MOScout Daily Update: Bell for Senate - Richey Kick-off - Parson Signs Trans Bills and more...
Quick Thursday update before a long weekend…
No Pass for Kunce: Bell for Senate
St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell announced yesterday, undermining what I thought would be a consensus-building endorsement for Lucas Kunce from the AFL-CIO.
Watch Bell’s announcement video here. It traces his political progression from the Ferguson riots to his current role.
· The quick rollout lacked pizzazz to generate immediate excitement, but Bell has a political resume, and will have some fundraising capacity. So it’s game on folks.
And
I missed that Rep. Alan Gray previously amended his campaign committee to run for secretary of state.
That brings our Dem Ticket so far to this…
· US Senate: Lucas Kunce / Wesley Bell
· Gov: Crystal Quade
· SOS: Peter Meridith / Alan Gray
· AG: Sarah Unsicker / Elad Gross
· Treasurer: ?
· LG: ?
Parson Signs Anti-Trans Bills
Press release: Today, in an effort to protect the integrity of female sports and Missouri children from potentially harmful experimental surgeries and treatment, Governor Mike Parson signed Senate Bill (SB) 39 and SB 49 into law.
· Sen. Greg Razer’s statement: “Missouri Republicans in the legislature have now given the government new power to control people they’ve never met, over an issue they don’t understand.”
What It Means
The guess is that this issue isn’t fully behind us yet. The expectation is that Republicans next session will work to remove the four-year sunset that was on SB 49.
Richey Preps Big Kickoff
Rep. Doug Richey has a mix of conservative influencers, local farmers, elected officials law enforcement officers, and past office holders listed on his state senate kick-off event invite (June 20).
It looks like his tagline is: Pastor. Veteran. Conservative.
eMailbag: Conflicts Everywhere
Regarding the conflicts of interest discussion, it is sometimes hard for even those close to a situation to know whether an action would be taken with or without the financial tie. If someone is upfront about their values and financial relationships and consistent in their positions, of course they will get support from those who agree and it's not "corrupt." It's when politicians/media folks/lobbyists seemingly change their minds or shift priorities and it's closely tied to when they get that financial/political support that folks rightly suspect corruption.
$5K+ Contributions
KC Citizens for Public Safety - $13,725 from Northland Strong PAC.
MBA River Heritage Region PAC - $10,000 from The Bank of Missouri.
UFCW Active Ballot Club-Missouri Federal Committee - $20,000 from United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Active Ballot Club (Washington DC).
Lobbyists Registrations
Nexus Group added Mighty Good Solutions.
Brooke Scott added Magna International.
Richard Brownlee deleted Service Contract Industry Council.
Ray Hefner deleted Plumbing Industry Council.
Carmen Schulze deleted Flotron & McIntosh.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Tricia Workman, Stephen Webber, and Ray Wagner.
Friday: Matthew Michelson, Lon Lowrey, Karen Englert, and Kevin Stamps.
Sunday: Rep. Gretchen Bangert, Steven Tilley, and Chuck Basye.
MOScout Schedule
I’m taking off Friday, Saturday, Sunday. See you Monday!