Friday December 5, 2014
Sinquefield Gave $300K to RSLC
ProgressMO’s Sean Nicholson tweeted last night about a discovery in the recent Republican State Leadership Committee’s IRS filing. Search the filing here.
It’s that uber-donor Rex Sinquefield gave $300,000 to the RSLC in October. Readers will remember that RSLC was active in the 19th Circuit Judicial race, backing Republican Brian Stumpe against incumbent Pat Joyce. At the time there was speculation that Sinquefield might have an interest in a more conservative judge in the position where many initiative petition lawsuits end up.
Joyce prevailed in the high-spending campaign.
More on Torpey
One of the funnies being passed around yesterday was the fact that Rep. Noel Torpey was a co-sponsor of House Bill 1258 which would have… banning lawmakers from becoming lobbyists without a “cooling off” period of two-years. See HB 1258 here.
And – several sources dispelled the notion that the House Republican Campaign Committee had to spend money on Torpey’s re-election campaign. In fact, Torpey was a “net donor” to HRCC. They spent about $7,000 in his race, but he contributed $12K to the coffers.
KosterGate
The House’s Bipartisan Investigatory Committee to Ensure Accountability and Integrity of Missouri’s Public Officials will meet on Monday. This is Speaker Tim Jones’ committee to investigate the New York Times article a month or so ago which slammed state attorney generals for the appearance of conflicts of interest.
The meeting is scheduled for 9AM in Hearing Room 6.
The committee is chaired by Rep. Jay Barnes. Other members of the committee are: Reps. Stanley Cox (termed), Kevin Austin, Kevin Engler, Don Phillips, Shawn Roads, Chris Kelly (termed), Stephen Webber, Mike Colona, and Kevin McManus
The committee hopes to take testimony from Attorney General Chris Koster.
Meanwhile
One of the work group assigned to proposal standards for Missouri schools has been beset with a bit of strife. Read Alex Stuckey’s article here. “Problems flared up in the 6-12 English Language Arts work group Tuesday when House Speaker Tim Jones, R-Eureka, removed Nick Kremer from the group… But Kremer has refused to leave the group. Members sent a letter Tuesday to Jones stating they will ‘not recognize any changes to the work group make-up until there is an interpretation of the law regarding the allowable procedure to change the make-up of the work group by a Missouri Court.’”
The drama is undermining the purpose of the work group. Says one observer: “This is a group of dedicated teachers, not pro-common core politicos… They don't have an agenda except to write good standards. However, from the Speaker's point of view, it is understandable that their actions are difficult to accept. All of this takes away from what's important; writing good standards for students…”
Klindt to KCPL
Jason Klindt has joined Kansas City Power and Light. He will be covering Missouri government affairs. Klindt was previously with Axiom Strategies.
Help Wanted
Missouri Office of Attorney General seeks Assistant Attorney General. “The Office of Attorney General has an opening in its Kansas City office for an Assistant Attorney General in the Labor Division. The attorney will primarily practice workers’ compensation defense for claims filed by state employees and will also defend the State of Missouri's Second Injury Fund.” See the ad here.
Fundraising Calendar
From Mary Scruggs’ indispensable events calendar:
Tonight: ALEC State Night in DC – The Monocle,107 D St. NE – Washington DC – 7-11:00 p.m.
Lobbyist Registration Changes
Stephen Witte added Missouri Insurance Coalition.
Jacqueline Bardgett, John Bardgett, Erika Leonard, John Parris and KimTuttle added Centers For Independent Living; and deleted Missouri Centers For Independent Living.
$5K+ Contributions
Missouri Right to Life Political Action Committee - $10,087 from Fred Sauer.
House Republican Campaign Committee Inc - $50,000 from Friends of Todd Richardson.
Happy Birthday
Happy birthdays… Saturday: lobbyist Joe Bednar (60); Sunday Sen. Kiki Curls, Former Reps. Churie Spreng (37) and Rodney Hubbard (41).
MOScout News
I’m back in the full swing of things. Look for the Weekly Summary and “Who Won the Week” later this morning, Saturday Morning Rummage tomorrow and, MOScout Poll on Sunday.