov/mostatutes/20800000671.html) for healthy marriage promotion activities and activities promoting responsible fatherhood.
The circumstances confronting non-custodial fathers of any age or status must be addressed in order to empower the fathers to establish positive, healthy, supportive relationships with their children. Through this Request for Proposal, the State of Missouri seeks to establish contracts with organizations to develops and operate programs that provide services to address multiple barriers and foster healthy parenting….
Help Wanted
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis seeks Senior Government Relations Coordinator. “The Senior Government Relations Coordinator is responsible for formulating effective strategies to ensure the work of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis is represented to congressional members and staff members and is responsible for enhancing public officials’ understanding of the Federal Reserve. The Senior Government Relations Coordinator will: Facilitate effective dialogue between the St. Louis Fed, key committees and legislators throughout the Eighth District; Gather and synthesize information that can be used to respond to congressional inquiries; Keep senior management informed of legislative and policy developments that are of interest to the St. Louis Fed…” See it here.
New Committees
Gregory Sharpe formed a candidate committee (Sharpe For Rep) to run for House 4 (Redmon termed) as a Republican. Sharpe is a corn and soybean farmer.
Conon Gillis formed a candidate committee (Vote Gillis) to run for House 32 (Lauer district) for the Green Party.
Committee Amendments
American Democracy Alliance – Ridgely PAC has a new treasurer, Alan Simpson. See it here.
Professional Firefighters of Central St. Louis County PAC has a new treasurer, Kurt Becker. See it here.
Missouri Senior PAC has a new treasurer, Brad Schneider. See it here.
Today’s Events
From Mary Scruggs’ indispensable calendar:
Rep. Donna Baringer Reception – The Kelley Group – St. Louis – 5:30PM.
Lobbyists Registrations
Matthew Roney added CoreCivic Inc.
Kurt Schaefer added Welltok Inc.
James Bowlin deleted Keystone Mutual Insurance Company.
James Moody and Chris Moody deleted Integrity Home Care.
$5K+ Contributions
A Better Missouri Political Action Committee - $15,000 from Anheuser Busch Cos.
Living Well PAC - $10,000 from LogistiCare Solutions LLC.
House Victory Committee - $7,500 from Centene Management Company.
KC Transportation Transit and Tourism Committee (KC3T) - $20,000 from Americo Life Inc.
KC Transportation Transit and Tourism Committee (KC3T) - $9,000 from Edgemoor Infrastructure & real Estate LLC.