Friday, September 11, 2015
Calzone to Fight for His Right to Not Register?
Alex Stuckey reports that Ron Calzone, known in the halls as the “unregistered lobbyist” has been fined and ordered to register by the Missouri Ethics Commission. See it here.
Pull Quote: “The decision is only preliminary at this point, but a final order will be issued this week. James Klahr, the commission's executive director, said that final order will contain the facts pertinent to explaining their decision. Calzone plans to appeal the matter…”
Rumorville: Wasinger for Something?
One Republican tips that David Wasinger is sniffing around statewide races. Wasinger is a St. Louis attorney, married to St. Louis City Councilwoman Colleen Wasinger, whose name was briefly floated as a possible successor to John Diehl.
A Very Nixon Thing To Do
Governor Jay Nixon gave Jeff Mizanskey the possibility for parole and then gets dinged in the Riverfront Times for it by Rep. Shamed Dogan. See it here.
Pull Quote: "Nixon should have just granted Jeff clemency, but as usual, he's unwilling to take action," Dogan says. "I was very disappointed, but I can't say I was surprised." Payne felt the same way. "It was a very Nixon thing to do," said Payne. "He just kicked the decision over to the parole board so he wouldn't have to make a decision. That's right out of the Nixon playbook."
Capitol veteran: “I find it fascinating that even when Nixon does something somewhat good his
reputation for self-protection sometimes washes it away…”
And
“On Tuesday, September 15th, Jeff Mizanskey and his family will be hosting Missouri State Representative Shamed Dogan (R-Ballwin) at a fundraiser at the Espolon Nightclub at 3501 West Broadway, Sedalia, Missouri.”
Raise Your Hands Supporters
Rasie Your Hands for Kids has put a list of their supporters on their website. See it here. Electeds on board are Sen. Jill Schupp and Rep. Jeremy LaFaver.
Tomorrow’s Gubby Debate
Here are a few more details about this weekend’s Republican gubernatorial debate…
“Mitchell Davis will be the moderator for the Poplar Bluff Forum… Davis, 23, is in his second year as an American government teacher at Poplar Bluff High School. He has been active in Republican politics and served three years as a legislative aide in Jefferson City with former Senate president pro tem Rob Mayer of Dexter. He graduated from Poplar Bluff High School in 2010 and received a bachelor's degree in history from Central Methodist University in 2014…
Tickets for this event sponsored by the Butler County Republican Central Committee are $25 and can be obtained by calling BCRCC chairman Eddy Justice at 573-300-1845…”
Critical Quarter for Hensley, Kraus
There’s about two weeks left in the October fundraising quarter. We’re now under a year until the August primary, so this is the first of the critical fundraising quarters. The clock is ticking and a whiff in one of these quarters could be fatal.
Governor – This is the race without anyone needing to prove something. Chris Koster already has the Dem side nailed down. Among Republicans John Brunner can presumably write himself a big enough check to close any funding gap; Catherine Hanaway can ask Rex Sinquefield for another seven-figure infusion; Eric Greitens has shown the ability to tap into Silicon Valley money; Peter Kinder has a million dollars’ worth of name ID; and Sen. Bob Dixon and Randy Asbury are already relegated to also-rans.
Lieutenant Governor – Mike Parson produces a solid quarter in the past, but he needs to keep it going because his primary opponent, Bev Randles, has the backing of the bottomless pockets of Sinquefield. It sounds like Brad Bradshaw is more likely to write himself more checks when he needs the cash rather than dial for dollars. He has that capacity. Rep. Tommie Pierson doesn’t, so he needs to start collecting checks.
Treasurer – Sen. Eric Schmitt could stop his fundraising now and have enough for his race. On the Dem side, Pat Contreras could use a good quarter if he’s going to avoid being big-footed by a Russ Carnahan or someone else.
Attorney General – Eyes will be on Josh Hawley to see if national money comes to his aid after the National Review endorsement. We’ve already seen $100K from a Paypal co-founder, but can Hawler parlay that into more big checks. On the Dem side, Teresa Hensley jumped into the race against Jake Zimmerman who started the quarter with $900K on-hand. She needs to show she can catch up or the whole race will be a struggle.
Secretary of State – It looks like Robin Smith has the Dem side all to herself which relieves immediate pressure to show results. Meanwhile on the Republican side, Sen. Will Kraus faces a very challenging primary against the dynastic name Ashcroft. If he doesn’t start showing strong quarters he will be written off.
Austin, Pearson Part?
Two different sources say that Scott Pearson is no longer legislative assistant to Rep. Kevin Austin.
This comes after the Springfield News-Leader reported that Pearson was “near the top” in the Springfield area of those receiving lobbyists gifts. Austin is running for assistant floor leader.
As of this morning Pearson is still listed on the House website.
Bits
Progress Missouri says that lobbyists have spent over $10 million on meals and gifts to legislators since 2004. Pretty soon we’re talking about real money, folks. See it here.
UCity United was former. See the paperwork here. See the website here. I believe they are trying to recall the University City mayor.
Today’s Events
From Mary Scruggs’ indispensable events calendar:
September 12 – Rep. Brian Spencer Shoot – VFW, 1414 Hwy. Z – Wentzville – 1PM.
September 12 – Southwest Capitol Comm. Dinner – University Plaza Hotel – Springfield – 6:30PM.
Lobbyists Registrations
Dave Berry and Katherine Casas added Asian American Hotel Owners Association.
Jeffrey Davis added BNSF Railway.
$5K+ Contributions
Greitens for Missouri - $10,000 from Tim Fogerty.
Greitens for Missouri - $5,001 from Rob Strang.
Birthdays
Happy birthday A.J. Bockelman.
Saturday: Drew Dampf.
Sunday: Congresswoman Ann Wagner, and Samuel Lee.