MOScout Daily Update: The New St. Charles Exec Race - Reed Gets Primary - Terror Warning in Benton County - Ethics Committee Meets and more…
Ehlmann Reups
St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann formally announced that he will run for a sixth term.
The reversal had been floated a couple of months ago. I wrote in August that Ehlmann was “nervous about the current field to replace him, and he’s considering reversing his decision… Ehlmann thinks that former Sen. Bill Eigel would be a bad fit as county executive. He’s concerned that Eigel wouldn’t switch from his campaign mode to governing as a chief executive.”
Reaction
Mike Elam said he would drop out of the race and support Ehlmann. But the other two candidates, Eigel, and Jason Law, offered spirited statements…
· Law: “My opponents have run in more than 30 elections so it’s no surprise they want to keep campaigning instead of filling out a job application. I’ll keep working to cut taxes, protect our streets, and deliver actual strong conservative leadership that creates real opportunities for our communities.”
· Eigel: “St. Charles County needs bold, conservative leadership to prevent the economic stagnation that has become standard with Steve Ehlmann in recent years. Property taxes have never been higher in St. Charles County, soulless apartment complexes are turning St. Charles into St. Louis City 2.0, and corporations are vying for natural resources for their data centers and getting rich off city-driven special tax abatements at the expense of the people…”
What It Means
This new three-way race doesn’t have a clear front-runner. While Ehlmann is a known commodity consistently chosen by St. Charles, he faces well-financed and spirited competition.
Eigel also starts with high name ID and has a nice war-chest, but has the negatives associated with his previous campaigns. Law, meanwhile, begins undefined. The determining factor may be how each candidate deploys their resources.
· Law wins: if Ehlmann and Eigel fix their fire on each other.
· Ehlmann wins: if Law never gains traction and Eigel’s negatives keep a ceiling on his numbers.
· Eigel wins: if it’s a “change election.”
Reed Gets Primary Challenge
It looks like Democratic Rep. Ray Reed will have a primary challenger next year – a serious one.
David Dimmitt formed a committee yesterday to run in House 83. See the filing here.
Dimmitt is an attorney and the mayor of Brentwood.
· One reader: Unusual for an incumbent rep to be primaried by the sitting mayor of his hometown.
Saucier Out At Treasurer’s Office
Front page Kurt Erickson article this morning about Treasurer Vivek Malek’s Director of Investments leaving that office. Read it here.
The state’s top investment officer has left his post after criticizing Republican state Treasurer Vivek Malek’s handling of a small business loan program. David Saucier, who was earning $192,000 per year as the director of the state’s $15 billion investment portfolio, left the treasurer’s payroll in September after he wrote a scathing memo expressing concern about whether a state-backed low-interest loan program had become too political under Malek.
· “As I look back on the last 12 months, I am saddened by my own perception that the MOBUCKS program has become more of a political tool than a financial means by which to stimulate the local economies,” Saucier wrote.
Arnold Ventures Adds Lobbyist
In the lobbyist registrations (below) Arnold Ventures added a lobbyist. Arnold Ventures has been active in the area of criminal justice. See their website here.
· From July: Arnold Ventures applauds the Missouri legislature and Gov. Mike Kehoe for taking important steps to increase the number of violent crimes solved in the state. These steps include bipartisan passage of a new violent crime clearance grant program and enhanced data collection and reporting requirements for tracking the state’s rate of unsolved violent crime under HB 225. They also include the recent launch of the “Missouri Blue Shield” program. Established as part of Executive Order 25 – 03, the Blue Shield program provides grant funds to communities that can be spent on new crime-solving technologies and enhanced training.
Ethics Committee Meets
The House Ethics Committee will meet today at 10AM. Portions of this meeting may be closed under the authority of Article III, Section 18 and 20 of the Missouri Constitution, House Rule 37, House Resolution 141 and RSMo 610.021 (1), (3), (13) and (14) to discuss HEC 25-02 and HEC 25-04.
Jockeying Starting for STL Sheriff?
With forces aiming to oust besieged St. Louis Sheriff Alfred Montgomery, it looks like folks are already jockeying to take his place. David Mahanna has started a Facebook page; I assume former sheriff Vernon Betts would like his badge back.
But it’s unclear who would get to make the appointment. KMOV quotes Attorney General Catherine Hanaway saying it’s the governor’s responsibility.
But state law seems to explicitly say it’s not. Whenever any vacancy, caused in any manner or by any means whatsoever, occurs or exists in any state or county office originally filled by election of the people, other than in the offices of lieutenant governor, state senator or representative, sheriff, or recorder of deeds in the City of St. Louis, the vacancy shall be filled by appointment by the governor…
· Governor Mike Kehoe says don’t worry, they’d work it out: “If it’s Mayor Spencer’s pick, I think she knows what St. Louis needs,” Gov Kehoe explained. “She would be great. If it’s my pick, I’ll work with the mayor to figure out who we think is the right person.”
The Case for Deregulating Parking
Show Me Institute’s Patrick Tuohey writes that its time to “scrap parking minimums.” Read it here.
The economics are straightforward. Requiring parking regardless of demand drives up costs, reduces flexibility, and wastes land. A one-size-fits-all rule—one space per unit, no matter the neighborhood—locks inefficiency into the system. Missouri has already started down this road. St. Louis exempts its Central Business District from parking minimums, showing that alternatives work here too. Still, much of the state relies on rigid, outdated rules rooted in mid-20th-century, car-first planning. These no longer reflect how people live or commute.
· The general rule of thumb: when the stakes of possible market failures are low (like someone having to walk an extra block) get government out of the way.
Terror Warning in Benton County
Benton County Sheriff Eric Knox warns of potential terrorist activity… Whether we want to admit it or not, terrorism is no longer a distant problem confined to large cities or foreign soil. It’s coming to small-town America and very likely within the next 24 months… Thousands upon thousands of hard-core Al-Qaeda extremists have poured across our borders. These people will fight to the death for their belief. These individuals are trained, committed, and willing to die for their cause… They will operate using highly trained small team tactics. They will assault simultaneously on multiple targets and set up to devastate first responders as they arrive to help. As Americans, and especially as citizens of rural communities like ours, we cannot afford to assume “it won’t happen here.” Vigilance is not paranoia, it’s responsibility… It is not my intention to cause you any anxiety or to change your mind about going to a public event. That is exactly what the terrorist wants! What I want you to do is be aware of your surroundings! The Constitution’s 2nd amendment guarantees your right to bear arms and as your Sheriff, I encourage you to do so, if you have not already…
· Benton County is represented by Sen. Sandy Crawford, and Reps. Jim Kalberloh and Rodger Reedy.
6 Words Every Killer Should Know: ‘I Feared for My Life, Officer’
Wall Street Journal reports that “it’s easier than ever to kill someone in America and get away with it. In 30 states, it often requires only a claim you killed while protecting yourself or others.
While Americans have long been free to use deadly force to defend themselves at home, so-called stand-your-ground laws in those 30 states extend legal protections to public places and make it difficult for prosecutors to file homicide charges against anyone who says they killed in self-defense.”
· Missouri is among those state with a stand-your-ground law.
Lobbyist Registrations
Emily Baldwin added Arnold Ventures LLC.
Heath Clarkston, Michael Henderson, and Doug Nelson deleted Local Investment Commission.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Sen. Mike Henderson, Cara Hoover, Ewell Lawson, Chip Casteel, and Gail McCann Beatty.