MOScout Daily Update: Rumors of Ruth Appt - Schatz Intro - 6 GOP Sens Eye Higher Office - Schmitt Sues SPS - Clark Hearts Whataburger and more...
Ruth Appointment?
Rumors are circulating that Rep. Becky Ruth is in line for appointment. It would shift the contours of the race for the Jefferson County state senate seat.
Ruth has had the “moderate lane.” The expectation was that she would receive support from organized labor and the school establishment groups. The other candidates were side-eying her, worried that as they split the conservative base, she could muster a plurality. That scenario is less likely now, although another candidate could emerge between now and filing.
The rumor is that Ruth will become the next Director of the Office of Child Advocacy. One Jeff City insider tells me the rumor “is definitely true. She is replacing Kelly Schultz... one of the most respected and hard-working child advocates in MO. It is a loss for our state…”
Schatz Intro
Sen. Dave Schatz released an introductory video for his US Senate bid. See it here. He’s positioning himself as a unpolitician – not slick, not a career pol, not interested in speechifying. The assumption has been that Schatz’ sponsorship of the gas tax is a killer in the end. But Team Schatz is calculating that even if a majority of Republican voters dislike the tax, he doesn’t need a majority of votes in a six-way primary.
Definitely a campaign to watch…
Next Session Senate
Things could get complicated inside the Senate Republican Caucus next session. There might be a few agendas at work as folks eye their primaries for higher office. Here’s where we are right now…
Rick Brattin – running for Congress.
Eric Burlison – running for Congress.
Mike Moon – running for Congress.
Bob Onder – running for St.Charles County Executive.
Dave Schatz – running for US Senate.
Paul Wieland – running for TBA Jefferson County office.
Schmitt Sue Springfield Schools
Springfield News Leader reports that “Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed a lawsuit against Springfield Public Schools on Tuesday, alleging the district had violated the Sunshine Law in responding to his office's request for ‘records relating to critical race theory and anti-racist teaching.’”
· Schmitt's lawsuit comes a month after Rep. Craig Fishel, a Springfield Republican, filed a Sunshine Law request seeking three years' worth of emails and documents for any reference to critical race theory and 21 other phrases. The district requested at least $170,000 in response, prompting Fishel to issue a news release accusing them of using "worst case scenarios" for their estimate.
· Springfield Public School’s reaction: "SPS is accountable to taxpayers and to the educational needs of our 24,000 students. As a result, SPS should and will seek appropriate reimbursement. In the meantime, any deliberate misrepresentation of the district’s work by elected officials must end."
And
I don’t know if Elad Gross drinks coffee or not, but if he does, he definitely spit it up when he read about Schmitt’s Sunshine lawsuit. Gross has been trying to get documents from the attorney general office for month. See his twitter reaction here.
KC COVID Trial First in a Wave
Wall Street Journal reports that “businesses suing insurers for billions in losses from Covid-19 shutdowns are entering a new phase: jury trials.”
· [L]ast month, a jury in federal court in Kansas City, Mo., heard a restaurateur duke it out with a unit of Cincinnati Financial Corp. in a case without the virus-specific exclusion. It was the first coverage dispute, out of more than 1,800 Covid-19 lawsuits filed so far, to reach jurors, according to a Covid-19 litigation-tracking effort at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.
· While Cincinnati Financial still won, the trial signals that policyholders may be entering a new phase, in which their cases survive early motions to dismiss and get a fuller hearing than they have generally gotten so far.
· In the Missouri case, an epidemiologist for KC Hopps Ltd. used data on the virus’s spread in the Kansas City area to argue that the virus likely was inside the company’s bars and restaurants, rendering them contaminated. An expert for the insurer countered that the epidemiologist hadn’t specifically tested the premises.
· The insurer’s lawyers cited an “ordinance or law” exclusion, which they said excluded losses stemming from the government-ordered shutdowns.
· The jury’s verdict form provided no details as to its reasoning in deciding for Cincinnati.
Lobbyist in Line
At the opening of Whataburger… government relations executive Jackie Clark. Clark is in line at 6AM for the 11Am opening, but she’s prepared with her phones and laptop and chargers. She calls Whataburger “the perfect franchise.” See here interview here.
Clark represents Holcim (US), Inc. and Aggregate Industries Management, Inc. (AKA LafargeHolcim USA).
Help Wanted
Johnson & Johnson seeks Director, US State Government Affairs. “To advocate at the state level, and as needed, at the local level on behalf of Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc., our operating companies, and the patients we serve in the states of Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma. The successful candidate must reside in one of those states.”
Lobbyists Registrations
Gamble & Schlemeier added Code.org.
Mike Gibbons and Tricia Workman added American Coatings Association Inc., CNH Industrial c/o MultiState Associates Inc., and John Deere c/o MultiState Associates Inc.
Andy Arnold added Barkley Inc, and deleted Steven R Carroll & Associates.
David Sweeney added St. Louis Parking, Premier Parking of Missouri LLC, Union Service Parking, and Lodging Hospitality Management.
Jeffrey Aboussie deleted American Concrete Paving Association, ACCEL Entertainment Gaming LLC, and Professional Business Providers.
$5K+ Contributions
House Democratic Campaign Committee - $7,500 from HCA Missouri Good Government Fund.