MOScout Daily Update: Fireman Eigel - STL Gets Tough - Money Watch and more...
BREAKING…
Former Senate Pro Tem Tom Dempsey hits a hole-in-one. Hole #5 (160 yards) at the Cuba Lakes Golf Club. He hit it with a 5 iron.
Eigel the Fireman
Sens. Bill Eigel and Nick Schroer were filmed playing with flame-blowers, perhaps pretending to be burning books. See it here.
The video has gone viral. It’s at 18.2 million (18,200,000) views as of my writing this morning.
I’m given to believing that most of those views are by outraged Democrats, but for sure there are some Republican base voters in that number as well.
House Minority Leader Crystal Quade – who, like Eigel, is running for governor – expressed her disapproval: “Watching lawmakers use flamethrowers to intimidate folks they disagree with is a jarring reminder of how they view their jobs as a joke, while real people suffer from their cruelty. We deserve a government that’s going to work to solve real problems, not make political stunts.”
What It Means
While it might be better for democracy is everyone had to attend a gubernatorial debate before voting in that 2024 election, the reality is that candidates use events, “stunts” and imagery to communicate to the voters. This reminds me of Eric Greitens’ machine gun ad.
Eigel seems to have a natural talent to provoke and agitate.
· It’s exactly these types of stunts that could propel Eigel’s candidacy – and in the process I think taking votes and momentum away from front-runner Jay Ashcroft.
And
Eigel was briefly suspended from Twitter. But declared around midnight he was back with this tweet…
STL Gets Tough?
A pair of recent articles from the Post-Dispatch indicate a tougher stance against lawbreakers in the City of St. Louis….
· New Prosecutor = More Charges: “St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore’s office charged more than twice as many criminal cases during his first three months in office as his predecessor did during the same period last year, according to a Post-Dispatch analysis of court records. In an interview this week, Gore said the surge is largely attributable to his office reviewing and charging cases as they are applied for by police rather than putting them in a queue, and prioritizing lower-level offenses that Gore calls ‘quality-of-life’ crimes. Attorneys have also been steadily working through a backlog of pending charge applications left over from when Gore took office in the spring...”
· Red-Light Cameras: “Officials are working to bring red-light cameras back to the city following a rough few years of reckless driving, red-light-running and high-profile deaths on St. Louis roads. Mayor Tishaura O. Jones announced the plan alongside other officials at a press conference Monday morning. ‘We’re looking forward to enhancing our traffic enforcement beyond traffic stops,’ she said. The announcement marks officials’ latest push to reverse a troubling rise in traffic fatalities since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Seventy-eight people were killed on city streets last year, the second-highest total in two decades…”
What It Means
Last year St. Louis crime – and the flailing of the circuit attorney’s office – occupied a lot of attention during Jefferson City’s legislative session.
· With an election year coming up, one would naturally expect the ritual beating up on St. Louis to reoccur.
· But these moves undermine the caricature of city officials shrugging at criminal activity, and could soften the scrutiny the city faces.
Money Watch
September 30 marks the end of the current fundraising quarter. We’ll see more big checks as we approach that deadline. In today’s listing (below)…
· Businessman, and former gubernatorial candidate, John Brunner tossed $25K to Andrew Koenig (running for SOS).
· Trial attorneys Simmons Hanly Conroy back Speaker Dean Plocher (running for LG) as does Missouri Law Enforcement For Good Government, the PAC that’s pushing for the state takeover of the St. Louis police force.
· And The Renco Group Inc gave to $50K to AG Andrew Bailey. Renco founder Ira Rennert is a big Trump donor, and Renco owns the infamous Doe Run Company.
PSC Watch
Press release: The Missouri Public Service Commission has canceled a hearing in this matter, scheduled for September 19, 2023. On September 13, 2023, the Public Service Commission Staff filed a motion to suspend the proposed tariffs. On September 14, 2023, the Office of the Public Counsel asked the Commission to cancel the hearing stating parties do not have adequate time to prepare for the hearing. On September 15, 2023, Renew Missouri responded advising the Commission to reject the tariffs.
“After review of these pleadings, the Commission concludes that it should cancel the September 19, 2023 hearing,” said the Commission.
On September 8, 2023, Evergy Metro, Inc. d/b/a Evergy Missouri Metro and Evergy Missouri West, Inc. d/b/a Evergy Missouri West (collectively Evergy) filed an application with the Missouri Public Service Commission requesting modifications to change its Time-of-Use (TOU) Implementation Program tariffs.
Lobbyists Registrations
Ryan DeBoef and Jay Hahn added Fairness Missouri LLC.
$5K+ Contributions
Liberty and Justice PAC (pro-Bailey) - $50,000 from The Renco Group Inc (New York, NY).
Freedom's Promise PAC (pro-Koenig) - $25,000 from John Brunner.
Missouri United (pro-Plocher) - $10,000 from Simmons Hanly Conroy (Alton, IL).
Missouri United - $8,000 from Missouri Law Enforcement For Good Government PAC.
Committee for Liberty (pro-Ashcroft) - $7,175 from David Kiersznowski (Mission Hills, KS).
MR PAC - $39,500 from Schnuck Markets, Inc.
Unite Here Tip Missouri State and Local Fund - $10,000 from Unite Here TIP State & Local Fund (Per capita Dues) (New York, NY).
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Rachel Bringer, Michael McGhee, and Alex Salsman.