MOScout Daily Update: New Voter Registration IPs - Title IX Again? - IE PAC Update and more...

Sedey Files New IPs

Attorney Mary Anne Sedey (see bio here) has filed a new set of initiative petitions.  Like the ones she filed earlier in the year, these deal with making voter registration automatic for Missourians.  Last week she filed eleven IPS.  The essential nugget in them all: “The secretary of state shall establish a process to automatically register to vote all eligible citizens…”

The first set of IPs she filed became embroiled in a spat with Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft.  Sedey sued claiming that Ashcroft’s “biased and inflammatory” summaries of petitions were designed to hurt the ballot questions.

Now we’re back to square one…

Title IX Again?

KCStar’s Ed McKinley retweeted this humdinger… Lobbyist Richard McIntosh and AHC Judge Audrey McIntosh went to Breitbart News to tell their side of the story.  See it here.

The couple shared their story with Breitbart News, a harrowing tale about how their son became one of hundreds who have been accused of violating Title IX.

Their son is a victim of a federal law designed to prevent discrimination based on sex that morphed into a secretive process stacked against those accused of sexual misconduct following Barack Obama’s 2011 “Dear Colleague” letter from the Department of Education sent to educational institutions.

Charges of “dating violence” and sexual assault launched against their son by a former girlfriend while he was a student at Washington University in Missouri. The charges caused his eventual expulsion from the school — a decision made without due process, his parents said…

And as if it were not enough for this family to face, the tides turned against Richard and Audrey when they attempted to change state law to put into place due process in Title IX investigations, including allowing those facing sexual misconduct charges to have an attorney and access to case findings.

“We don’t want another family to have to go through this,” Audrey told Breitbart News.

Ironically, it was the parents’ effort to help their son that led to what they said amounted to the university and local media vilifying the whole family….

But for MOScouters, the lead is buried… This may not be the final chapter of the McIntosh story. They have a five-year window to sue Washington University. According to Dean Dohrman, Missouri state representative, he plans to introduce another bill to reform Title IX in the next session.

What It Means

This isn’t the issue the MOGOP is itching to put forward heading into an election year.  Republicans are already nervous about their appeal to college-educated suburban women.  This would be one more brick in the wall as Dems try to fortify their foray into the suburbs.

Medicaid Expansion Campaign Says ¼ Way There

Post-Dispatch reports that “organizers of a campaign to expand Medicaid in Missouri said Thursday they have collected a quarter of the 172,000 signatures required to place the issue on the November ballot next year…”

But

I’m hearing from more folks who worry whether the issue is a winner at the ballot box.

·         The polling hasn’t been stellar when you include the fiscal note – which is basically a big, fat question-mark.

·         There are lots of undecideds – and they will determine the fate of the issue.

·         It’s chances of passage rise if there’s no funded opposition, but if some organization or mega-donor throws in a million, that could be enough to send undecides into the No camp.

Clay Saga Continues

From Friday…. “State Auditor Nicole Galloway today issued a subpoena to Clay County to require the county to turn over documents associated with a citizen mandated audit. An Oct. 24 court ruling confirmed the Auditor's legal authority to conduct performance audits and dismissed the County Commission's lawsuit against the Auditor. Clay County officials have yet to produce documentation originally requested in December 2018 and January 2019.”

IE PACs

I’ve updated the list of so-called “leadership” PACs.  Thanks to everyone who has contributed.  These are PACs which are independent, yet are allied with specific candidates or causes.  They are not subject to the campaign contribution limits to which candidate committees must adhere.

The PDFs are alphabetized by PAC name as well as candidate name.  You can find it here, or anytime at the top of the webpage.

eMailbag: My Favorite Text from the Weekend

I had this dream I was on this flight and the woman next to me and I got into a big fight because she wouldn’t tell me what even she won her gold medal in - anyway it caused a big scene and when everyone was getting off the plane some guy shouted “hey Drebes - this better be in moscout tomorrow”

New Committees

Gabriel Jones formed a candidate committee (The Committee To Keep Up With Jones) to run for House 93 as a Republican.

Dentaquest PAC-TN-I was formed.  It’s a PAC.  Its treasurer is Aaron Washburn.

Birthdays

Happy birthday to Dwight Scharnhorst, Tom Shively, and Terry Young.