MOScout Daily Update: Liberty Alliance Follow-Up - Brattin in Senate 31 - 7CD in 2022 - Bond and KC's USDA Win - Schmitt on Parson's 1A Claim and more...
Liberty Alliance Mind-Meld
After yesterday blurb about Liberty Alliance, I heard from them. Here’s what they said…
· Liberty Alliance is not in any way a Greitens-related organization.
· Neither are they related to the Senate Conservative Caucus.
· They see themselves operating beyond 2020, and becoming a fixture on the Republican scene.
· They plan to expose liberalism, and cheer conservative actions.
· Conservatives can’t rely on the mainstream media to do this work; Liberty Alliance will do it.
But
It’ll take time for Liberty Alliance to prove to the skeptics that they are a force for good. For example, from my in-box yesterday: Isn’t Liberty Alliance formed by the same few that fleeced the GOP’s last dollars for themselves on the way out the door, and now want to claim they have formed the group to help the party. Looks like “same ol’ same ol’” to me….
Brattin in Senate 31
I heard from a few folks that Rep. Mike Haffner dropping out of Senate 31 doesn’t clear the field for Rep. Jack Bondon…
Haffner got out to make room for someone not named Bondon. [Incumbent Sen. Ed] Emery's endorsement is now headed to someone not named Bondon. This isn't avoiding a primary--it's the necessary steps of consolidation prior to one....
Look for former Rep. Rick Brattin to step up and enter Senate 31. He’ll run to the right of Bondon.
Insider explains: Right now all six Republican open seats are having a primary, whether or not candidates have actually announced or people are spending money… The districts that seem the quietest now actually have the most activity behind the scenes...
Never Too Early?
Forget 2020, some folks are already thinking ahead to 2022… and the 7th Congressional.
In 2010 when auctioneer Billy Long won election to Congress, he pledged to only serve six terms. See it here. This 2020 re-election will mark the start of his sixth term. Of course, Long could revise his pledge, but seeing a possible open seat in 2022 has folks talking already.
· And one intriguing name… Speaker Elijah Haahr.
· Smart money says: free-for-all
Behind the USDA Move
St. Louis Business Journal’s Jacob Kirn reports that St. Louis officials didn’t know Kit Bond Strategies had another client… See it here.
For St. Louis’ agriculture-technology industry, the region was a perfect place for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service and National Institute of Food and Agriculture, which announced they were relocating from Washington, D.C., along with more than 500 jobs, igniting a competition between cities.
“USDA officials will be blown away if they can come here and see the collaboration between the corporate, academic and grower communities and all of the aspects that make St. Louis unique,” one biotech booster, BioSTL CEO Donn Rubin, said in May.
But the region’s lobbying firm, hired through the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership and tasked with pitching federal officials on the region, thought another location would work too: Kansas City. Federal records show that while Kit Bond Strategies LLP worked the USDA deal for the partnership, it simultaneously counted a Kansas City building operator as a client — and lobbied for the USDA jobs to go to that area… Rubin said Thursday he was not aware of Kit Bond Strategies’ relationship with Broadway Square Partners until contacted by a reporter…
Schmitt Rejects Parson 1A Claim
KCStar’s Jason Hancock reports that: Missouri Gov. Mike Parson should stop using the First Amendment as justification to withhold certain public records from disclosure, the state attorney general’s office said in a letter delivered Thursday evening. State Auditor Nicole Galloway, a Democrat who is running for governor in 2020, asked Attorney General Eric Schmitt in May to weigh in on whether Parson was violating the state’s Sunshine Law when his office cited the First Amendment in its refusal to turn over certain public records.
The First Amendment protects freedoms of speech, religion, assembly, the press, and the right to petition. Parson’s office was using it to redact telephone numbers, addresses and email addresses of private citizens who have reached out to the governor’s office.
Deputy Attorney General Justin Smith wrote Thursday evening that Parson’s office should not “rely on the First Amendment for blanket redactions of personal contact information,” noting that Missouri’s Sunshine Law “declares our state’s commitment to openness in government.”
Bits
· According to LinkedIn Jay Eastlick is now Consumer Services Manager at Missouri Public Service Commission. Eastlick previously worked in the LG’s office under Peter Kinder.
· Pretty funny catch here of Dr. Douglass Petty – who’s one of the consultants working on the proposal to privatize St. Louis’ airport – calling into a talk show using the name “Dominque.” See it here.
eMailbag on “Re-election” Kick-offs
Not a knock on any of the statewides, but only Ashcroft is running for re-election. Everyone else is running for election.
Lobbyist Registrations
Zach Eckert added Excellence In Education National, Inc., DBA Excellence In Education In Action.
Elizabeth Lauber deleted Roofing & Siding Contractors Alliance (RSCA).
$5K+ Contributions
Nexus PAC - $20,000 from Invenergy LLC.
American Property Casualty Insurance Association Political Account - $126,332 from American Property Casualty Insurance Association.
Midwest Region Laborers' Political League Education Fund - $8,377 from Laborers Supplemental Dues Fund.
theLOUpac - $10,000 from Anheuser Busch Companies.
Missouri Democratic State Committee - $10,000 from Enterprise Holdings, Inc.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Lou Hamilton and Stephen Gregali.
Saturday: Chris Koster, and Chris Carter Sr.
Sunday: Rachael Klarich and Brian McCallister.
Labor Day: Phil Christofanelli and Amy Pridmore.
Reminder
No MOScout Weekender tomorrow, and no update on Monday (Labor Day). Have a nice weekend, see you Tuesday!