Thursday, May 31, 2018: Parson's Long To Do List - Ross in the Mix? - Resignation Deal and more...

Long To Do List

Lieutenant Governor Mike Parson has his hands full.  Instead of the normal two-month period between election and inauguration, with a full transition team working with a lame-duck incumbent, Parson has two days before he’ll be sworn in.

According to an official statement, “Parson spent [yesterday] preparing for Friday’s transition with a non-stop series of meetings and phone calls…. [he] met with House Speaker Todd Richardson, Senate President Pro Tem Sen. Ron Richard, and legislators from both parties. In addition to meeting with these leaders, Parson reached out to all cabinet members. Parson is planning to hold a meeting with the cabinet early next week…”

Word is that Parson also called US Senator Claire McCaskill and Congressman Emanuel Cleaver. “Both of them were impressed to receive a call and pledged to come to Jefferson City soon to meet with him personally.”

Staffing is obviously the highest priority.  But there are also a few fast-approaching deadlines.  Bills must be signed or vetoed by July 15.

And

The next State Board of Education meeting is scheduled for June 12.  Because the Greitens administration trainwrecked their appointments the board lacks a quorum.  It has a serious backlog of tasks… Approve the Missouri School Improvement Plan; reauthorize charter schools; deal with teacher licenses that need to be revokes; and most importantly, hire a new commissioner.

 

Parson April Quarter

Further down the To Do list for Parson… rev up the fundraising machine.  A potential 2020 gubernatorial primary is just 26 months away!

Parson’s April quarter showed $11,285 raised and $11,604 spent, to finish with $44,563 on-hand.

 

Ross Also in the Mix

A couple MOScouters mentioned that Kenny Ross’ name should be in the mix when making a list of potential Parson chief of staffers.  Ross serves in that position for Speaker Todd Richardson now, and has worked for Parson in the past.

 

Resignation Deal

Just one day after Governor Eric Greitens’ resignation speech declared that he could no longer allow “forces to continue to cause pain and difficulty to the people that I love,” a different story emerged: he actually resigned as part of a deal for St. Louis Prosecuting Attorney Kim Gardner to drop a pending felony charge.

Post-Dispatch reports that the governor’s attorneys initiated negotiations with Gardner on Saturday.

Tuesday night the conventional wisdom was that Greitens had resigned in hopes of sparing the political non-profit A New Missouri from further scrutiny.  Earlier in the day a judge had said that subpoena to the organization was proper.

However, it now appears that was not the catalyst for the governor’s decision to call it quits.

 

House Remains Interested in Dark Money

There appears to be strong interest within the House to continue investigations into “dark money.” This applies to both the governor’s apparatus that may have concealed donors, as well as the source of Scott Faughn’s payoff to Al Watkins.  Rep. Scott Fitzpatrick voiced this position.  See it here.  But he’s one among many.

 

Let the Healing Begin?

One question to be answered over the coming weeks is whether the pitched battle will leave a lasting division within the Missouri Republican Party.

It could play out like a primary election where various camps fight like hell and then unite afterwards because in the end, everyone is a Republican.  Or hard feelings could linger and revenge could be the order of the day.

I expect the former.  There will be obvious adjustments – Todd Graves will be directed to the exit soon after the November elections if not before; Catherine Hanaway should probably concentrate on corporate clients for the foreseeable future – but nothing on the order of black-balling or a purge.

Hints of the latter though are evident.  One person mentioned to me that someone on the other side seemed to make it “personal.”  Another person mentioned how one side fought “dirty.”

Still I expect Governor Mike Parson to set a conciliatory tone, and move the party to unity.

One wildcard:  In rural Missouri, much of the Republican base never left Greitens.  Many bought into the “witch hunt” narrative.  In August primaries, there’s a chance we’ll see Republicans who stuck with Greitens use his ouster against Republicans who called n his resignation.  If so, this could exacerbate the wounds and make it a bit harder to put fully in the rear view mirror.

 

Hedging

Morning Consult ran an op/ed about SCR 43See it here.

Pull Quote: “Missouri recently passed Senate Concurrent Resolution 43 that reaffirms the state’s policy of allowing electric utilities to hedge natural gas contracts and supports the state’s utility regulators in their role of ensuring hedging is done prudently… Simply put, hedging is accomplished by taking actions to reduce the risk of unwanted outcomes.  For utilities, and ultimately their customers, these risks are primarily price spikes and disruptions in supply. To help manage these risks, utilities may enter into physical hedges by taking an ownership stake in additional supplies of natural gas. More commonly, utilities execute contracts that put a ceiling on the price. The low cost of planning and executing the contracts is seen as a reasonable expense to protect supply and manage price volatility for the sake of consumers.”

 

Corlew Turning Out Base

Senate 17 tipster: Given the most recent negative mail piece and radio ad from the Senate campaign committee, it appears the Corlew campaign is most concerned now about turning out the base.  The theme is that an illegal immigrant committed a murder "in the Northland" and Arthur voted to give money to "illegal immigrants" like the murderer...  not the kind of thing aimed at swing voters.  Arthur's mail is all GOTV oriented, and TV about her passion for education.  Jason Kander is doing a kickoff for her Saturday canvassing drive.  I don't think the resignation will have a big impact but may make Dems more confident voters (from what I've heard so far) and those base voters less enthusiastic, if anything.

 

eMailbag on Truncated Investigations

Lobbyist: Let’s hope his resignation doesn’t end the investigation into the dark money behind all of this. Missouri citizens deserve to know the truth at least to those questions.

 

Help Wanted

Conservation Federation of Missouri seeks Corporate Relations Manager.  “The Corporate Relations Manager is responsible for planning and managing the Conservation Federation’s corporate partnerships and fundraising activities. The Corporate Relations Manager reports to the Executive Director and works closely with the Board of Directors in all corporate partner endeavors… If you have sales and marketing experience, and enjoy working with passionate people, this position affords the opportunity to work with amazing businesses that care about protecting our natural resources and promoting the incredible outdoor heritage of Missouri… Starting Salary: $45,000 negotiable based on experience.”   See it here.

 

New Committees

Eileen McGeoghegan formed a candidate committee (Friends For Eileen Mcgeoghegan) to run for House 72 as a Democrat.

Issac Boyd formed a candidate committee (Isaac Boyd Citizens To Elect) to run for House 138 as a Republican.

David Bernal formed a candidate committee (Bernal For Sheriff) to run for Jackson County Sheriff as a Republican.

Chris Molendorp formed a candidate committee (Molendorp Victory Fund) to run for Cass County Collector of Revenue as a Republican.

Shannon Sapp formed a candidate committee (Committee To Elect Shannon Fifer Sapp) to run for Lewis County Clerk as a Republican.

Amy Jennewein formed a candidate committee (Committee To Elect Amy Jennewein) to run for Jefferson County Council as a Democrat.

Glenda Powell formed a candidate committee (Committee To Re-Elect Glenda Powell) to run for Ray County Clerk as a Republican.

Heather York formed a candidate committee (Committee To Elect York) to run for Cedar County Clerk as a Republican.

 

$5K+ Contributions

Missouri Senate Campaign Committee - $10,000 from Wieland Now.

Missouri Senate Campaign Committee - $12,500 from Citizens for Riddle.

Missouri Senate Campaign Committee - $30,000 from Lincoln PAC.

Missouri Forward PAC - $25,000 from CHIPP Political Account.

Citizens for Francis Howell - $15,767 from Citizens for Howell.

Lobbyists Registrations

Grant LeRoy added Renovate America.

Charles Miller deleted Antioch Redevelopment Partners LLC, and KIPP Kansas City.

Katie Walker deleted Kansas City Home Builders Association.

Christopher Cox deleted Humane Society of Missouri.

Joshua Collins, Ricard Cowan, Cindy Mills, Matthew Muir, Elizabeth Ridler and Brad Roseberry deleted Coalition Against Bigger Trucks.

 

Birthdays

Happy birthday to former Sen. Joan Barry.

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Friday June 1 - Transition Day

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Wednesday, May 30, 2018 - Parson Staffing Talk - War-Chest Talk - Senate 17 Talk and more...