Saturday, May 19, 2012
The national program airing Saturday and Sunday will focus on initiative petition campaigns tied to capping interest rates at 36 percent.
A Missouri ballot initiative aimed at curtailing interest rates at “payday loan” entities is getting some national attention. For an episode of PBS’s Need to Know, airing locally this weekend, the program traveled to the Show Me State to follow around activists who are collecting signatures for an initiative petition. If the ballot measure makes it to the ballot and if voters approve it, interest rates on certain lending companies would be capped at 36 percent. Supporters of the initiative argue that the loan agencies place poorer Missourians in a cycle of debt. But opponents counter that the entities are usually the only way lower-income citizens can obtain short-term loans to pay ordinary expenses. While supporters of the initiative …
Friday, May 18, 2012
Country music and laryngitis are two of the methods employed this week.
The last few iterations of this column have noted how several candidates for the U.S. Senate utilized creative means to entice fundraising efforts. For instance, Rep. Todd Akin (R-Wildwood) used his rhetorical scuffle with President Barack Obama over student loans in a fundraising pitch. And Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) has directly attacked third-party organizations that are pre-emptively attacking the incumbent lawmaker as she makes a difficult bid for re-election. McCaskill’s campaign staff continued on a creative path in an email that was sent to supporters earlier this week. They played on the fact that McCaskill had lost her voice right before she was supposed to make a speech at a Democratic gathering in Kansas City. “Between …
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
A June 5 vote is planned in St. Louis county and city on Proposition Y, along with eight charter amendments aimed at increasing the efficiency and transparency of the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District.
People living in the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) can't change the fact that their sewer bills are going to rise incrementally over the next several years, Ed Rhode said. What they can control is the rate at which that change happens. That's why Rhode and Mike Kelley—members of the pro-Proposition Y committee Clean Water STL—are encouraging residents of St. Louis County and St. Louis city to vote yes on the $945 million bond issue June 5. MSD is paying for the costs of the June vote, estimated to be roughly $1.2 million. The issue was not ready for the April ballot because the agency's consent degree with the federal government was only announced last fall. If St. Louisans vote yes, sewer rates for the average single-family …
Sunday, May 13, 2012
City Councilwoman Jeanne Rhoades filed the complaint against Creve Coeur Mayor Barry Glantz Thursday.
The major players involved in an ethics complaint filed Thursday against Creve Coeur Mayor Barry Glantz's election campaign are staying quiet so far. On Friday, Patch reported that City Councilwoman Jeanne Rhoades filed the Missouri Ethics Commission complaint against Glantz, who defeated Laura Bryant last month. Rhoades has been one of Bryant's most ardent supporters. She did not return several messages seeking comment late Friday afternoon. Bryant has also not returned a message seeking comment. In a letter to the Ethics Commission, Rhoades said the effort was not meant as a "political stunt" to influence the outcome of the race. Mayor Glantz first learned of the charges when Patch requested comment on the matter Friday. Glantz said he …
Friday, May 11, 2012
Creve Coeur City Councilwoman Jeanne Rhoades filed a complaint Thursday with the Missouri Ethics Commission.
Creve Coeur Mayor Barry Glantz will chair only his second City Council meeting Monday since being elected last month, but he will do so under the cloud of an ethics complaint filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission Thursday. Councilwoman Jeanne Rhoades filed the query with the agency and in the 9 page report, accuses Glantz of "misrepresenting the primary affiliation (employer) of his single largest contributor." It also alleges that a woman behind a last-minute mailer in the campaign "misrepresented and/or omitted key information" in order to benefit the Glantz campaign. It further states that Glantz and or his supporters may have colluded "to deliberately and fraudulently confuse and distract voters." By Missouri law, the Missouri …
This edition of Political Potpourri has campaign machinations on both sides of the race to be Missouri's next U.S. Senator.
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri) made an appearance this week on The Colbert Report, a popular satirical news show on Comedy Central. The first-term senator spent time on the show talking about her latest ad, which hones on third-party organizations that have been running ads against her. “Stephen, as he always does, used his character to point out the absurd loopholes in federal election law that allow corporations and special interests to anonymously influence the political system. I applaud the work he and his show do to educate America about 501(c)(4) organizations and secret money,” McCaskill said in a letter to supporters. “But, until the system is fixed, secret money will continue to flow into Missouri and attack me. As I said, if…
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Did the Governor do it to spite U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan?
Back when he was merely a gubernatorial contender, Gov. Jay Nixon reacted to then-Rep. Jeff Harris’ entry into the race for attorney general in fairly simple terms. He said in 2007 that the Columbia Democrat would make a “super attorney general.” When Harris used that line in an ad in 2008, Nixon’s campaign put out a statement that he had not endorsed anybody in the competitive four-way Democratic primary. Harris ended up coming in third place, behind second-place finisher Margaret Donnelly and eventual victor Chris Koster. The episode showcased how reluctant Nixon can be when choosing to endorse people engaged in competitive primaries. That’s why his decision to emphatically endorse Rep. Lacy Clay (D-St. Louis) over Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-…
Friday, May 4, 2012
Pending student loan legislation is a source of controversy in the race to represent Missouri in the U.S. Senate.
Rep. Todd Akin (R-Wildwood) got some press in late April after President Barack Obama alluded to the U.S. Senate hopeful’s comments about government-backed student loans. At a debate in Columbia, Akin said the following about pending student loan legislation: "America has got the equivalent of the stage three cancer of socialism because the federal government is tampering in all kinds of stuff it has no business tampering in. So first, to answer your question precisely, what the democrats did to get rid of the private student loans and take it all over by the government was wrong, it was a lousy bill, that's why I voted 'no.'" Soon after Akin made that statement, Obama told a crowd at the University of Iowa that “you’ve got one member of …
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Endorsements are piling up for both candidates.
Rep. William Lacy Clay scored a major endorsement today from the head of Missouri's Democratic Party. Gov. Jay Nixon issued a press release in support of Clay, who faces a primary fight from fellow incumbent Democrat Rep. Russ Carnahan. "For over 25 years, Lacy Clay has been a powerful voice for working families and a tireless advocate for the people of St. Louis," Nixon said. "He’s the right man to continue serving the people of the First Congressional District, and I fully support his re-election." St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley backed Clay almost immediately after Carnahan got into the 1st District contest. He also received the support of the local AFL-CIO on April 4. “Organized labor is …
Saturday, April 28, 2012
The Attorney is using an old ambulance to collect petition signatures.
Chalk this up as one of the more unusual transportation vehicles utilized during the 2012 election season: St. Louis City attorney Ed Martin’s campaign for attorney general is using a retrofitted ambulance aimed at showcasing the Republican’s opposition to President Barack Obama’s health care plan. Martin’s campaign announced last week that the “Ed Martin for Attorney General Campaign ‘Stop Obamacare’ Ambulance” would be traveling around the state to collect signatures against the health care law passed in 2010. “We are inviting citizens from across the state to come out to the ‘Stop Obamacare’ Ambulance Tour and sign the petition to stop the implementation of Obamacare here in Missouri,” Martin said in a statement. “The petition is meant…
Scott Simon
12:33 am on Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Thank God Donna Dill isn't an elected rep to anything. Hanging up the phone when she doesn't like the questions about her involvement in politics proves she's a drive-by assailant. more ›