August 6: Mantovani Adds Another $100K - Islamophobia in House 94? - MMJ Talk and more....

Final Money Push

In the large contributions (below) Mark Mantovani tosses in another $100K to his campaign for St. Louis County Executive.  That brings his total investment to $1.6 million.  And if you’ve seen this movie before you know it won’t be odd to see another stray check after the Election when all the bills are settled and the books are reconciled.

And look! More money into the anti-RTW committee We Are Missouri.  The latest contributions bring their total fundraising to nearly $18 million.

And

SaferMO.com isn’t waiting until after the primary to raise money. This is the campaign committee to for transportation tax on the ballot in November.  The $120K listed today brings their total to $390K.

Fear of an Islamic Representative?

In House 94, things are getting ugly.  Take a look at this flyer (see it here) which attempts to insert some islamophobia into the Republican primary.   This is Cloria Brown’s district in South St. Louis County.  Dems will be making a run at this district for sure.

New IE Filings

Auditor –

Missourians for a Responsible Budget - $20,000 supporting Curtman.

Senate 18 –

C-Red PAC - $10,000 opposing O’Laughlin.

C-Red PAC - $2,500 supporting Redmon.

Missouri Federation for Children PAC - $17,582 supporting O’Laughlin.

Missouri Federation for Children PAC - $8,791 opposing Redmon.

Missouri Federation for Children PAC - $8,791 opposing Walker.

Senate 32 –

Missouri Republican Leadership PAC - $10,000 opposing White.

The Talk on MMJ IPs

One reader sent me a recent speech delivered by former Supreme Court Chief Justice Mike Wolff at a NORML conference a few months ago.  In his talk, he runs through the scenario in which we’re now living: three different medical marijuana ballot questions on the same ballot.  Read it here.  It’s interesting.  In classic Wolff fashion you get sharp observations in an almost off-hand manner, like: Some things have gotten better, some things worse, but the center currently seems to be losing its grip on our political system.

Of note: Wolff has little regard for Brad Bradshaw’s proposal.  Calling it “an accident waiting to happen,” he thinks if it prevails it will be challenged in court and may ultimately get thrown out.

Meanwhile another MOScouter offered up these thoughts, gaming out how voters might react to multiple MMJ questions on the same ballot…

First, when most folks fill out their ballot they go in the order things are on the ballot.  Second, it is possible that many voters will not be aware there are multiple MMJ petitions on the ballot.

Here is the order of questions:

·         Constitutional amendment #1 - Clean Missouri

·         Constitutional amendment #2 - MMJ/New Approach Missouri veterans (4% tax)

·         Constitutional amendment #3 - MMJ/Brad Bradshaw cancer research (15% tax)

·         Prop B - Minimum wage

·         Prop C - MMJ/Tilley veterans, drug treatment, early childhood ed, and public safety (2% tax)

So if you are a supporter of medical marijuana you see the first one (New Approach) and you vote for it. When you immediately go to the next question you see another medical marijuana question and this one is for cancer research and maybe you think that is more important than giving the money to veterans. Folks could easily think the petitions are mutually exclusive (and they may be). Given that, do you go back and change your previous vote and vote yes? Or do you just vote yes again?

After you vote on minimum wage, then comes prop C.  And it’s arguably even more compelling because it has three things in addition to helping veterans, plus the lowest level of taxation. If you have already gone back once, do you go back again? Or… maybe confusion reigns and people just vote no.  Seems to me you may want to be the first one up.

Finally, it’s interesting to note that Brad Bradshaw, himself, is mentioned in the fair ballot language of his petition.  It speaks to the knock on the Bradshaw proposal: that he’s enshrining a job for himself in the state constitution. The fair ballot language is what you see posted in the polling place, not what you see on the actual ballot.

Fair Ballot Language:  A “yes” vote will amend the Missouri Constitution to allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes under state laws.  This amendment does not change federal law, which makes marijuana possession, sale and cultivation a federal offense.  This amendment makes Brad Bradshaw (the contact person on this initiative petition) the research chairperson of a newly created research institute that is funded by fees and taxes on medical marijuana.  Brad Bradshaw will select the members of the board that will govern the research institute, which will issue regulations and licensing procedures for medical marijuana and medical marijuana facilities — dispensary, cultivation, and marijuana-infused product manufacturing facilities.  This amendment creates licensing fees for such facilities…

NYTimes on CD 1 Primary

NYTimes reports on Cori Bush’s challenge to Lacy Clay in CD1.  See it here.

·         Cori Bush was running the Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez playbook… Now, just days before Tuesday’s primary against a powerful and long-tenured incumbent, Ms. Bush’s campaign has become a test case for how effectively the insurgent left can convert its energy into upheaval at the ballot box — and whether Ms. Ocasio-Cortez’s success in New York City can be replicated in other regions. In Missouri, the conventional wisdom suggests this: The revolution may not have arrived in St. Louis just yet.

·         “Trends get to the heartland late,” said Jay Nixon, the former Missouri governor and a Democrat, “and I think this is a trend that’s going to go over us.”

·         Mr. Clay, 62, who was first elected to the House in 2000, has dispatched challengers before and insists he will do so again in Tuesday’s primary. In 2016, in the wake of the protests in Ferguson, when the district was perhaps most agitating for change, Mr. Clay beat his main primary opponent with more than 60 percent of the vote. “I smoked her,” Mr. Clay said in an interview after a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new light rail station. “This is what I do. I’m used to this.”

eMailbag on Primary Polls

Anything can happen in primaries and polling can be very misleading. We don’t have to think too far back to remember that Rick Stream held a solid lead over Koenig, Jeannette Mott Oxford led Jamilah by double digits heading into the final week, Ward Franz was up 7-10 pts over Mike Cunningham two weeks out, and many thought Onder/Schneider/Gatschenberger would be close when Onder ended up with more than both of his opponents combined.

New Committees

Jeffco Forward was formed. It’s a PAC.  Its treasurer is Frances Newkirk.           

Lobbyists Registrations

David Willis added the clients of Catalyst.

James Harris added CFM Insurance Inc.

$5K+ Contributions

Citizens for Porter - $15,000 from Craig Porter Development LLC.

SaferMO.Com - $10,000 from ACEC / Missouri.

SaferMO.Com - $10,000 from Consulting Engineers Council of MO/PAC.

SaferMO.Com - $100,000 from St. Louis Construction Training and Advancement Foundation.

Citizens for a Safer St. Louis - $10,000 from Sam Fox.

Missouri Federation for Children PAC - $8,000 from Missouri Alliance for Freedom – Grace River PAC.

Missouri Federation for Children PAC - $25,000 from Greg Hoberock.

Citizens for Steve Stenger - $30,000 from CHIPP Political Account.

Citizens for Steve Stenger - $36,295 from CHIPP Political Account.

We Are Missouri - $25,000 from Western States Issue Education Fund Inc.

We Are Missouri - $123,122 from American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations.

We Are Missouri - $50,000 from Heavy Constructors Association Industry Advancement Fund.

Missourians for a Responsible Budget - $10,000 from MHA Political Action Committee for Health (HEALTHPAC).

We Are Missouri - $36,295 from CHIPP Political Account.

We Are Missouri - $50,000 from International Union of Operating Engineers Local 513.

We Are Missouri - $50,000 from International Union of Operating Engineers Local 101 General Fund.

Paul Wrabec for Jackson County - $6,680 from IodiTech Inc.

Mantovani for STL - $100,000 from Mark Mantovani.

Birthdays

Happy birthdays to Rep. Jack Bondon, Bryan Stevenson, and Bob Nance.