MOScout Daily Update: Finneran In - Senate 25 $$ - MOST Downgraded - Merideth on AG Website - Pro-Scism PAC and more...

Finneran In

St. Louis attorney Rich Finneran announced for attorney general yesterday.   He joins Elad Gross seeking the Democratic nomination.  From his email blast: I grew up in St. Louis County, got my law degree from Washington University in St. Louis, spent more than six years fighting for Missourians as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, and still live here today, working in private practice and teaching at my alma mater, training the next generation of lawyers… But right now, our Attorney General isn’t looking out for us. He’s an unelected career politician who was appointed into the office after nearly 15 years in partisan politics….

·         One reader noted the tepid roll-out.  “Could only find two stories (one in the P-D and another in the Missouri Times). Very weak. Might be considered good for a county council or state rep candidate but not a prime time roll out for a leading statewide office…”

·         Schmitt spox statement: “While the Democrat candidates will be engaged in politics and a political primary, Attorney General Eric Schmitt is focused on his job as the lawyer for six million Missourians…”

Senate 25 $$$

New developments…

·         As promised Rep. Jeff Shawan sent another $50K to his campaign committee.  He has said he will continue to pump his own money into the race.

·         Meanwhile one reader insists that “[Eddy] Justice is the CL PAC choice according to those associated with the CL PAC….  I believe Justice will receive another check soon.”

We’ll see…

Merideth: Even His Website…

Rep. Peter Merideth continues to beg Attorney General Eric Schmitt to issue an opinion giving the legislature guidance on the sunshine law.

His latest howl of disbelief… even the AG website says this is his job… “The Attorney General’s Office brings and defends lawsuits on behalf of the State and prepares formal legal opinions requested by State officers, legislators, or county attorneys on issues of law.”

MO MOST Gets Downgrades

Morningstar downgraded Missouri’s MOST plan from a Silver to a Bronze.  See it here.

Morningstar identified 30 best-in-class plans, assigning these programs Morningstar Analyst Ratings of Gold, Silver, or Bronze. College savers invested in a medalist-rated plan have made a fine choice. These plans generally follow industry best practices… Gold-rated plans exemplify most or all of these attributes, while Silver- and Bronze-rated plans embody some of these qualities but have room for improvement…

CFG Scorecard

The Club for Growth issued a scorecard for Missouri legislators yesterday causing a bit of heartburn – as sometimes these scorecards do.  See the scorecard here.  It’s important to note that the national Club for Growth is governed entirely separately from the Missouri Club for Growth.

·         MO Club for Growth is funded largely by Rex Sinquefield, and directed by a board of which former Speaker Tim Jones is the chair.

·         MO Club for Growth usually spends hundreds of thousands of dollars into independent expenditures, spread out across a dozen or two legislative races.  The national Club for Growth doesn’t spend money on state legislative races.

Sherod Switches Treasurers

In Senate 5, Michelle Sherod has switched treasurers.  Her former treasurer, Tod Martin, was well-like in city Democratic circles.  But – one tipster says: [Martin] was recently appointed to a position in County Executive Sam Page administration who has prohibited his appointees from partisan politics.

Sherod’s new treasurer is Barbara Gilchrist.

Walsh Profiled

Katie Walsh get profiled in the Washington Post as part of a high-powered trio.  See it here. Walsh is a St. Louis native and former staffer to Governor Matt Blunt.  Her dad, Tom Walsh, was Josh Hawley’s campaign treasurer.

Pro-Scism PAC Forms

Keep Missouri Great was formed.  It’s a PAC to support Kent Scism, Republican candidate in Senate 3.  So far he has neither a declared primary or general election opponent.

The IE PACs list can now be found at the top of the MOScout homepage.  I will be updating the list later today.

eMailbag on Galloway’s New Campaign Manager

I've heard [Chris] Sloan is good. So let's all agree that if the Dems best statewide candidate and the "best Dem campaign manager in the country" get beat by more than 7 that Missouri is out of reach for Dem statewides for the foreseeable future.

City Flails At Freeholder Step

President of the Board of Aldermen Lewis Reed tweets that city political leaders haven’t been able to agree on their Board of Freeholders yet. 

It’s as if they’re trying to prove that the Better Together process – as much as it was maligned – may have actually been the best way to make progress on the issue of regional governance.

Gubby Appts

Governor Mike Parson announced appointments…

Joseph Blanner, of Eureka, was appointed to the St. Louis Board of Freeholders. 

William Buchholz, of St. Louis, was appointed to the State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors.

Darrell Davis, of Lee’s Summit, was appointed to the Missouri Dental Board.

William Kane, of Dexter, was reappointed to the Missouri Dental Board.

Ryan Parker, of Troy, was appointed as the Lincoln County Coroner.

New Committees

Keep Missouri Great was formed.  It’s a PAC.  Its treasurer is Terry Detring.

Missouri Central Labor Council PAC was formed.  Its treasurer is Frank Wansing.

Lobbyist Registrations

Andy Arnold added Invenergy.

$5K+Contributions

Majority Forward - $10,000 from Southwestern Bell Telephone DBA AT&T Missouri.

MO Cattlemens Association PAC - $18,964 from Missouri Soybean Association.

Missouri Central Labor Council PAC - $8,538 from AFL-CIO COPE.

Friends Of Jeff Shawan - $50,000 from Jeff Shawan.

Birthdays

Happy birthdays to Rebecca McClanahan, Bryan Pratt, and Kenny Murdock.