MOScout Daily Update: First Reaction to Congressional Maps - State of Emergency Expires - End of Year Money Moves and more...

Congressional Map Fallout

Rep. Dan Shaul filed legislation redrawing Missouri’s congressional districts according to the new census population data.  See HB 2117 here.  See the map here.  I did a quick round of queries over the weekend.  Here’s some immediate reaction.

Expect a brouhaha in the Senate.  Sens. Denny Hoskins and Bill Eigel took to Twitter to disparage the map. 

·         Hoskins: IMO, the proposed map by legislative leaders appears to be at best a 5.5-2.5 map now, and a possible 5R-3D map in the future. We can do better. 

·         Eigel: Why would @calebrowden  put Republicans in MO on a vote to give away 1-2 more Republican congressional seats? #moleg #7-1 #noMOrinos. 

·         This tracks with one observer’s view: I also think we are going to see quite a bit of pushback from the Conservative Caucus as they continue to advocate for a 7-1 divide and that’s going to be a headache for senate leadership early on in session. It may, unfortunately, set the tone for the rest of session before we are even a month in

Concern about CD-2: Echoing the Eigel/Hoskins critique, a couple folks want to reinforce Congresswoman Ann Wagner’s district. 

·         “Blaine Luetkemeyer is going to have to lose territory. Sam Graves doesn’t need Lincoln Co so they can start with that… All eyes should return back to helping Wagner.”  

·         And “Wagner’s district worries me. St Charles keeps slipping cycle to cycle. Gonna be harder long term for GOP to win” 

·         But others say it’s plenty strong and there’s no easy way to make the change: “Only way to make it way better is split STL County up three ways... Give her a split JeffCo and Franklin and she gains like .4% or something.”  So… we’ll see!

Good for Burlison, Bad for Moon? 

·         One southwest observe muses, “I’ll be curious if Eric Burlison pushes to approve this plan because it cuts Mike Moon voters out of the 7th and sends them to the 8th (in Taney).  Moon will obviously opposes based on that as well as because it’s a 6-2 map and not a 7-1 map.”

CD-8 is the Republican powerhouse district. 

·         One consultant (I didn’t check these numbers) says that “The 8th cast more Republican primary votes in 2020 (114K) than all of the other congressional districts (108 3CD, 105K 5CD, 102K 6CD, 105K 7CD)… It will now become a GOP powerhouse in any statewide primary.”

Parson Lets COVID Emergency Expire

Governor Mike Parson let the “state of emergency” designation over COVID expire.  See the press release here.

The move was disparaged by critics who note that COVID hospitalizations are currently on a fast upward trajectory, having more than doubled in the past month from just below 1,000 to over 2,400.  There is no sign that it will be peaking in the immediate future as the omnicron variant continues its spread.

On the other hand, Missourians, like everyone else are learning to live with COVID and it’s unclear whether the lack of a “state of emergency” will have much practical impact on the situation.

Money News

Some nuggets from the large contributions list (below)…

·         Rex Sinquefield continued doling out checks. Over the long weekend it was Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer who got the latest ($25K).  The motivation could be that Luetkemeyer as chair of the Judiciary Committee is an ally for the Sinquefield criminal justice reform agenda. Or it could be that some see Luetkemeyer as a future floor leader for the Senate.  Or it could be both.

·         We’re seeing more state representatives ante up ahead of the re-election cycle.  Before the end of the year Darrell Atchison ($15K), Bob Bromley ($25K), Richard Brown ($25K), and Randy Railsback ($10K) wrote personal checks to their campaign accounts.

·         Sen. Paul Wieland, is term limited.  Last year amended his campaign committee to show that he’s seeking a countywide position in Jefferson County.  There are no campaign contribution limits there.  So, the PAC which had previously supported his efforts JeffCo Now wrote Wieland’s campaign committee a big check ($14,900).  I’d guess we’ll see JeffCo Now terminated in the January report.

·         Former Rep. Kip Kendrick, running for Boone County Commissioner, wrote himself a $55K check.  He filed his January committee early and the big check helped him hit two milestone targets: $100K raised in the quarter and $200K on-hand.  He’s the early favorite in this race.

Wallingford Gets Revenue

“Governor Mike Parson announced Wayne Wallingford as the new Director of the Missouri Department of Revenue (DOR)… Wallingford served in the Missouri State Senate from 2013 - 2020 and currently serves as a member of the Missouri House of Representatives.  Wallingford has also served as the Chief People Officer for the McDonald's corporation in Southeast Missouri, as the Vice President of Operations for iSOLD IT in Central Missouri, and in various regional management positions for the Taco Bell corporation…”

·         Parson has had a penchant for appointing legislators and former legislators to positions.  One upside is that the folks are usually well vetted as opponents will have scoured their past during campaigns.  Also, it gives Parson a carrot to other legislators to play nice as they might ultimately be on the receiving end of an appointment someday too.

And

“During the press conference, Governor Parson also welcomed Valerie Huhn as a member of the Executive Cabinet and the next Director of the Missouri Department of Mental Health, effective January 1, 2022… Huhn has served as the Deputy Director of the Missouri Department of Mental Health since 2020 and has been a part of the DMH Senior Management Team since 2014. She has a vast background in state government, which began in 2000 as a Budget and Planning Analyst for the Office of Budget and Planning. Huhn brings leadership experience from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, the Office of Administration, and the Department of Social Services.”

R.I.P.

Two notable deaths over the long weekend…

Joplin Globe reports on the death of Ethelmae Humphreys. “Humphreys was the daughter of E.L. Craig, founder of what is today TAMKO Building Products, and worked for the company since 1948.  Her roles included sacking nails as a teenager in a Kansas City shingle plant. The year she graduated from high school and headed to college, her parents moved to Joplin to start TAMKO, in 1944. She graduated from the University of Kansas with a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts in 1948. But she later said for a Globe story that her father’s failing health and her sense of loyalty changed her course… At the age of 23 she was named executive vice president and took control of the day-to-day operations of TAMKO. She concluded her 73 years with the company as chairman emerita… At 91, she told the Globe she still drove to work most mornings, greeted by portraits of her late father and husband…”

Former Rep. Susan Carlson also passed away. “Susan was born in Lincoln, Nebraska on November 2, 1949, and grew up on the family farm outside Waverly, Nebraska. She graduated from Cottey College (which later conferred its Distinguished Alumni Award on her) and the University of Nebraska, taught high school for a year, and then earned her law degree from the University of Nebraska School of Law. Following Law School, Susan served as a Law Clerk for the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in St. Louis, where she met [her husband Gerry Greiman]… Susan later was a founding member of Van Amburg, Chackes, Carlson & Spritzer, and spent many years practicing law in St. Louis, representing clients in various types of civil litigation, including civil rights, clergy abuse matters and discrimination cases. In 2010, Susan had the honor of being elected to the Missouri House of Representatives, where she served from 2011 to 2013… She uniquely combined smarts, spunk and compassion. Her constant advice to her children was Be Smart, Have Fun…”  A funeral service will be held today at 1PM at the Central Reform Congregation in St. Louis.

New Committees

Missouri Federation for Children PAC was formed. Its treasurer is James Thomas.  See the paperwork here.

3912 Leadership PAC was formed.  Its treasurer is James “Jamie” Murphy. The PAC is to support Rep. Michael O'Donnell. See the paperwork here.

Lobbyists Registrations

Trent Watson added American Heart Association; and deleted Zoll Services, LLC.

Nathan Nickolaus added City of Fayette.

Jean Evans added Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, and Washington University.

Nancy Giddens, Shannon Cooper, and Joshua Mitchell Davis added Distilled Spirits Council of The United States.

Christopher Schoeman added Active and Retired Missouri State Employees (ARMSE).

Tracy King and Brittany Robbins added Association of Active and Retired Missouri State Employees.

Garrett Webb added Association of Active and Retired Missouri State Employees, and MoCann Trade.

Caroline Hoover and Dustin Backes added Lenovo Group.

Gene Wiseman added Gene Wiseman.

Chris Liese, James Foley, Andrew Foley, and Tony Dugger added Missouri Primary Care Association; and deleted OneMain Financial Inc., and CVS Health.

Gary Burton deleted OneMain Financial Inc., and CVS Health.

Neal English deleted CVS Health.

Richard AuBuchon deleted Missouri United School Insurance Council, RSB III, LLC, and Aurora Organic Dairy.

David Winton deleted Jones Family Investments LLC.

Salvatore Panettiere deleted BusPatrol America LLC, and University of Missouri-Kansas City Trustees.

Jeff Grisamore deleted SMJ Real Estate Inc., Ozark Investments LLC, VVG Investments LLC.

Jason Zamkus deleted Fairway Management.

LuAnn Madsen deleted Missouri Community Action Network.

Lynne Schlosser deleted Show Me Cannabis.

Mary Phillips and Brian Treece deleted Missouri State Orthopaedic Association.

Richard Brownlee deleted Martin Marietta Kansas City LLC, Missouri Retailers For Fair Competition Inc., Cable ONE, and Google LLC and its affiliates.

$5K+ Contributions

Citizens for Atchison - $15,000 from Darrell Atchison.

Committee To Elect Bob Bromley - $25,000 from Robert Bromley.

Friends Of Richard Brown - $25,000 from Richard Brown.

Railsback for Missouri - $10,000 from Randy Railsback.

Tony PAC (pro-Luetkemeyer) - $25,000 from Rex A Sinquefield.

Wieland Now - $14,900 from Jeffco Now.

Friends Of Kip Kendrick - $55,000 from Kip Kendrick.

McCulloch for Judge - $50,000 from Trisha McCulloch.

NEMO Leadership PAC (pro-O’Laughlin) - $25,000 from Herzog Contracting Corp.

Missouri Senate Campaign Committee - $6,000 from Enterprise Holdings Inc. PAC.

Majority Forward - $15,000 from Centene Management Company LLC.

House Democratic Campaign Committee - $15,000 from Centene Management Company LLC.

Together KC - $20,000 from The Civic Council of Greater Kansas City.

Page PAC - $10,000 from Andrew Taylor.

Page PAC - $10,000 from Medical Transportation Management, Inc.

American Dream PAC (pro-Kehoe) - $12,500 from St. Louis Auto Dealers Association.

Believe in Life and Liberty - BILL PAC (pro-Eigel) - $10,000 from Missouri Soybean Association.

Believe in Life and Liberty - BILL PAC - $10,000 from MO Republican Attorneys for Civil Justice PAC.

Vote Jeff Cox - $40,000 from Jeff Cox.

Dorsett for Judge - $25,000 from Anthony Dorsett.

Birthdays

Happy birthday to DaRon McGee.