Wednesday May 9 - How the Senate Will Pick Jurists - Arthur on TV - Hafner Speaks and more...
How the Senate Will Pick Eminent Jurists
If the House votes to impeach Governor Eric Greitens, the Senate’s duty is to pick the seven jurists who will try the case.
With no historic precedent to guide them, Senate leadership has already begun to think about how they would fulfill their responsibility.
First, the process would be bi-partisan. The current thinking is that Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard and Minority Leader Gina Walsh along with some bipartisan staff attorneys would attempt to do an initial vetting or “funneling” of names.
They would be looking at possible conflicts of interest or even perceived conflicts of interest. This gets tricky. For example, do you eliminate appointees of Governor Jay Nixon because he is a law partner at the firm defending the governor? If so, you’d be losing eight years of appointees. They will also be mindful of keeping a pool that has a “good mix” of people – partisan diversity would be especially important.
Second, the whittled down pool of possible jurists would then be shared with the wider Senate body so others could share their concerns or suggestions. It’s unclear how this would take place because the preference is to do so privately. They don’t want to subject judges under consideration to any embarrassments or the humilities of public scrutiny.
Finally, they would take a public vote to confirm the seven jurists. That procedural process would be like gubernatorial appointments: a motion on the floor by Richard to confirm them, perhaps en masse, or individually.
I am told that they have requested a list of names of judges who would be available – not having professional or personal obligations that would cause a hardship – in order to create the initial pool of potential jurists.
Hafner Speaks
Michael Hafner, political consultant and former Greitens campaign advisor, gave an interview to KMOV. See it here. Hafner’s depositions to the Attorney General and the House Special Investigative Committee have implicated the governor in improperly using the Mission Continues donor list. Hafner also swore under oath that Greitens had conversations about how to conceal the identity of campaign donors.
eMailbag on SOS “Forgery”
Regarding your very noble attempt at justifying the forging behavior: My 10 year old son knows not to sign his parents’ name for school documents… Period. It’s purely common sense and having a moral compass…
TAMKO Sues Coal Slag Company
To quote SuperLawyer Chuck Hatfield, “Y’all like to make fun of us, but when the fit hits the shan, everybody calls the lawyers.”
So it seems with David Humphreys. Missouri’s great advocate for limiting tort lawsuits filed suit on Monday… “This is an action to recover losses sustained by TAMKO from damage to its shingles. On four separate days in May of 2016—a time of peak demand for TAMKO’s shingles—Defendant McCabe negligently, and in breach of duties owed under statute, tort, and contract, delivered contaminated coal slag to TAMKO’s manufacturing facility. The contaminated slag was then incorporated into approximately 69,000 units of TAMKO shingles, causing physical injury to the shingles and rendering them unsuitable for sale…”
Follow-Up on Video
Yesterday in the halls a few folks were pushing back about the video posted by Freedom to Work claiming that pro-RTW advocates disrupted their campaign. The counter narrative these folks outlined: the angry people in the video were actually FTW’s signature collectors who were upset at their employer. Who knows. The video itself is completely inconclusive.
Callahan Reappointed to tax Commission
Press release: Governor Eric Greitens reappointed Victor Callahan, of Independence, to the State Tax Commission. Callahan served in the Missouri State Senate from 2003 to 2013. He was unanimously elected as Floor Leader to the Missouri State Senate Democrats in November 2008 and November 2010… Callahan was appointed to the State Tax Commission in 2013.
Redmon Touts Poll
Rep. Craig Redmon’s campaign sent out a release touting last week’s MOScout poll whoed him leading the four-way primary by 1%, with 40% undecided.
The press release notes (after factoring out self-funding) “Redmon is also leading in the local money chase. With nearly $60,000 of his total $88,000 coming from inside the district, Redmon has raised nearly as much money in the 18th district as his three opponents combined.”
Arthur’s First TV Ad
Rep. Lauren Arthur is up on the air with a TV ad in the Senate 17 special election (June 5). See it here. It focuses on education.
Appts in Special Session?
One MOScouter writes about the possibility of appointments happening during special session… “The special session has the potential to have a major impact on the appointment process. Despite being in session only to consider disciplinary action against Greitens, appointments are always on in order.
The question to ask is: If Greitens is impeached (and forced to step aside during the trial) does an acting Governor Parsons go ahead and make various appointments to open positions on state boards and commissions?
For instance, there are open slots on the Ethics Commission and MHDC, while the State Board of Education is constitutionally required to meet in June and the state has been without a leader at DESE for six months.
One would think the Senate who has voiced numerous concerns about Greitens’ methods to appointments would confirm properly appointed members by one of their former colleagues.”
Bet on Greitens Surviving
You can bet on whether Governor Eric Greitens will still be governor at the end of the year. See it here.
Tough Sell
Got this email the other day. Kind of a tough sell given everything that’s going on…
Reserve your seats now for the 2018 Governor's Conference on Economic Development NEXT, scheduled for Sept 5-7, 2018 in Kansas City, Missouri. Gov. Eric Greitens will make his second appearance at this annual event and show us economic developers what’s NEXT for our state as initiatives aimed at creating more jobs and higher pay take shape. Register EARLY and pay just $285…
Help Wanted
Environment America seeks State Director. “Environment America is a policy and action group with more than two million members and supporters spread across all 50 states. We promote national, state and local policies that put the environment first… The State Director is responsible for developing our strategy, approach and local message to win our campaigns in a specific state. The State Director will also meet with local decision-makers and opinion leaders and represent our organization to allies and the media. State Directors help to build and foster our membership, grassroots and online base of support. Finally, the State Director will help recruit staff and volunteers to join us, fundraise for our programs, and maintain good systems for tracking and building on our work…” See it here.
Missouri Community Action Network seeks Executive Director Position. “This position is based in Jefferson City, MO. Necessary skills and abilities include interacting with internal staff and network members. The executive director should possess excellent leadership, communication, and facilitation skills. The incumbent must be skilled in consensus building and conflict resolution. Must have the ability to work with minimum guidance. Must be able to build relationships with individuals and organizations in Missouri as well as nationally. The position is accountable to a Board of Directors. MCAN's operating budget is $2 million with eleven full-time employees…” See it here.
Lobbyists Registrations
Tony Dugger added The Cavalry Group.
Christopher Molendorp added W. E. Shoehigh, LLC on behalf of Expedia, Inc.
Glenn Spencer deleted US Chamber Institute for Legal Reform.
$5K+ Contributions
Xcaliber MOPAC - $10,000 from Lee Levinson.
Xcaliber MOPAC - $10,000 from Bruce Taylor.
Find the Cures - $10,000 from Bradley Bradshaw.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to John Ashcroft, Scott Penman, Gregg Keller, and Don Hicks.
Condolences
Condolences to Jay Hahn on the passing of his father, Gary Hahn. See the obituary here.
Visitation is today from 5PM – 8PM at Arnold Funeral Home, Mexico, MO. Funeral services will be at 10AM on Thursday.
