MOScout Daily Update: Lenihan in Senate 1 - New IE PACs for Griesheimer, Cole - Dalton to MRP - More Pre-Files and more....
Lenihan in Senate 1
David Lenihan has started a campaign committee to run in Senate 1. He appears to be the recruited Republican candidate.
I have yet to see any official roll-out, but here’s an article in the St. Louis American about him from about a year ago. He appears to be a successful entrepreneur, but will need to change the New York location on his twitter feed if he revs up his campaign.
With the current incumbent, Scott Sifton, being termed, Republicans hope to make this seat competitive.
Rep. Doug Beck is the Democratic candidate. And depending on how recruiting goes for the GOP in Senate 17, this could be the only Senate race in which Dems are playing defense.
New IE PACs
In the new committees (below) two more of the so-called leadership PACs were formed. These are committees which support a candidate though they are run independent of the candidate.
Southwest Missouri Conservative Values PAC was formed. It supports David Cole, who’s running as a Republican in Senate 29. The 29th Senate District Leadership PAC is already supporting Cole. This is apparently a second one.
His opponent, Rep. Mike Moon, has a PAC, Table Rock Conservative PAC, which received $100,000 from the Dave Steward-funded CL PAC, considered a proxy for the Senate’s Conservative Caucus.
Separately Four Rivers PAC was formed. This is an independent PAC supporting Rep. Aaron Griesheimer. Griesheimer is a freshman, so it’s not clear where his political path leads – House leadership? Senate race? County level race? But many of the politically savvy freshmen have been setting these PACs up now to be able to raise money regardless of what their future holds.
And
I’ve updated the IE PAC list. Remember you can find this at the top of the MOScout home page.
Dalton to MRP
Tipster says that the Missouri Republican Party has hired Charlie Dalton as Political Director. “In addition to working on statewide campaigns for Hanaway, Hawley and Ted Cruz, [Dalton] was Wagner’s political director in 2016…”
More Pre-File Bits
· Rep. Curtis Trent, who’s running for floor leader, pre-filed his first bill. HB 1596 would put a 15-year time limit during which a person injured by a product can sue for damages.
· Sen. Lincoln Hough appears to have refiled enabling legislation for a local tax increase in his district. This sparked a kerfuffle last session as the Conservative Caucus sought to clamp down on rising local taxes. Other Republicans saw the CC’s action as meddling in violation of the principle of local control.
· Pro Tem Dave Schatz pre-filed SB559 which establishes the Office of Mechanical Contractors within the Division of Professional Registration, and outlines a new licensing framework for mechanical contractors. Sen. Jeanie Riddle carried the legislation last year.
Schupp Bits
· Interesting tidbit in Sen. Jill Schupp’s kick-off announcement… “Born and raised in the suburbs of St. Louis, she saw her father and grandfather run a junk yard where they worked six days a week…”
· Team Schupp is burning the phone wires to rev up the fundraising. One part of the pitch… margins of the McCaskill and Kander races within the boundaries of CD2, Claire McCaskill won and Jason Kander lost to Roy Blunt but it was close.
Yinka’s Fundy
Yinka Faleti, the Democrats’ nominee for secretary of state, had a big fundraiser last night at the home of Dana Sandweiss. The host committee (see it here) is a who’s who of St. Louis Dems, and shows how quickly Faleti – a first-time candidate – has engaged the Democratic establishment.
Lembke on CLEANER
An interview that got passed around a bit yesterday is former Sen. Jim Lembke – now spokesperson for the CL PAC – on FM 97.1 talking about redistricting and other issues. Listen to it here.
Lembke asserts that the CLEANER Missouri plan was “bargained away” last session. But one building denizen notes that Lembke was actually a supporter of the original CLEAN Missouri. In fact, his name is still listed as a supporter on their website.
EmpowerHMS’ Collapse
Becker Hospital Review reports that I-70 Community Hospital in Sweet Springs, MO is set to be sold at auction on December 19. It’s one among seven hospitals previously owned by EmpowerHMS. “Dallas-based Affinity Health Partners bid… $3.4 million to purchase I-70 Community Hospital. Affinity's offers are stalking horse bids, meaning competing bids will be evaluated. All seven of the hospitals filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. Most of them closed, usually with little or no notice to employees.”
The backstory can be found here. It’s a tale of rural hospital woes, and fraud – uncovered by Auditor Nicole Galloway.
The money was so good in the beginning, and it seemed it might gush forever, right through tiny country hospitals in Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and into the coffers of companies controlled by Jorge A. Perez, his family and business partners.
It was his “secret sauce,” the rotund Miami entrepreneur would smilingly tell people in their no-stoplight towns. The money-making ventures he proposed sounded complicated, sure, but he said they would bring in enough cash to save their hospital and dozens, even hundreds, of good jobs in rural towns where gainful employment is hard to come by…
Then a few major health insurance companies got suspicious, as did some government officials. How could Unionville, Mo. — a town of 1,790 — generate $92 million in hospital lab fees for blood and urine samples in just six months?...
The lab billings, insurers alleged, were simply fraudulent. Blue Cross Blue Shield and other insurers started filing lawsuits, stopped making reimbursements and shut off the spigot…
How companies run by this Miami businessman and his associates were able to drive so many hospitals into the ground so quickly, devastating their communities, is a story about the fragility of health care in rural America and the types of money-making ventures that have flourished in legal gray areas of America’s complicated medical system….
EmpowerHMS “is like a curse word,” said Tara Brewer, head of the Chamber of Commerce in Sweet Springs, Mo., where the I-70 Community Hospital closed in February, taking with it dozens of jobs and emergency care.
The town’s mayor, Francis Vaught, put it more simply: “We were robbed.”
New Committees
Darlene Breckenridge formed a candidate committee (Darlene Breckenridge for 8th District State Representative) to run for House 8 as a Republican. The current incumbent, Republican Rep. Jim Neely, is termed.
David Lenihan formed a campaign committee (David Lenihan for Senate.com) to run for Senate 1 as a Republican. The current incumbent, Democratic Sen. Scott Sifton, is termed.
Southwest Missouri Conservative Values PAC was formed. Its treasurer is Cherry Warren. This is an independent PAC supporting David Cole, who’s running as a Republican in Senate 29.
Four Rivers PAC was formed. Its treasurer is Tim Otten. This is an independent committee to support Rep. Aaron Griesheimer.
Campaign for Clean Water STL was formed. It’s a campaign committee to support the passage of Proposition Y on the April ballot. Its treasurer is Patrick Lynn.
Citizens for a Better Grain Valley was formed. It’s a PAC. Its treasurer is Michael Todd.
Lobbyists Registrations
William Kuehling added TKFC LC. This is thought to stand for Taylor-Kavanaugh Football Club or possibly Taylor-Kindle Football Club
Jim Moody added Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Inc.
Jim Moody, Chris Moody and Andy Blunt deleted George K Baum.
$5K+ Contributions
Missourians for Healthcare - $25,000 from Missouri Family Health Council Inc.
Missouri Senate Campaign Committee - $25,000 from Drury Development.
Missouri Senate Campaign Committee - $12,500 from August A Busch III.
Clean Water Healthy Communities PAC - $25,000 from Missouri American Water Company, Inc.
UAW Region 5 Midwest States Political Action Committee - $6,000 from UAW Regoin 5 Exchange Account.
Keep Government Accountable - $10,000 from Shamberg Johnson Bergman.
Birthdays
Happy birthday to Chris Pickel.