MOScout Daily Update: Zimmerman on TV - COVID Increase in SEMO? - More on YAL - Updated IE PAC List and more...
Zimmerman On the Air
St. Louis County Assessor Jake Zimmerman goes on the air today with his first TV ad. He’s in the middle of a four-way Democratic primary for County Executive.
In the ad (see it here), a supporter, Registered Nurse Mimi Signor, addresses the camera. She first hits incumbent Sam Page (“you should know the facts about Sam Page…”).
She then touts Zimmerman’s “COVID relief plan,” and says he’s “the only progressive Democrat” in the race.
What It Means
This is the opening salvo. One scenario is that both Zimmerman and Mark Mantovani take shots at Page while ignoring each other.
One assumes that will be detrimental to Page’s lead in the polls. But if he falls, the two would presumably start seeing each other as targets as well.
The election is about six weeks away.
Driving the Day: AARP For MedEx
AARP Missouri will endorse the campaign for Medicaid expansion today. It’s the latest addition to their widening coalition.
COVID Coming to SEMO?
While the overall Missouri numbers for coronavirus cases seem to have stabilized, within specific regions the spread is on different trajectories.According to the state’s model, the most at risk right now appears to be the Southeast / Cape Girardeau where the curve is looking troubling. See the model here.
· Page 7 notes that the virus’ reproductive rate in the Southeast region is a climbing 1.40. That’s much higher than St. Louis (1.05) and Kansas City (1.09) which have been the leading hotspots.
· It jives with other data indicating that northern Arkansas is seeing an increase in cases.
Also
KY3 reporter Andrew Havranek announced on Twitter that he had tested positive for COVID. I’ll be off the air for a little while, and I want to be transparent on why. This morning, I learned I am positive for #COVID19
He attended the governor’s June 11 press briefing.
More on YAL
I wrote yesterday about the influence of Young Americans for Liberty on some House Republican primaries. Here are a few more nuggets…
· “The three candidates that you mentioned are definitely on their radar and may receive endorsements, but their number one favorite of this cycle is Will Perry in Holly Rehder’s seat…”
· And “John Brunner has been a significant supporter over the years…”
IE PAC List Updated
The list of Independent Expenditure PACs has been updated. Find it here.
The latest additions:
· Franklin County Leadership PAC (Dave Schatz)
· Voices of the People (Karla May)
These are PACs allied with a candidate. They don’t have to adhere to the contribution limits, but the candidate can not direct the PAC; the expenditures must occur independently.
STL City Shifts Money
As I’ve written, the policy responses to the killing of George Floyd will have to take place largely on a local level where the actual police forces are funded.
Post-Dispatch reports that St. Louis City made some initial moves yesterday. See it here.
At Mayor Lyda Krewson’s request, a city panel on Wednesday voted to cut spending on the city’s controversial medium-security jail to free up money to hire mental health and social workers to aid police… But the move falls short of the goal of some criminal justice activists’ demands to close the workhouse, which the mayor and her public safety team insist is still needed…The board also:
• Approved spending $1.7 million on the first year of a five-year body camera contract for city police. The first of the 800 cameras are expected to be deployed by the end of July.
• Agreed to Comptroller Darlene Green’s request to shift $2.6 million from police overtime to neighborhood revitalization and workforce development programs, despite concerns expressed by Krewson and Budget Director Paul Payne.
• Endorsed a list of nonbinding “police accountability” steps sought by Green, although Krewson voted against one that backed “the equivalent of ending qualified immunity” for police. The mayor said she wanted to first run that issue by lawyers for the city.
Galloway: Standardize Charter Board Training
Press release: Oversight of Missouri's charter schools could improve if school board members were held to consistent training and qualification standards, an audit released today by State Auditor Nicole Galloway finds. The report on charter school oversight recommends that the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) work with school sponsors and legislators to put such standards into state law, and work with sponsors to establish more consistent review of the schools… The Auditor's review of charter school closures identified 23 of the 26 schools closed for the primary reason of either financial distress, board or administration mismanagement, or poor academic performance. DESE officials indicated those reasons are directly linked to ineffective board oversight.
Two MMJ Growers Start
Post-Dispatch reports that “Earth City-based BeLeaf Medical and Perryville-based Archimedes Medical Holdings LLC, are the first Missouri businesses officially permitted to grow marijuana… Sales of medical marijuana were expected to begin sometime this summer before facility inspections were delayed to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. BeLeaf plans to begin selling wholesale marijuana to dispensaries in the last few months of 2020, executive John Curtis said in a written statement…”
And
Scott Charton tweets: Perryville, Mo., outfit launching first legal marijuana grower in #SEMO - P’ville is home to three I-55 munchies must-stops: Hoeckele’s Doughnuts & Bakery, @Stonies_Sausage and Mary Jane’s Burgers & Brew. #moleg #mogov #mopot
eMailbag: Revenue Drop
It is seldom discussed that the main reason revenues are down so drastically is that there was no April 15th tax filing! Those fillings reflect pre-COVID income. There is no doubt FY20 revenues would not meet projections, but the emphasis on how low they are without mentioning no filing is somewhat misleading….
eMailbag: Cows o Mainstreet
In case you need some MOOOOre content for the day... “Cattle truck tips over on Highway 36, sending cattle loose near downtown St. Joseph…” See it here (No pictures, sorry).
$5K+ Contributions
Missourians for Healthcare - $7,294 from Missouri Hospital Association.
Missouri Democratic State Committee - $10,000 from Missouri Realtors PAC Inc.
National Health Corporation Missouri Federal Committee - $15,000 from National Health Corporation Political Action Committee.
Page PAC - $10,000 from Danny Ludeman.
Birthdays
Happy birthday to Rep. Jay Mosley.