MOScout Daily Update: Jeff City = Jeff Circus - Richey Call for Resignation - Hamra In - Corley v Ashcroft - Gaetz Contra Smith and more...
Jeff City = Jeff Circus
The moment was surreal.
The Speaker of the House – who is under fire for double-dipping, and is apparently considering hiring a former speaker who pleaded guilty to an assault misdemeanor – was being interviewed on a social media talk show, based in a building thousands of dollars in arrears in taxes, by someone who was the bagman for a cash payment to a governor’s former mistress’ lawyer, but they were interrupted by a phone call from another former speaker who resigned after steamy text messages surfaced between him and an intern.
The interview was about ethics. And they mainly agreed it was all the fault of the media.
Richey Calls for Resignation
Rep. Doug Richey became the third House Republican to call for Speaker Dean Plocher to resign. See his statement here.
Dean Plocher should resign as Speaker of the House for the good of the state and the Republican Caucus… The unfortunate reality is that these violations were not a simple singular mistake. Mistakes happen; patterns of this nature can not be tolerated given our Speaker’s authority and responsibility…
And
The House Ethics Committee meets at 10AM, though its unlikely any information will emerge from its proceedings today.
Hamra Enters
Press release: Missouri businessman and entrepreneur Mike Hamra today announced his candidacy for governor of Missouri. Mike, a Democrat and a father of four, currently serves as CEO of Hamra Enterprises, a Springfield-based family owned company that employs nearly 2,000 Missourians and more than 7,400 people nationwide…
Mike’s campaign will focus on delivering for the people of Missouri, including:
· Strengthening our workforce
· Helping small businesses grow
· Training workers to attract the high-wage, high tech jobs of the future
· Refocusing education to produce the next generation of innovators
· Lowering the cost of raising a family
· Finding new ways to make childcare and healthcare more affordable
· Restoring the right for women to make their own reproductive healthcare decisions
See his introductory video here.
Corley v Ashcroft
Jamie Corley, the driving force behind the co-called middle ground reproductive rights initiative petitions, has decided to challenge Jay Ashcroft’s ballot language in court.
The mighty Jason Rosenbaum has the story. Read it here.
· Corley tells me she’s charging ahead: “Political efforts to stall us from gathering signatures are a fool’s errand at taxpayer expense. In the next few weeks we will set up a PAC with the MEC, choose a version to circulate and begin gathering signatures.”
Smith-Gaetz Scuffle
A tweet from Congressman Matt Gaetz was buzzing around Missouri pols. Gaetz attacked Congressman Jason Smith, saying he’s “lives a lie.”
“There might not be another member of congress who lives a lie everyday more than Jason Smith, and Jason Smith knows exactly what I’m talking about… So Jason I would check yourself before you come at me with any accusation of being dishonest about what I say when you’re dishonest about how you live…”
Another Brown Suit
Riverfront Times reports on a second lawsuit aimed at Sen. Ben Brown’s restaurant business. Read it here.
· A second person is now suing a Missouri state senator saying he failed to pay the wages required by law to employees of his Chesterfield restaurant…
· [Amber Beem] alleges she earned $14 an hour, despite being promised she'd earn $16 an hour up to 40 hours a week and then $24 an hour for overtime. Entire days that she worked "disappeared" from her timesheet, her suit says…
· Both are represented by Richard Voytas, an attorney in St. Louis.
Lobbyists Registrations
Chris Gaines added Missouri Council of School Administrators, and Missouri Association of School Administrators.
$5K+ Contributions
Missouri Senate Campaign Committee - $10,000 from HCA Missouri Good Government Fund.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Kurt Schaefer, Stacey Jones Preis, and Jay Houghton.