MOScout Daily Update: More Reps Eye Speaker's Race - Hoskin Announces - Drebes on Conflicts of Interest - AFL-CIO for Kunce?? and more...

Patterson Challenge Talk Heats Up

Word is that Reps. Brad Hudson and Jeff Knight are “both weighing late entries into the Speaker Designee race against Jon Patterson.”

The chatter is a symptom of vulnerability that Patterson has projected after a session marked by floor mistakes, and the feeling by some Republicans that Patterson was too soft on Dems.

But…

·       Reminder of Reality: Since the Republicans took control, no one has ever beaten the frontrunner for Speaker designee (a sitting Majority Leader or Pro Tem).

And…

·       One lobbyist: “While others think about running for speaker, Patterson’s doing the actual work that wins favor with members – helping them fundraise.”

The smart money remains on Patterson.  As one building denizen notes, “You learn a helluva lot running for leadership. There’s an advantage to having done it successfully once already. Just ask Speaker Richey.”

Rumorville: AFL-CIO for Kunce?

Rumor is that the AFL-CIO will be endorsing Lucas Kunce for US Senate. 

What It Means

Organized labor is a core constituency of the Democratic party and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations is the big daddy of unions.

If true, its endorsement will solidify Kunce’s place as the Democratic nominee to face Senator Josh Hawley next year.

Hoskins Announces

Sen. Denny Hoskins officially announced for secretary of state.

From the release…

·       “We need someone in the Secretary of State’s office who will fight for Missouri and stand up to ensure the integrity of our election system.  I am proud to have supported legislation to protect Missourians from voter fraud and make our state’s elections among the most transparent in the nation.”

·       “As Secretary of State, I will make it a priority to get government bureaucrats out of the way.  I will work to streamline the process for businesses to file with the state and reduce the burden of paperwork that can all too often trip up small businesses.”

·       “As a veteran, I will never back down when our conservative values are on the line, and I hope to have the opportunity to serve the people of Missouri as our next Secretary of State.”

Conflicts Everywhere

There’s a story you’ll read a couple times a session.  It’s basically: this politician took money from this special interest, and s/he’s doing XYZ to help them.

It’s a storyline guarantee to draw howls and outrage.  Average folks don’t have tens of thousands to throw around. And big checks are followed by friendly action seems corrupt as hell.

I pretty much never write these kinds of stories.  Yes, there’s an obvious conflict of interest that politicians’ campaigns are funded by folks their actions will influence.

But it’s just baked into the system we have.  You take hundreds of checks; you vote hundreds of times.  It’s a mathematical certainty that things will looks shady.  That’s the system.

And it’s hardly the only conflict of interest we have happening daily inside the building…

·       With a part-time legislature, legislators mostly have outside employers who may benefit from actions taken.   

·       Often the legislators with expertise in a subject area will become chairs of those committees (insurance, banking, education, etc), but then they’re easily accused of just acting for the industry in which they’ve been emmeshed their whole career.

·       Contract lobbyists can have two clients with rival interests on the same bill.  I’ve seen the same firm testify on both sides of the issue before.

·       And in the final weeks especially, contract lobbyists will have some clients who would benefit from them sowing dissension or egging on a filibuster, while others would want to avoid a logjam.

·       Me – I’m not exception to these conflicts of interest.  I write about lots of folks who send me a check each year to subscribe.  And unlike a traditional newspaper, there’s no separation of duties. I’m the MOScout writer, sales rep, and consumer service agent. 

I don’t know how to resolve these seemingly inherent conflicts of interest in our system, but I know it’s lazy to assume everyone is corrupt – and it’s too cynical for my taste.

Help Wanted

Beyond Housing seeks Director of Government Relations and Community Engagement. “The Director of Government Relations and Community Engagement (GRACE) is responsible for directing the organization’s comprehensive community engagement, public policy, and local government initiatives. The Director will report to the Deputy COO, with additional reporting to and support from the President/CEO on local government issues.”  See the ad here.

Alzheimer’s Association seeks Advocacy Manager.  “The Missouri Advocacy Manager serves as the principal staff for grassroots advocacy efforts in Missouri and is responsible for grassroots engagement and volunteer recruitment in support of the Association’s state and federal public policy priorities. The Advocacy Manager reports to Director, State Affairs and represents the Alzheimer’s Association's Greater Missouri Chapter. The Advocacy Manager’s fundamental role is to work with and through advocates to strengthen the Association’s overarching relationships with Missouri state and federal policymakers and their in-state staff, while state and federal government affairs colleagues focus on policy development and lobbying activities in the state capitol and in Washington, D.C.”  See the ad here.

Delta Waterfowl seeks Manager of Government Affairs – Pacific Flyway.  “The Manager of Government Affairs – Pacific Flyway will serve as a key member of our policy team in achieving a broad range of strategic objectives for ducks, duck habitat and duck hunters. This position will assist in providing direct strategic support on a number of priority policy issue areas primarily focused on state and local policy forums while providing assistance to further Delta’s national policy priorities.”  See the ad here.

New Committees

·       Friends of Dave Soto was formed. See the paperwork here.  Dave Soto is a Republican running for House 145 where Rep. Rick Francis is termed.

·       29th Democratic Senatorial Committee was formed. Christopher Foster is the treasurer.  This is Sen. Mike Moon’s district.

·       Cultivating Freedom PAC was formed. See the paperwork here.  It’s an IE PAC supporting Doug Richey.  Its treasurer is Gregg Keller.

Birthdays

Happy birthdays to Rep. Maggie Nurrenbern, and Nimrod Chapel.

MOScout Schedule

FYI – Summer dayz… I’m taking off Friday, Saturday, Sunday this week.