Parson Expands Call

The press release for the new call goes into detail about what the governor envisions. The Attorney General will be able to prosecute cases only if 90 or more days have passed, the chief law enforcement officer makes the request of the Attorney General, and the Circuit Attorney has not yet filed charges…

But the actually call is much more vague. It simply asks for authorization for the AG to prosecute murder – and related cases – in the City of St. Louis. It’ll be interesting to see how narrowly or broadly defined the role of the AG is in the drafted legislation.

Senate Passes Crime Bill

The Senate passed SB 1, the governor’s anti-crime package, on Friday. The vote was split entirely according to race – something which should give pause to all policy-makers. It passed 27 – 3, with the three No votes coming from the African American members of the Senate.

The Axiom Caucus?

In 2018, Axiom Strategies focused efforts on getting involved in Missouri House races.They quickly became a powerhouse consultant for Missouri House races. At last count, there were 54 clients of Axiom Strategies in the Missouri House. On Tuesday, 22 Axiom clients won open state rep primaries throughout Missouri.

Revenue Picture Brightens

The state revenue numbers for July were very strong.This was expected because the tax filing date had been pushed back into July from April.

Bush Drops Clay

Upset of the night: Cori Bush takes out the Lacy Clay.Lacy’s father, Bill Clay, went to DC in 1968, and in the 50+ years since then St. Louis has had a Congressman Clay.No more.

Rowden Hangs Out Shingle

Lobbyist Ryan Rowden is hanging out a shingle.

Press release: Rowden announced the formation of The Rowden Group, a full-service government relations firm. With more than two decades of political experience, The Rowden Group will provide a sound legislative strategy based on legislative successes and strong relationships in the industry… Prior to The Rowden Group, Rowden served as Executive Director of the Missouri Petroleum Council and as the Director of Government Affairs for the Missouri Association of Counties

In St. Louis County: Sam Page unveiled endorsements from former County Executive Charlie Dooley and former St. Louis City mayor Francis Slay.

1. Veep stakes

2. COVID concern tracker

3. Open Table reservations

4. Vaccine pipeline

5. State sales tax rates

6. Big Foot sightings

School Start Dilemma

The Kansas City Chamber hosted a zoom call with state education chiefs from Missouri and Kansas to share plans re-open schools. Dr. Randy Watson, Commissioner of the Kansas State Department of Education, compared planning for fall to the invasion of Normandy, "the minute we landed, the plan was worthless."