MOScout Daily Update: Bayse Gets Education Chair - Haahr Working Hyperloop - Page Kicks Off - Mayor Pete in STL and more...
Bayse Takes Education Reins
Speaker Elijah Haahr names chairs for three committees yesterday.
· Rep. Chuck Bayse is the new chair of the Committee on Elementary and Secondary Education. The late Rebecca Roeber had chaired this committee.
· Rep. Dave Griffith is the new chair of the Committee on Veterans. Bayse had been the chair.
· And Rep. Raychel Proudie is new chair of the Special Committee on Urban Issues. This was previously chaired by Bruce Franks who resigned last session.
One building denizen notes that they’re “all vice chairs being bumped up to chair… make vice chairs great again!”
Haahr Working Hyperloop
Word is that Speaker Elijah Haahr was on the west coast visiting with Virgin Hyperloop CEO Jay Walder (see bio here).
Tipster: The MO Speaker is the only speaker in the US that is building a relationship with Walder. He participated in the WSJ forum in NY with Walder about hyperloop, has been ahead of every other state on R&D, and has been invited to LA to discuss the RFP with Walder. The Speaker has put MO on the map…
Page Kicks Off
The mighty Jason Rosenbaum reports on St. Louis County Executive Sam Page launching his re-election bid. See it here.
With a looming Democratic primary on the horizon, Page told a crowd of supporters at the Machinists Hall in Bridgeton that he’s the best person to pick up the pieces of a county that went through a tumultuous time — and still faces big challenges.
“I want to restore trust and integrity in St. Louis County government,” Page said. “Next spring, I’ll be filing for county executive to keep going and keep us going in the right direction.”
Former St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley introduced Page. He said that Page helped cleanse the county of the turmoil and criminal activity of the Stenger years. Dooley also alluded to how Page led a bipartisan coalition to combat Stenger, getting elected as council chairman an unprecedented three years in a row.
Driving the Day
Democratic presidential hopeful Mayor Pete Buttigieg will be in St. Louis today for a fundraiser. See the ticket info here. Among the host committee is an unlikely pair: former Sen. Jeff Smith and Tom Carnahan, brother of the former congressman….
Keller Hearts Galloway?
Funny to see a tweet from Gregg Keller’s Missouri Century touting Auditor Nicole Galloway’s audit of Missouri’s special taxing district… #Missouri taxpayers should not come second to politically-connected developers and billionaires who abuse special taxing districts for profit. #moleg #corporatewelfare
Duncan Joins Senate 5 Race
According to the new committee filings (below) McFarlane Duncan is jumping into the Senate 5 race. See an old bio page of his here. It’s from a 2012 bid he made for House 77, losing to Kim Gardner. Duncan grabbed 17% of the vote in a three-way primary. (Gardner won with 62%).
It’s unlikely Duncan will make much of an impact considering there are three credible candidates already in this race.
New Committees
McFarlane Duncan formed a candidate committee (Community for McFarlane Duncan) to run for Senate 5 as a Democrat.
$5K+ Contributions
Teamsters Local 600 Drive PAC - $5,361 from DRIVE Committee (Washington DC).
Missouri Senate Campaign Committee - $10,000 from Ameren Missouri.
Missouri Senate Campaign Committee - $7,500 from Kansas City Chiefs Football Calub.
Lobbyists Registrations
Salvatore Panettiere deleted LKQ Corporation, American Traffic Solutions Inc., and Bird Rides Inc.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Therese Sander.
Saturday: Brian Bunten, Sam Wiles, and Cynthia Davis.
Sunday: Sen. Bill Eigel, Ryan Nonnemaker, and Dennis Wood.