Monday, August 11, 2014
Ferguson Shooting
An unarmed black teenager was shot by police on Saturday afternoon in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson. Protests turned chaotic last night with some rioting. See NYTimes coverage here; Washington Post coverage here. And St. Louis Post-Dispatch coverage here.
I don’t know if this is legit, but it’s a supposed eyewitness account (with lots of profanity)… here.
The shooting occurred in the district of Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal. See her twitter-feed here. And Sen. Jamilah Nasheed called for a federal investigation.
And see Charlie Dooley getting shouted down here.
HRCC Summer Caucus
The House Republican Summer Caucus is said to have raised $1.1 million. No big checks into the Missouri Ethics Commission as of last night, but I bet we’ll start seeing them today and tomorrow.
Of that million-plus haul, $440K came from lobbyists and corporate sponsors, with the rest coming from contributions from caucus members. $200K was donated by Speaker-designate John Diehl. And he reiterated that he will be emptying his entire campaign account into the HRCC coffers by election time, so there’s more coming.
There was enthusiasm for the new Diehl/Todd Richardson leadership combination which was manifest in generosity. For example, Rep. Anne Zerr is said to have fired off a $50K check to the caucus.
The other news of note to emerge is that the campaign staff revealed a new data system, called Majority Maker. They believe that it’s much more “advanced and accurate” than the state party’s system and will put “the Democrats’ system and data to shame…”
Maxwell for Gov?
Steve Kraske reports that two Democratic former electeds aren’t sold on Chris Koster as the party nominee. Read it here. One of them, Joe Maxwell, even hints he may challenge Koster.
This amounts to a little left-wing party-pooping and shouldn’t be viewed as a significant problem for Koster who has assumed the leadership of the party, if by no other means than by being willing to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for Democratic legislative candidates.
But that’s my opinion and I’m as often wrong as right, so here’s the contrary opinion…
A former state Senate colleague of Joe Maxwell called me out of the blue over the weekend. A conservative Democrat now retired from politics, the ex-senator expressed lingering distrust of Koster because of Koster's party switch. The retired pol readily conceded Koster's assets, strengths and TV charm. But the ex-pol's vague unease was deepened into nagging doubt when Koster took hundreds of thousands of dollars from Rex Sinquefield…
For a Democrat, taking money from Sinquefield means taking money from the Number One Enemy of public education in Missouri. I don't just mean critic - I mean enemy. Missouri Democrats since the administration of Mel Carnahan have been identified with support of public education... The ex-senator – who had not spoken with Maxwell – said a Maxwell run for governor would split Democrats and the outcome is anything but certain… I know this: Koster hasn't seen ruthless until he has squared off with a motivated Maxwell.
LaFaver for Caucus Secretary
Rep. Jeremy LaFaver declared his candidacy for House Dems Caucus Secretary. Here’s the email…
> From: Jeremy LaFaver <jeremy@jeremylafaver.com>
> Date: August 8, 2014 at 8:59:29 AM CDT
> Subject: Leadership Announcement
>
> Congrats to everyone who won a primary race on Tuesday!
>
> I will be reaching out to each of you individually over the next few weeks, but
wanted to share with the entire caucus that I will be running for caucus secretary
this Fall. I have thought long and hard about this over the last few months and
believe that I will serve our team well in this position. Having demonstrated a
willingness and ability to support the caucus and individual members over the past
few years, I pledge to each of you that I will continue this trend in the coming
months and, if elected, in the coming years as a contributing member of our
leadership team.
>
> This Fall is an important election – it will determine our strength when it comes
to protecting the veto and protecting the interests of our constituents. I will
be working all across the state to make sure we put forth the best candidates with
the best message possible. I look forward to working with each of you on our
mutual goals over the next few months and also talking with you about my interest
in being a member of our leadership team. If you have any questions, need help
with your campaign, or just want to catch up before I’m able to get to you, please
don’t hesitate to call.
>
> Democratically,
> Jeremy
Keller for Schweich
In Auditor Tom Schweich’s 8-Day Report, Gregg Keller’s Atlas Strategy pulls in $4,000. See it here.
Barnes on Tolls
Rep. Jay Barnes’ latest blog post raises the prospect of toll roads in the wake of Amendment 7’s rejection. Read it here.
Pull Quote: MoDOT says it costs roughly $485 million a year to maintain Missouri’s current state highways and bridges. Current funding exceeds that amount, allowing for new projects to accommodate new business and growing cities. But the very near future is bleak. By 2017, MoDOT’s projected revenues are $325 million. The shortfall is caused by decreasing funding from the federal government and continuing increases in fuel-economy. Missourians seem to follow the national trend on transportation funding. According to an article in Wednesday’s News Tribune, a clear majority of Americans believe the benefits of good transportation systems outweigh the costs. But few want to pay for it…
Fundraising Calendar
Today’s fundraising events from Mary Scruggs’ indispensable events calendar:
House Dems Summer Caucus Golf – Railwood Golf Club, Holts Summit.
Lobbyist Registrations
From the Gate Way Group website:
Lisa C. Langeneckert deleted Missouri Energy Group.
$5K+ Contributions
Missouri Farmers Care - $24,000 from Mid-America Biofuels LLC.
HealthPAC - $220,000 from MHA Management Services Corporation.
Schmitt for Missouri - $10,000 from Group MVT LLC.
Committee to Elect Linda Klingerman for Judge - $12,000 from Linda Klingerman.
Friends of Eric Burlison - $6,000 from Silverstein Eye Centers.
Friends of Eric Burlison - $6,000 from Quantum Vision Services.
Friends of Rick Stream - $25,000 from Lewis & Clark Ozarks Mountain Forum.
Happy Birthday
Happy birthdays to Ivana Moorhem.