Thursday, March 16, 2017
Mayfield for House 21?
An Eastern Jackson insider says I’m wrong in my speculation that former Rep. John Mayfield will be taking the Public Information Officer position in the City of Independence. The city is looking to hire someone with a strong media background.
And Mayfield is strongly considering a return to Jefferson City… He’s said to be eyeing House 21 where Rep. Ira Anders is termed in 2018.
Making Calls Already?
File under rumors… but I’ve heard from a few folks that Sen. Scott Sifton has been lining up support for a 2020 gubernatorial bid.
The conventional wisdom would have Sifton in the AG’s slot as he’s an attorney, but obviously there’s not a lot of clarity on how the deck will ultimately shuffle.
Some even think that you can’t assume Governor Eric Greitens with his nearly weekly trips to DC will be running for a second term…
And
Not a lot names on the Republican side yet to take on Auditor Nicole Galloway in 2018. Speaker Todd Richardson had been mentioned months ago, but that talk hasn’t been sustained. There are two schools of thought on Galloway’s chances. On the one hand, Democrats have traditionally fared worse in the off-presidential cycle because turn out in the urban areas is lower. This would be a disadvantage for Galloway. But on the other hand, there’s the possibility that President Donald Trump will “overreach” or that his “tweet-before-thinking” approach to the Oval Office will wear thin, and 2018 will be a big Democratic year. We’ll see….
Legislature Moves Bills Ahead of Spring Break
Speaker Todd Richardson used his considerable powers of persuasion to get the charter school expansion bill, HB634, just across the threshold with 83 votes for perfection. Democratic Reps. Courtney Curtis and Alan Green crossed the aisle to vote with Republicans for the bill.
And the House perfected HCB3 with 89 votes. Another relatively close vote in the House. HCB3 is the change to the circuit breaker tax credit which takes out renters and puts the savings into a fund for senior services which are slated to be cut.
Meanwhile the Senate third read Rep. Kevin Corlew’s expert witness bill, HB153.
Rural Airports in Trump Budget Crosshairs?
Scott Charton tweeted this NYTimes article.
Pull Quote: Among the cuts: drastic reductions in the 60-year-old State Department Food for Peace Program, which sends food to poor countries hit by war or natural disasters, and the elimination of the Department of Transportation’s Essential Air Service program, which subsidizes flights to rural airports.
But
Observer: “Congressman Sam Graves, who serves on the Aviation Subcommittee of the House Committe on Transportation and Infrastructure, will have something to say about it. The Aviation Subcommittee jusrisduction includes the Essential Air Service program…”
And - Is TrumpCare the New ObamaCare?
Missouri Hospital Association’s Dave Dillon tells KMOX that 250,000 Missourians would lose coverage under TrumpCare. See it here.
Schmitt Announces MO ABLE Agreement
Treasurer Eric Schmitt announced that “Missouri has entered into an agreement with four other states (Ohio, Vermont, Georgia, and Kentucky) to implement MO ABLE, a program that creates tax-advantaged savings accounts for expenses related to disabilities and special needs.”
And
Following Governor Eric Greitens’ lead, Schmitt made the announcement via video – and tieless (although we can’t tell if he was wearing the GenX governing uniform jeans). See it here.
Prop P and Prop A Bits
Rex Sinquefield gaves $200K to STL Citizens for Safety. This is the campaign committee for St. Louis County’s Prop P – a tax dedicated to public safety. I don’t think Citizens for Safety is doing anything in the city where Sinquefield is said to be behind Prop A.
7th Ward Committeewoman Marie Ceselski has started a blog to fight Prop A (see it here) which would eliminate one of the city’s county offices to fund body cameras on police. Sinquefield is teaming with Sen. Jamilah Nasheed on that initiative.
Prop P puts up their first TV spot… See it here. It features St. Louis County Chief of Police Jon Belmar, and County Executive Steve Stenger. The tag-line is: Prop P. Will. Save. Lives.
Seems like it should work in this environment where public safety is in everyone’s mind. We’ll see….
Other Bits
In Kansas City, the question of G.O. Bonds is seeing strong civic engagement. The proponents’ committee, Progress KC PAC, has spent $202K according to the 40 Days Before report while the opposition committee, Citizens for Responsible Government, only spent $295.
In the lobbyists registrations (below), John Pelzer has terminated his lobbying registrations.
Governor Eric Greitens appointed Carlos Haley, a Republican from Joplin, to the Missouri Southern State University Board of Governors.
Lobbyists Registrations
Sarah Wood Martin and Irl Scissors added National Strategies Inc on behalf of Securus.
James Atkins added Missouri Alliance for Home Care; and deleted Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines, Tegsco, and Expedia Inc.
Lana Ladd Baker added Criminal Justice Ministry, and Journey to a New Life Inc.
Jim Cooper added Arc Products LLC.
John Young added Taylor’s Stateline Truckstop LLC, O’Fallon Retail Walk Community Improvement Distirct, and JRB Investments LLC; and deleted Schiermeier Quarry Inc, Dardenne Realty Company, Whisper Hollow Gp LLC, and Pebb O’Fallon LLC.
George Oestreich added Pharmaceutical Specialties Inc.
John Pelzer deleted Missouri Retailers Association, and John Pelzer & Associates.
David Jackson deleted Kansas City Missouri.
$5K+ Contributions
STL Citizens for Safety - $200,000 from Rex Sinquefield.
Progress KC PAC - $100,000 from Heavy Constructors Association Industry Advancement Fund.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Melissa Randol, Tom Villa, and former Sen. Jon Dolan.