MOScout Daily Update: Bean Formally Announces Pro Tem Bid - New Ads in Senate 4 - Where Cindy is Sending $$$ - Ehlmann Eyes Turnout and more…
Be aware… last day of the fundraising quarter, and last day of the fiscal year. We’ll probably get the governor’s line-item vetoes today.
Bean Formally Announces Leadership Bid
Sen. Jason Bean sent a letter to his fellow Republican Senate Caucus members officially announcing his bid to be President Pro Tem next session and outlining his vision. See the letter here.
Highlights…
Much of all legislation today is initiated, written, and promoted by lobbyists, not senators. Too often the agenda of special interests interferes with members’ priorities. My priority is… to protect senators’ priorities and not allow special interests to derail our agenda or divide our caucus.
My goals include…
· A review of management, procedures, and rules of the Senate to make the legislative process more efficient for members.
· Build clear communication and structure negotiations with the House to protect Senate positions through the legislative process.
· Move the budget process much earlier in session for both bodies to allow better deliberation and avoid last-minute bottlenecks.
In my view, a leader is someone who puts their caucus members first, directs with integrity, keeps their word, and does not quit when times are tough.
Bean is the only declared candidate for the top spot. The Caucus traditionally votes on its leadership right after the November elections.
Butz Hammers Away at Mitten Record
The latest ad from the pro-Steve Butz PAC continues to hammer Gina Mitten for her record as an administrative law judge. See it here.
How fast does Gina Mitten respond to a crisis? Well, as a workers’ comp judge, Gina Mitten took 180, 260, even up to 488 days to give desperate Missouri workers and their families answers. And when the Department of Labor fired Mitten, they called her incompetent, inadequate, and inefficient. So, how fast do you think Gina Mitten will act when it matters most in the state senate? Exactly. We can't afford to wait on Gina Mitten.
And the ad highlights a website – WhereWasGinaMitten – that shows her riding an airplane. Apparently, she was traveling and missed votes as a representative.
Meanwhile
Team Mitten released a digital ad hitting Butz for his stance on abortion. See that ad here.
Butz voted with Republicans for a total ban on abortions. He wants to punish doctors and harm women who need care. Gina Mitten has fought for our rights her whole life. On August 4th, she needs your vote to protect abortion rights and fight for us in the state senate.
O’Laughlin PAC Helps Favorites
Outgoing Senate Pro Tem Cindy O’Laughlin’s PAC, NEMO Leadership PAC, has been writing checks to the PACs of her favored candidates in the August primary.
Here are the checks we’ve seen in June from her PAC…
· $50,000 – Show Me Values PAC – Jill Carter in Senate 32.
· $35,000 - Rural Missouri Values PAC – Ed Lewis in Senate 18.
· $25,000 – Rocker P Brand PAC – Brad Pollitt in Senate 28.
· $25,000 – Beverly PAC – Mike Jones in Senate 34.
· $10,000 – Cut the Bull PAC – Mike Deering in Senate 10.
· $50,000 – Let's Go Brandon PAC – anti-Blue in Senate 18 and anti-Skelton in Senate 6.
Mosley Spoiler?
West News Magazine reports on a St. Louis County Executive forum. Read it here. “A third Democratic candidate, Angela Walton Mosley, did not participate in the forum.”
That line struck me. I think it will confirm suspicions among many observers that Mosley isn’t running much of a campaign, but entered the race simply to needle Sen. Brian Williams and maybe draw some votes away from his base.
Rosenbaum Interviews Ehlmann
The mighty Jason Rosenbaum interviewed St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann. See the interview here. A couple of nuggets…
· Ehlmann says he got back into the race to stop Eigel.“I felt, given the people who were running, especially former Senator Eigel, it was necessary for me just to defend everything that my team has been able to accomplish over the last 20 years.”
· Data center moratorium coming.“We probably are going to do some sort of a moratorium and give us time to study it… once you have a specific project, then 90% of the people who show up are the neighbors. And we know the neighbors are always going to be against it.”
· Ehlmann sees turnout as key to race.“We had 90,000 voters in St. Charles County two years ago that voted for Mike Kehoe that did not vote in the Republican primary that year. So I think what you have is a lot of people out there who maybe used to think of themselves as Republicans. They’re not sure anymore… So I’m hoping for a big turnout…”
NFIB Targets Wagner with Ad
Press release: The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business advocacy organization, released new paid radio and digital advertisements in Missouri today, urging Rep. Ann Wagner to permanently repeal the law that established the unconstitutional Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) mandate, and for the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to immediately destroy all BOI data already submitted by U.S. small businesses.
· Listen to the radio ad here.
· Beneficial ownership information is the federal paperwork identifying the actual people who own or control a company, aimed at shell-company transparency but attacked by small-business groups as an intrusive mandate.
McKenna Passes
Former Sen. Bill McKenna passed away over the weekend. See the obituary here.
Mr. McKenna was born into a family of 10. He graduated from St. Louis University High School and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in public administration from Southeast Missouri State University. He was a Democrat, a former state senator and longtime Jefferson County advocate. He was elected to represent the 102nd District in the Missouri House for six terms, from 1983-1993. He represented the 22nd District in the Missouri Senate from 1993-1999, also serving as president pro tem in 1997 during the 89th General Assembly. Following his time in the Senate, he served as Jefferson College’s president in the early 2000s.
· A funeral Mass is scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday, July 10, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 555 Bailey Road, in Crystal City.
Non-Committee Reports
Missouri Workers Power reported spending $19,542 on canvassing for the public vote on the Royals stadium. See the filing here.
New PACs
CPR MO PAC was formed. It’s in support of Rep. Gregg Bush. See the filing here.
Lobbyist Registrations
Susan Henderson Moore and Cara Alexander added Scale Microgrids.
$5K+ Contributions
American Dream PAC (pro-Kehoe) - $10,000 from NKD Enterprise LLC.
Forward PAC (pro-Fogle) - $75,000 from Missouri & Kansas Laborers' PAC.
Cut the Bull PAC (pro-Deering) - $50,000 from Great Northwest PAC.
Cut the Bull PAC - $10,000 from NEMO Leadership PAC.
Cut the Bull PAC - $10,000 from Missouri Energy Development Association.
Show Me Values PAC (pro-Carter) - $25,000 from NEMO Leadership PAC.
Show Me Values PAC - $25,000 from J&J Ventures Gaming of Missouri (Effingham, IL).
Show Me Values PAC - $10,000 from Missouri AG PAC.
Rural Missouri Values PAC (pro-Ed Lewis) - $10,000 from NEMO Leadership PAC.
BUTZ STL PAC (pro-Butz) - $10,000 from MEDA PAC.
Sander For Missouri - $106,106 from Christopher Sander.
Bald Eagle PAC (pro-Sander) - $16,000 from Powder Monkey Fireworks Inc.
Casteel PAC - $10,000 from Rex Sinquefield.
No Everything Tax - $75,000 from Health Forward Foundation.
Protect Majority Rule Missouri - $70,500 from SEIU Healthcare IL IN (Chicago, IL).
Respect MO Voters Campaign - $9,969 from Roger Kepner.
Vote Yes For Planning and Zoning - $25,000 from Tri-Lakes Board of Realtors.
House Republican Campaign Committee, Inc - $7,000 from Pike Lincoln Values Fund.
POL PAC - $14,000 from H&R Block.
Better Days PAC - $20,000 from Mid America Carpenters Regional Council - Missouri Kansas Area PAC.
Friends For Mike Elam - $12,500 from Missouri Leadership Fund.
CWA-COPE Political Contributions Federal Committee - $5,250 from Communications Workers of America- COPE PCC (Washington, DC).
People For Jaclyn Riebold - $7,500 from Make Jeffco Great Again PAC.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Brent Evans, Pat Dougherty, and Jeff Porter.