MOScout Weekender: 911 Worker Shortage - Basye Gone Crazy - New Abortion Divide - Hallway Sees Speaker Patterson - WWTW and more...

911 Dispatcher Shortage

The impact of our labor shortage is seen as St. Charles grapples with vacancies among its 911 dispatchers.  See the press release here.

·       The emergency bill being introduced before the Council Monday night would authorize the county to contract with  Moetivations, Inc., which provides certified 9-1-1 dispatchers to staff the phones to relieve the pressures of short-staffing on existing call takers.

·       A shortage of 9-1-1 dispatchers is a national trend, and the county has been working to recruit more, offering the highest starting pay of any dispatch agency in the St. Louis region.

·       Currently, the St. Charles County 9-1-1 system is 10 dispatchers short of its full staff of 44 positions. Four recently hired dispatchers are currently in training.

Basye Questions Webber’s Military Record

Maybe someone check on former Rep. Chuck Basye…

See his exchange with former Rep. Stephen Webber here. It’s a doozy.  

·       Webber, who served in Iraq, is running in Senate 19.

New Abortion Divide

My thanks to the reader who pointed out that Donald Trump’s position on abortion is the same as that of Senator Josh Hawley and… Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe.

Trump supports exceptions for rape, incest and danger to the life of the mother.

Why It Matters: While some have portrayed Kehoe’s openness to amending Missouri law to allow the exceptions as a “RINO” position, it’s more and more the mainstream Republican position.  The total-ban stance – which Missouri Right to Life and Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft hold – is becoming a minority position.

Remington/MOScout Poll

No Remington/MOScout poll this week.

MOScout’s Hallway Index: Speaker-Designate

I asked lobbyists, “Who will win the speaker-designate vote at next month's House Republican Caucus?”    23 replies…

RESULTS

1. Bill Falkner… 4%

2. Jon Patterson… 87%

3. Someone else… 9%

Sample of Comments

·       I have a better chance of being elected Speaker than Falkner.

·       No contest. It’s Patterson

·       Patterson and it’s not even close.

·       I feel like I am in the dark, because for you to be asking this question must mean there is some doubt, and I have heard none.

Who Won the Week?

Republican Consultants – Another week of interesting announcements and rumors about 2024 make it clear that there will be no shortage of hot races and primaries popping over the next 12 months.

Never-Question-Trumpers – According to the last MOScout/Remington poll, this is the majority position within the Missouri Republican Party.  56% of Republican think, even after his fourth indictment, that Trump has done nothing wrong.  And another 29% shrug that even if he did, he shouldn’t be prosecuted.

Andrew Bailey – Continues to jump into the spotlight on Republican hot-button issues.  Scored a win to prevent an injunction against implementation of the “SAFE” legislation restricting gender-affirming care.  And fired a warning shot at St. Louis City’s move to regulate firearms.

Ginger Gooch – The judge from the Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, appears to be the favorite among court-watchers to join the MO Surpeme Court when Parson makes his pick.

Find a downloadable version here.

$5K+ Contributions

Majority Forward - $10,124 from IBEW Local # 124 Voluntary Political Fund.

H-PAC (pro-Houx) - $10,000 from MADA Dealers Interested in Government.

Birthdays

Happy birthdays to Stephanie Bell, Chris Limbaugh, Ray Salva, Anne Zerr, and Robert Butler.

Sunday: Scott Swain, Kit Crancer, Austin Walker, Tom Flanigan, Garry Olson, and Jefferson Thomas.