Monday, December 7, 2015
Kinder’s Missing Cash
The Friday afternoon bombshell came from Camp Kinder… Peter Kinder’s spokeswoman Pam Dixon sent a statement to the media saying that Kinder was filing amended finance reports for several years and was turning over its records to law enforcement. BOOM!
Kinder had previously disclosed some “discrepancies” and started a fresh campaign account accordingly. This wasn’t totally out of the blue. However was had been passed off among the chatter as probably sloppy book-keeping was now being recast as criminal activity… potentially fraud or forgery, serious stuff.
The initial reaction was to imagine that Kinder’s long-time advisor David Barklage was involved, but Barklage sent out statements to the contrary including a detailed spreadsheet to show his firm’s pay was not the source of discrepancy between the initially reported reports and the new amended ones.
Instead it is Logan Thompson who appears to be the staffer Kinder’s team believes perpetrated some kind of fraud.
Thompson had previously worked for several Republican campaigns including the House Republican Campaign Committee, Steve Tilley, Vicki Schneider and John Diehl among others,
Barklage Statement
A detailed review and comparison of original and amended Peter Kinder campaign finance records conducted by The Barklage Company shows that there were no previously unreported payments to David Barklage or the Barklage Companies and in fact the amended reports show that they were paid less than previously reported. Amended reports show that Barklage and his companies were actually paid $2,000.00 less than previously reported. The review shows:
--Every dollar the Kinder campaign paid to The Barklage Company, its successor firm Barklage & Knodell, and company owner David Barklage, is accounted for in both the prior campaign finance reports and the amended reports.
--The newly amended reports break down the amounts paid to Barklage in specific detail, and every dollar paid to Barklage is accounted for.
--At no time since the 2006 election cycle has any Barklage company or David Barklage had responsibility for filing the Kinder campaign's campaign finance reports. Again, the Barklage firms had zero involvement in filing the Kinder campaign reports.
What It Means
Three things folks see coming out of this…
First, more of it. The other campaigns that Thompson managed will now likely go back over their books and see if they too notice discrepancies between reported and actual expenditure.
Second, in so much as the reporting of this gains wider readership, it will contribute to the prevailing attitude of an ethics problem in Missouri politics.
Third, because there’s a fall guy already in place, it would appear that there will be little to no negative fallout for Kinder – or Barklage.
Patriots for America – Again
The group “Patriots for America” sent out an email over the weekend reciting the now-familiar evidence of Eric Greitens’ less-than-conservative past.
From the email… “To be clear, Patriots for America does not endorse any particular candidate. Rather we seek to expose those that wish to deceive voters by claiming conservative principles that their record belies. Thus, we are opposed to only one gubernatorial candidate in the Missouri Republican primary. This August - ANYONE BUT ERIC. Period.”
Patriots for America is a SuperPAC in Virginia. And they appear to be in violation of state ethics laws…
130.049. An out-of-state committee which according to the provisions of subsection 10 of section 130.021 is not required to file a statement of organization and is not required to file the full disclosure reports required by section 130.041 shall file reports with the Missouri ethics commission according to the provisions of such sections if the committee makes contributions or expenditures in support of or in opposition to candidates or ballot measures in this state in any election covered by this chapter or makes contributions to any committee domiciled in this state. An initial report shall be filed no later than fourteen days prior to the date such out-of-state committee first makes a contribution or expenditure in this state.
Fear of a Cyber Attack
There’s an op/ed in the Washington Post about the Ted Koppel’s new book, “Lights Out,” and the vulnerability of our electric grid to cyber warfare. This topic seems to be gaining some traction. See it here.
Pull Quote: When it comes to cyberwar and cyberterrorism, we need to think the unthinkable, says veteran TV journalist Ted Koppel. And for Koppel, the unthinkable is this: Someone hacks into the nation’s electric power grid and causes large parts of it to crash for a prolonged period…
When he asks Janet Napolitano, former secretary of homeland security, the chances that some adversary will knock out a significant part of the power grid, she responds, “Very high — 80 percent, 90 percent.” More troubling: Koppel cites George Cotter, a former chief scientist at the National Security Agency, who has repeatedly contended that the grid is dangerously porous to hostile intrusions.
What especially bothers Cotter is the deregulation and restructuring of the electric utility industry. Traditionally, the industry was dominated by a small number of large companies responsible for generating, transporting and delivering power to customers. But in recent decades, these various functions (generation, transportation and delivery) have been split among separate firms. Cybersecurity becomes harder, because the task of protecting the grid is spread among many more businesses…
Panel Announced
Press release: The Twenty-First Circuit Judicial Commission announced the panel of three nominees to be submitted to Governor Jay Nixon to fill the circuit judge position on the St. Louis County circuit court created by the General Assembly. Those nominated by the commission are:
Joseph L. Green, Judge Joseph S. Dueker, and Judge Nancy M. Watkins…. Green received five votes, Dueker received four votes, and Watkins received three votes…
The members of the Twenty-First Circuit Judicial Commission are: Judge Lisa S. Van Amburg, chief judge of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District; Richard Wuestling IV, Matthew J. Rossiter, Rev. Anthony Witherspoon and Christy Bertelson.
Podhola Files
Jessica Podhola filed “Podhola For Missouri” with the Missouri Ethics Commission to run for Senate 11 as a Democrat. Her treasurer is Sandra Querry.
Help Wanted
Victory Enterprises’ digital division seeks a Social Media Account Associate in their St. Louis office. Resumes can be sent to Joe@VictoryEnteprises.com before December 15, 2015.
House Research Division seeks Legislative Analyst. “This position is responsible for staffing House committees, analyzing and summarizing legislative proposals, drafting legislation, preparing legal and policy research and assisting Members of the House with lawmaking duties… Salary range for this position begins at $3,911 per month. The position is eligible for full state benefits and is located in Jefferson City.” See the ad here.
Minority Floor Leader's Office seeks Legislative Coordinator. “Job responsibilities require extensive research and analysis of legislative issues as requested by House minority leadership or caucus, preparation of reports on the impact of legislation and facilitating the drafting of legislation and amendments… Must be able to work long hours during session, from January through May… The starting salary is expected to be in the mid $40’s…” See the ad here.
The Kroenke Group seeks In-House Litigation Associate. “TKG Management, Inc. is a Columbia, Missouri, based leading national, privately held real estate developer, investor and property manager. We develop and manage commercial real estate across the country…” See ad here.
Lobbyists Registrations
Richard McCullough added Missouri Association of Area Agencies on Aging; and deleted Missouri Association of Mortgage Brokers.
Lou Gianquinto added Missouri Care (aka Wellcare Healthplans Inc).
Thomas Campbell added Aecom; and deleted Urs.
Deborah Mary Howland added Cornerstone of Care – KC Child Abuse Roundtable Coalition.
Robyn Silvey deleted Missouri Pharmacy Association.
Mark Schwartz, Chris Moody, Andy Blunt, and Jay Reichard deleted Three Rivers Community College.
Amy Lynn Blouin deleted Missouri Coalition for Budget & Priorities.
George Constantine deleted Brevan Howard Asset Management LLP.
William Massey deleted Complete Coalition.
Jon Dolan deleted Healthline Homecare Agency, LLC.
$5K+ Contributions
Grietens for Missouri - $5,001 from Jame Finger II.
SITE Improvement Association of Missouri PAC - $5,508 from SITE Improvement Association of Missouri.
Friends of Mike Cunningham 16 - $10,000 from Citizens for Jay Wasson.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Sen. Kiki Curls, former Reps. Churie Spreng, and Rodney Hubbard, and Nick Maddux.