Friday, August 19, 2016
Silvey V Bechthold
Sen. Ryan Silvey has filed suit against his general election opponent, Ranen Bechthold. The casenet # is 16CY-CV07090.
It says that yesterday Silvey filed an “amended verified petition for disqualification from the general election.” Apparently Bechthold has a residency problem.
Bechthold has received $25K from David Humphreys. He’s the only Democrat – so far – to receive money from the conservative businessman. Silvey has been a pro-labor Republican, and Humphreys’ big issue is right to work.
Silvey Statement
When I was elected to represent the citizens of Clay County in the Missouri Senate, I swore an oath to uphold the Missouri Constitution. Article III, Section 6 requires that a Senator be a resident of the district they wish to represent for one year prior to their election. According to both the Jackson County and Clay County Election Boards, on Nov. 8, 2015, Mr. Bechthold was registered to vote in Jackson County, which is outside of the 17th District. It is vitally important that we protect the integrity of our electoral process and respect the Constitution that governs us. If the courts allow him to proceed, I look forward to a spirited race to represent the people of the 17th District. However, I believe if Mr. Bechthold is allowed to remain on the ballot, it will erode the trust Missourians place in their government and am therefore compelled to bring this action.
Body Cameras
Post-Dispatch reports on an interesting alliance: Sen. Jamilah Nasheed and Rex Sinquefield putting forward a proposal to eliminate one of the city’s “county” offices, and use the saving body cameras on police. See it here.
Pull Quote: Nasheed delivered the signatures to the Board of Elections office Wednesday morning. If those signatures are certified, a measure would be added to the Nov. 8 city ballot to amend the city’s charter to allow the assessor’s office to absorb the recorder of deeds’ office.
Nasheed and Sinquefield believe merging the two offices into one would free up $1 million — enough to launch a citywide body camera program, according to their internal estimates.
But first, 60 percent of city voters would have to vote for the plan. Next, the money would have to be realized, and then the police department and the police union would have to agree to launch a body camera program before the city’s roughly 800 uniformed patrol officers would start wearing them.
Observer: What's interesting about this is, Rex Sinquefield could write a check today for the total tab of equipping every cop in Missouri, even police dogs…. This Nasheed-Sinquefield alliance is purely political logrolling.
And
A week or so ago I had mentioned that a new committee had been formed, Make St. Louis Safe. It now appears that this is the committee vehicle for this campaign. See the paperwork here.
Brunner Squares His Account?
In the large contributions (below), John Bruner contributed $250K to his campaign account. I’m assuming it’s to square some of his late spending in the gubernatorial primary. In total Brunner spent more than
And
Interesting to see on the July quarterly filing that the Brunner campaign spent a little over $10K on advertisements with the Missouri Times. Makes me wish I had some ad space to sell….
Schaefer’s Shadow Looming in Senate 19
I wonder what the impact – if any – will be from the Republican attorney general’s primary. The prelude to the primary saw Sen. Kurt Schaefer zealously interrogate Planned Parenthood. Then he spent the summer months in the expensive race trying to pitch voters that he was a strong conservative. Eight years earlier Schaefer had run as a moderate.
I wonder if the switch will undermine any attempts by Rep. Caleb Rowden to attract crossover voters for his Senate 19 race. Could Independents in moderate district feel burned by Schaefer’s change and not trust another Republican?
It’s not dissimilar to Senate 24 a few cycles ago where John Lamping ran as a “different kind of Republican,” only to serve as a very Republican Republican, and yield the district to Democrats the following election.
Bits
Former Sen. Jane Cunningham pens a letter to the editor in the Post-Dispatch about the Sierra Club’s insensitivity to the workers harmed by a transition away from coal. See it here.
Attorney General Chris Koster received the Cattlemen’s endorsement for his gubernatorial bid. It continues his streak of winning endorsements from agricultural interest groups, which have traditionally favored Republican candidates. The Cattlemen sent $5K to his campaign with their endorsement.
Help Wanted
The Jefferson City News Tribune seeks a city hall reporter. “We’re looking for someone who can look beyond the agenda of a meeting and find the story that’s relevant to our readers. While the beat is heavily driven by city government meeting coverage, the bulk of the work will be to discern and explore the issues the residents of Missouri's capital city are facing…” See it here.
Today’s Events
From Mary Scruggs’ indispensable events calendar
Rep. Michael Butler Evening Golf – The Highland’s at Forest Park – STL – 4PM.
Sunday: Missouri State Fair Ends
Changes in Lobbyist Registrations
Clark McCool, John Commerford, and Lacey Biles added National Rifle Association of America.
Andrew Weber added Wine Country Garden LLC.
Brian Grace, Rodney Boyd and Katherine Casas deleted Saint Louis Zoo Association.
Eapen Thampy deleted Growpito Technologies LLC.
$5K+ Contributions
Koster for Missouri - $12,500 from Four Corners Development LLC.
Koster for Missouri - $12,500 from Hamilton Builders LLC.
Koster for Missouri - $10,000 from IUOE Local 513 Political & Education Fund.
Friends of Caleb Rowden - $25,000 from Committee to Elect Ron Richard.
MO Leadership Committee - $10,000 from Engler for Missouri.
Property Casualty Insurers Association of America Political Account - $29,836 from Property Casualty Insurers Association of America.
Missourians for John Brunner - $250,000 from John G Brunner.
Koster for Missouri - $5,001 from Missouri Cattlemen’s Association PAC.
Parson for Missouri - $5,001 from Missouri Cattlemens Association PAC.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Rep. Donna Pfautsch, Tim O’Connell, and Mark Siettmann.
Saturday: Chuck Gross and Rose Windmiller.
Sunday: Dave Hageman, Shane Schoeller, and Jim Cooper.