MOScout Daily Update: Gray Retiring - O'Laughlin Hearts Patterson - Catalyst Lands WWT - Dogan, McCreery on Dr. Phil and more...

Gray Retires from Polsinelli

Polsinelli announced the formation of a government relations arm, Polsinelli Strategic Solutions LLC.  In the announcement, a couple of nuggets…

·       First, the new group will be led by Susan Henderson Moore.  She started her career in Senate Research, and has become a lobbying force in the past decade.  She’s joined by Cara Alexnader Stark, who started her capitol career staffing the House.

·       Second, the press release saying they’ll be enlisting veteran lobbyist Mike Grote as a consultant. 

·       Last, but not least, Rodney Gray is retiring.  Gray has been a fixture around Jefferson City politics and lobbying for decades – and he’s not even that old!

O’Laughlin Hearts Patterson

On Facebook, Senate Floor Leader Cindy O’Laughlin sound optimistic after a meeting with House Floor Leader Jon Patterson…

·       Today I had meetings, meetings, meetings not all of which were smiles and celebrations ……BUT…I did have a great meeting with Representative Jon Patterson, Floor Leader on the House side…

·       We are well suited to work together I think; this being because he is very congenial, willing to talk things through and we both are dedicated to a good session. We spoke of the priorities of both chambers (most of which align pretty nearly identically) and we agreed we’d each do what we could to advance bills that our chambers pass and send over to the other side so to speak…

·       I spoke about my desire to keep the work flow smooth by finding common ground and working out any sticking points and he seems well suited to do the same on his end. Our side is a little trickier as individual senators hold more power than individual representatives but we are both committed to working hard to bring people together. I am looking for early success and I think he is too. It could be a great session…

World Wide Hires Catalyst

Just about a year after World Wide Technology ended a long relationship with their lobbyist Flotron & McIntosh, they’ve hired Catalyst as their new representatives in Jefferson City.

Danny Pfeifer is the head of Catalyst (see their website here).  Their team in Jefferson City includes Alex Eaton, Becky Lohmann, Greg Porter, Jasmine Wells, and David Willis.

·       With over $11 billion in revenues, World Wide Technology is among the largest private companies in the United States, and the largest black-owned business.

·       Its founder David Stewart is one the state’s biggest Republican donors.

Reps on Dr. Phil

Reps. Shamed Dogan and Tracy McCreery were guests on the Dr. Phil show yesterday.  See it here.

·       Patty Prewitt is currently serving a life sentence after being convicted of murdering her husband, Bill, 38 years ago. The now 73-year-old insists she’s innocent – and has many people supporting her bid for clemency.

·       Brian Reichart, Prewitt’s attorney, says he believes clemency is the only option for her. “We’re hoping that clemency is a way for Patty to be reunited with the family, and we’re hoping that Governor Mike Parson of Missouri finally has the courage to act,” Reichart says.

·       [H]ear from two Missouri state representatives, Shamed Dogan (R) and Tracy McCreery (D), who have spearheaded a group of bipartisan lawmakers to sign a letter to the Governor begging for mercy.

Police Chief News

·       St. Louis City Mayor Tishaura Jones announced the new police chief, Robert Tracy.  Read the Post-Dispatch article here.

·       Meanwhile, Springfield News Leader reports that “Branson's police chief and a sergeant have resigned following the launch of an internal investigation. Chief of Police Jeff Matthews and Sgt. Pat Gray were placed on administrative leave in October, according to a statement from the city of Branson. The nature of the internal investigation was not disclosed… Both Matthews and Gray tendered their resignations immediately to the city prior to the completion of the formal process, according to the city.”

Lobbyists Registrations

Catalyst added Center for the Rights of Abused Children, World Wide Technology, and Earnin.

Sharon Geuea Jones added Dream Corps.    

Tim O’Connell added Mechanical Dynamics & Analysis LLC.

Gunnar See added Heidner Properties Inc, and Husch Blackwell Strategies.         

Dustin Backes added Pear Therapeutics (US), Inc.; and deleted Lenovo Group.

$5K+ Contributions

Missouri Democratic State Committee - $8,886 from John Levy (Naples, FL)

Birthdays

Happy birthday to Ric Telhorst.