Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Stream Pretty Quiet
Rep. Rick Stream is off to a slow start in his St. Louis County bid. One wonders if the Republican is deliberately laying low while the two Democrats knock each other’s head off.
Four years ago at this point Bill Corrigan’s July report showed $317,035 raised with $792,024 on-hand. That compares to Stream’s weak July quarter… $40,330 raised and $53,512 on-hand.
And tipster emails: “I haven’t seen one Rick Stream sign but I see Tony Pousosa signs.”
MRL Hits Schneider
Missouri Right to Life took the unusual step of admonishing Senate 2 candidate Vicki Schneider with a press release reiterating that Bob Onder is the only MRL-endorsed candidate in that primary… See it here.
Former Representative Vickie Schneider, who claims to be endorsed by Missouri Right to Life PAC, has not been endorsed within the last decade, since the general election of 2004. In fact, she has been denied an endorsement more often than not due to her consistent opposition to pro-life positions in crucial legislation that would have given protection to the unborn. Her record was so particularly poor in 2008 that she was the only incumbent Republican in the entire state to be rated "Anti-Life."
The Missouri Right to Life Political Action Committee strongly urges support for Bob Onder on August 5.
Union Targeting Bootheel Reps?
Local 513 of the International Union of Operating Engineers sent letters to their members in House 148 and House 149 outlining the stakes of the elections in those district.
Of House 148 incumbent Rep. Holly Rehder the letter said that she “has taken every opportunity to vote against workers – she even voted against the initiative to bring a new Boeing plant to St. Louis, a Republican sponsored effort…” They call her primary opponent Duston Stone a “supporter and friend of working families…”
In House 148 Local 513 Treasurer Steve Gunter notes that they will miss term limited Rep. Steve Hodge, but asks members to vote for Diedra Freeman who “appears ready and willing to continue in the tradition of Steve Hodges…”
One keen observer of bootheel politics says the August results in House 148 should be watched. He doesn’t think there’s a large enough contingent of union supporters to upset Rehder, but if they get close, unions may get more aggressive in taking on legislators who are openly hostile to their agenda.
Ashcroft Ad
In Senate 24, Jay Ashcroft released a television commercial. See it here. It features… Barack Obama, of course, a stable ingredient of Republican ads for the last six years… “We already have everything we need to grow our economy, we just need government to get out of our way…”
Be interesting to see how this message strategy works in the swing district in November…
Dooley Ad
Incumbent Charlie Dooley released another attack ad against insurgent Steve Stenger. The last one accused Stenger of liking sex trafficking. This one says that Stenger hates old people…. See it here.
Koster For Amendment 1
Missouri Farmers Care press release cheers Attorney General Chris Koster’s endorsement of the Right to Farm Amendment… “With two weeks remaining before the Aug. 5 election, Missouri
Attorney General Chris Koster is joining representatives from the Missouri Farmers Care coalition and Missouri's major agricultural organizations to discuss Amendment 1, the Missouri Farming Rights Amendment, during several press stops.”
Wieland Cleared
The Missouri Ethics Commission dismissed a complaint against Rep. Paul Wieland for his use and funding of a campaign vehicle. See it here.
According to the ruling, Wieland bought a truck for $1,500 and then leased it to his campaign for three months for $1,500 with the campaign paying for repairs to the truck. The commission based its ruling on that fact that the cost to the campaign was lower than if he’d leased from a private company.
Help Wanted
Missouri Hospital Association seeks Vice President of Legal Affairs and General Counsel.
“The Vice President of Legal Affairs and General Counsel acts as counsel for the Association and its related organizations. The Vice President of Legal Affairs and General Counsel is responsible for coordinating all of the legal affairs of the organization. The position serves as a liaison with several external professional organizations. The Vice President of Legal Affairs and General Counsel reports to the Senior Vice President of Administration and CFO…” See ad here.
eMailbag: Why No Strong Dem Against Torpey
Observer: “I do have perhaps an answer to the question about Neil Torpey: He's a solid labor vote, decent on education, very good on social services issues and Medicaid expansion, so no Democrat can raise serious money against him. If control of the House were at stake it might be different, but until that's the case, key Democratic constituencies have no incentive to spend money against him, hence no strong candidate.”
Lobbyist Registrations
From the Gate Way Group website:
Scott Penman added ITC Holdings Corp.
$5K+ Contributions
Missourians for Safe Transportation & New Jobs Inc - $25,000 from International Union of Operating Engineers Local #101.
Missourians for Safe Transportation & New Jobs Inc - $10,000 from Kissick Construction Co. Inc.
Missourians for Safe Transportation & New Jobs Inc - $15,000 from Civic Progress Action Committee.
Central Bancompany PAC - $10,000 from The Central Trust Bank.
UTU PAC - $7,500 from United Transportation Union PAC.
Happy Birthday
Happy birthdays to Rep. Rick Brattin (34) and former Reps. Eileen McGeoghegan and Jason Brown (44), and House 144 candidate Ron Bohn (72).