Thursday, September 19, 2013
Schaefer for AG
Forget the backroom deal-making I expected. I imagined that Republicans would be eager to avoid the mistake of 2012 where US Senate and secretary of state drew a hot contest while other statewide offices languished with second-tier candidates. I thought Republicans would mix and match their candidates to the menu of open slots and present a slate.
I was wrong. (Again).
Yesterday, Sen. Kurt Schaefer announced that he was running for attorney general in 2016. That’s the same office that Speaker Tim Jones has been “very serious” about and “focused” on, and “getting lots of support” to run for etc…
The good news for Republicans is that it’s not a train-wreck. It’s about two and half years from a train-wreck, so there’s “still time to change the road you’re on.”
The Announcement
Columbia, Mo. Senate Appropriations Chairman and former state prosecutor Kurt Schaefer will seek the 2016 Republican nomination for Missouri Attorney General.
Schaefer is a former assistant Missouri attorney general and special assistant United States attorney. As a prosecutor he won approximately 100 violent felony convictions against murderers, rapists, child predators and large-scale drug dealers, taking them off the street and making them pay for their crimes.
"Missourians need an attorney general with experience putting violent criminals behind bars. From our county courthouses to the Missouri Supreme Court, I've prosecuted some of Missouri's most dangerous criminals and fought to protect the rights of victims." Schaefer said. "I have prepared for this next step in public service all of my life, working to assure that the guilty are punished and the rights of Missourians are protected."
Schaefer is serving his second term as senator from central Missouri's 19th District. As chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Schaefer is responsible for crafting balanced budgets by making tough decisions about Missouri's state spending priorities, including increasing funding for education to historic levels. Schaefer has led the fight to root out wasteful spending and fraud in Missouri government.
Schaefer's legislative service includes sponsoring legislation that increase penalties for criminals who prey on the innocent, and increasing the sentences violent criminals serve behind bars.
An attorney in private practice, Schaefer also has a long record of service to the state, including serving as deputy director and general counsel of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, special counsel to the governor and special counsel to the Missouri Department of Agriculture. In those roles, Schaefer has litigated some of the largest environmental law cases and negotiated some of the largest case settlements in Missouri history.
Married and a father of three, Schaefer is a St. Louis native who lives in Columbia.
Remember
All the state-wide offices work… they all can get you to the governor’s mansion. In recent history, we have former attorney general Jay Nixon now. Before him was former SOS Matt Blunt, before him was former treasurer Bob Holden. Before him was lieutenant governor Mel Carnahan. And not far before him was former auditor Kit Bond.
So, this may be an opportunity for Speaker Tim Jones to pick an easier general election like treasurer, where Dems are still a little hazy on their nominee. Or even secretary of state where Rex Sinquefield would have enormous incentive to want a Jones looking at initiative petitions instead of incumbent Jason Kander.
Morris Wants Hand Written Apology
Missouri Times’ Ashley Jost has a letter from Rep. Lynn Morris (see it here) saying that he is hosting an “organizing meeting” with Rep. Jeff Messenger for the fifteen Republican state representative who broke with ranks and voted against the HB 253 override.
Morris, rebranding them as the “famous 15”, appears to organizing a mini-caucus. The purpose of the meeting is to determine “how we will work a deal with the Speaker as we go forward.”
Part of the deal for Morris apparently involves the mailman… “For me, unless I get a personal apology and a handwritten statement to the media, I will not be able to forgive the Speaker at this time.”
Then Morris hints that the bloc might work with Dems to determine House leadership posts… “The Speaker’s election in the future may well hinge on how he deals with 15 fellow representatives…”
This is continued evidence that there are hard feelings among Republican House members over Speaker Tim Jones’ handling of the veto session, and interviews immediately afterward.
Barnes Watch
The dude is still talking about Medicaid expansion/reform… On his blog he lists the agenda for his September 26 committee meeting which identifies various models for winning a federal waiver to reshape Medicaid along Republican principles.
See how the “Arkansas model” legislation would look in Missouri statutes here.
Governor to Clinton Global Initiative Panel
“Gov. Jay Nixon will participate in a panel discussion on disaster preparedness and response sponsored by the Clinton Global Initiative during a domestic trade mission to New York next week. The panel, titled ‘Building Global Partnerships in Disaster Preparedness and Response: Lessons Learned from Recent Disasters,’ will be moderated by Matthew Bishop, New York Bureau Chief for The Economist.”
Another step toward running FEMA under President Hilary Clinton?...
Lobbyist Pay
As much as I love looking through campaign contributions, I’ve always wondered what lobbyist paychecks look like. And every once in a while there’s a glimpse through public documents. One came yesterday where St. Louis City’s lobbyist Rodney Boyd had his contract approved at the city’s Board of Estimate and Apportionment.
“Request from the Director of Operations, Mayor’s Office, for approval of a contract with Rodney J. Boyd, for professional services including but not limited to lobbying for the fiscal year 2014 in the amount of $90,000. This contract will be paid in monthly increments of $7,500…”
Obviously every client is different, service provided etc, so the range of paychecks probably varies immensely.
Senate 2 Follow-Up
Following my bit on an invite to a Rep. Chuck Gatschenberger fundraiser…
From a supporter of Bob Onder: “Reps. Ron Hicks and Robert Cornejo are letting both use their names… Look for all of the above to show up for Onder too, but with a check for Onder...”
Follow-Up on St. Louis County Executive Race
From a source near the Jake Zimmerman campaign: “Jake is running for re-election.” (That’d be Assessor).
Lobbyist Registrations
From the Pelopidas website:
Richard A McIntosh added Colette Holt & Associates.
$5K+ Contributions
Credit Union Political Action Committee of Missouri - $10,000 from Community America Credit Union.
Committee for Research Treatments and Cures - $10,000 from Irvine Hockaday Jr.
Committee to Elect Jeff Roorda - $10,000 from Simmons Attorneys at Law.
Committee to Elect Jeff Roorda - $5,001 from AgXplore International LLC.
Schupp for Senate - $5,100 from Mark Bronson.
Notes
AgXplore is Barry Aycock’s company.
Simmons lawyers in the last week have given $80K ($50K to Koster; $10K to Zweifel; $10K to Schupp and now $10K to Roorda).
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to former Reps. Rachel Bringer (42) and Michael McGhee (66).