August 14, 2018 - McDowell's Residency - SaferMO Raiser Dough - Briden Again and more....
McDowell’s Residency Controversy
The Post Dispatch’s Kurt Erickson gets MOGOPers on the record saying that they support Saundra McDowell’s candidacy for auditor. See it here. That seems to be the new holding pattern among Republicans. They are still mentioning possible replacements. (They say any replacement must be a woman. Rep. Holly Rehder is praised for her fundraising ability; Rep. Marsha Haefner has financial experience in the House). But there doesn’t appear to be any orchestrated coup coming now. No, back-room sit-down with an offer McDowell can’t refuse.
That means we’ll wait for a lawsuit, and watch it work through the courts.
The Legal Talk
Article IV Section 13 of the Missouri constitution says “The state auditor shall have the same qualifications as the governor.”
You find those qualifications in Article IV, Section 3 -- The governor shall be at least thirty years old and shall have been a citizen of the United States for at least fifteen years and a resident of this state at least ten years next before election.
A lot of folks reference “the Bond case” where Kit Bond, having been away from the state for years, claimed he still met the 10-year requirement. See that case here.
From that summary: It has been said that residence is largely a matter of intention, to be determined not only from the utterances of the person whose residence is in issue but also from his acts and in the light of all the facts and circumstances of the case.
McDowell is claiming that she intended to become a Missouri resident ten years ago, when she and her then-boyfriend decided they would marry and move to Missouri.
One MOScouter weighs in: Part of McDowell's problem may be the distinction that is made in the Bond case. If you remember Bond lived here and then went away to school and clerked for a federal judge. She never lived here and the Bond case makes this point… She better have pretty good evidence that she considered Missouri her residence. In the real world folks do plan to get married and live someplace. But if she just has an assertion that may not do it. If on the other hand she has email for instance that shows that was her intent that would help…
But… The Bigger Picture
Most worrisome of all is this nugget… one Republican insider tells me that he’s pretty sure there’s more to come… in other words that opening salvo from the Galloway campaign hitting McDowell on finances and residency is just the opening round of what may be in an opposition research file.
That’s why GOPers remain wary about taking this ride.
Greitens Former Spox Misplays Press Again
Eric Greitens’ former press secretary Parker Briden resurfaced in the news. He’s working on a race in Nevada and sent a weird/awkward email to a reporter there apparently after weeks of his usual not replying to inquiries. See it here.
We expect that you will provide us with advance notice of and a reasonable opportunity to respond to any negative allegation or claim you intend to publish about Adam, his family or his campaign. A failure to provide this opportunity will be viewed as evidence of your actual malice toward Adam.
Best,
Parker Briden
Road Tax Raises $$$$
SaferMO.Com, the campaign committee to pass the transportation tax in November, continues to chug along on the fundraising. So far we’ve seen about $700K come through the large contributions. The expectation is that we’ll be seeing a broad, bi-partisan coalition pushing this. In anti-tax Missouri it’ll need all the help it can get.
Panel Announced
The Twenty-First Circuit Judicial Commission announced the panel of three nominees to be submitted to Governor Michael L. Parson to fill the circuit judge vacancy in St. Louis County created by the retirement of Judge Douglas R. Beach. Those nominated by the commission are:
Judge John N. Borbonus III, Judge Joseph L. Green, and Judge Mary Bruntrager Schroeder… Pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 10.29, the commission reports the final votes received by each nominee were: Joseph L. Green received five votes, Mary Bruntrager Schroeder received four votes, and John N. Borbonus III received three votes.
Lobbyists Registrations
Jessica O’Connell added Beyond Meat.
Jewell Patek deleted Partners for Progress, and SHI International Corp.
$5K+ Contributions
SaferMO.Com - $50,000 from HNTB Corporation.
SaferMO.Com - $75,000 from Transytems Corporation.
Jobs with Justice Ballot Fund - $46,000 from We Are Missouri.
Missouri Democratic State Committee - $6,250 from Billings for Senate.
HCA Missouri Good Government Fund - $50,000 from HCA MidAmerica Division Office.
MO Insurance Coalition PAC - $8,250 from CFM Insurance.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Nancy Cross, John Loudon, and Locke Thompson.
MOScout News
A few more changes as the transition continues…
The MOScout Weekly Summary will not be opt-in for MOScout subscribers. If you would like to continue to receive this, let me know by sending me an email (dave@moscout.com). I started the Weekly Summary as a way for lobbyists to share some portion of MOScout content with their clients. Otherwise, though, it’s simply content you’ve already read. So, if you want to continue to receive it, great; just let me know. And if not, that’s fine also.
MOScout’s “Who Won the Week” will now come out on Saturday as part of a weekend package.