There’s a special election for the vacated 15th Legislative District seat on November 8th. Today, at the Missouri Ethics Commission:

C111143 10/25/2011 CITIZENS FOR SOMMER HOUSE REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE, INC. P.O. BOX 1313 JEFFERSON CITY MO 65102 10/24/2011 $18,981.00

[emphasis added]

Think there’ll be any robocalls?

The republican candidate, Chrissy Sommer, previously had a desultory fundraising record:

REPORT SUMMARY

CITIZENS FOR SOMMER [pdf] 10/17/2011

1. Total Receipts For This Election Previously Reported $5,339.00

2. All Monetary Contributions Received This Period $11,635.00

10. Expenditures made by cash or check this period $4,697.73

27. Money On Hand at the close of this reporting period $11,626.88

34. Total Indebtedness at the Close of This Reporting Period $500.00

The Democratic Party candidate, Paul Woody:

REPORT SUMMARY

CITIZENS FOR PAUL WOODY [pdf] 10/17/2011

1. Total Receipts For This Election Previously Reported $15,073.54

2. All Monetary Contributions Received This Period $12,350.00

10. Expenditures made by cash or check this period $2,692.74

27. Money On Hand at the close of this reporting period $23,699.18

34. Total Indebtedness at the Close of This Reporting Period $2,079.54

There was a difference, until the HRCC stepped in.

Paul Woody (D) ran for the seat in 2010:

Official Election Returns

State of Missouri General Election  – November 2, 2010 General Election

Tuesday, November 02, 2010

Click here for a printer friendly version

State Representative – District 15 – Summary

Precincts Reporting 16 of 16

Woody, Paul DEM 4,404 34.4%

Faith, Sally A. REP 7,632 59.6%

Slantz, Bill LIB 765 6.0%

Total Votes   12,801

And, yes, Bill Slantz, the Libertarian, is running again, too.

Back to the campaign finance reports. Some of the contributions to Chrissy Sommer’s (r) campaign:

CONTRIBUTIONS AND LOANS RECEIVED

CITIZENS FOR SOMMER [pdf] 10/17/2011

12. TOTAL ANONYMOUS CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED FROM PERSON GIVING $25 OR LESS $10.00

13. TOTAL MONETARY CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED FROM PERSONS GIVING $100 OR LESS $1,095.00

CITIZENS FOR HINSON SAINT CLAIR MO 63077 9/10/2011 $300.00

CITIZENS FOR TIMOTHY W. JONES EUEKA MO 63025 9/13/2011 $500.00

CITIZENS FOR DWIGHT SCHARNHORST MANCHESTER MO 63021 9/13/2011 $100.00

CITIZENS FOR MIKE THOMSON MARYVILLE MO 64468 9/13/2011 $200.00

CITIZENS FOR MYRON METH LIBERTY MO 64068 9/13/2011 $150.00

COMMITTEE TO ELECT TOM FLANIGAN CARTAGE MO 64836 9/13/2011 $100.00

PATRONS FOR LYLE E. ROWLAND CEDAR CREEK MO 65627 9/13/2011 $150.00

FRIENDS OF LINCOLN HOUGH SPRINGFIELD MO 65801 9/13/2011 $500.00

MISSOURI REPUBLICAN PARTY JEFFERSON CITY MO 65101 9/13/2011 $450.00

AMERISTAR CASINO ST CHARLES SAINT CHARLES MO 63301 9/22/2011 $1,000.00

POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE FOR HEALTH (HEALTH PAC) JEFFERSON CITY MO 65102 9/27/2011 $350.00

And on and on. You get the picture.

Some of the contributions to Paul Woody’s (D) campaign:

CONTRIBUTIONS AND LOANS RECEIVED

CITIZENS FOR PAUL WOODY [pdf] 10/20/2011

Sarah Mullen-Dominguez St Louis MO 63116 Lewis Rice Fingersh 7/2/2011 $350.00

Judy Baker Columbia MO 65201 Dept of Health and Human Services 7/2/2011 $100.00

Gary McKiddy St Charles MO 63301 Retired 7/7/2011 $30.00

UTU PAC Jefferson City MO 65101 7/14/2011 $325.00

Kay Drey St Louis MO 63130 Retired 7/28/2011 $100.00

Harry Bixler St Charles MO 63303 Retired 7/25/2011 $20.00

Teamsters Local Union 541 Kansas City MO 64130 9/11/2011 $300.00

[emphasis added]

There is a distinct difference.

From the Missouri House of Representatives Communications Office:

….[5:40] Obviously this is not a economic climate that is going away anytime soon. So we need to take a very strong and hard look at what we can do as a state. And unfortunately we’re in the minority so we don’t necessarily get to drive the legislative agenda. But you can rest assured, as I told you all on the first day of session, as I told you when we broke for Spring recess, and as I told you at the end of session and I told you every time we’ve been in here, first and foremost we need to talk about two things in this state. One, jobs, getting people back to work, and making sure that we have an educated work force to fill the jobs that we do create. Those two things moving forward are the most important. We can do nothing else and those two things two things need to get done. Unfortunately we’ve wasted now way too much time talking about it but not doing anything….

At what cost to the taxpayers?:

Missouri special session cost reaches $280,000

The price tag for Missouri’s special legislative session has reached nearly $280,000, KMOX reports. Figures from the 159-seat House show members have racked up more than $233,000 in per diem and mileage expenses. The 34-member Senate has incurred more than $46,000 of expenses for per diem, mileage and staff costs….

Not to mention the jobs situation in this state, too.

Today, at the Missouri Ethics Commission:

C091145 10/24/2011 FRIENDS OF PETER KINDER Davis Spence 2021 S. Warson Road St Louis MO 63124 Alpha Packaging President 10/24/2011 $5,500.00

[emphasis added]

What kind of trial balloon was this?:

Is Dave Spence a new GOP contender for governor? (October 23, 2011)

….Some sources are suggesting another contender, a (really) dark horse, one Dave Spence. According to Berger’s Beat, Spence was recently in Washington to meet with members of the Republican Governors Association “about self-funding a primary against Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder.” Politico’s David Catanese also speculates that Spence, whom he describes as  “a chief executive at a packaging company,” is considering a run….

[emphasis added]

There must have been some really interesting phone calls.

Given the general aura of disaster that permeates Peter Kinder’s run for Governor – even before he has declared himself a candidate – there seems to be good reason for the speculation that is popping up about other possible GOP contenders.  FiredUp!, for example, listed the possible reasons that would lead Brad Lager to run – noting that among the top ten reasons would be that “approximately zero Republicans want to run on a ticket with Peter Kinder.”

Some sources are suggesting another contender, a (really) dark horse, one Dave Spence. According to Berger’s Beat, Spence was recently in Washington to meet with members of the Republican Governors Association “about self-funding a primary against Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder.” Politico‘s David Catanese also speculates that Spence, whom he describes as  “a chief executive at a packaging company,” is considering a run.

The Small Business Monthly has this to say about Spence’s business career:

At the tender age of 25, Dave Spence acquired Alpha Con Plastics in 1985 and began the process of rebuilding the company.  Thanks to an SBA loan, he began a new era in the company, changing the name to Alpha Plastics. Today the company employs more than 400 people at five manufacturing facilities around the country.  Spence and his team have been honored with such awards as the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award and the Missouri Chamber of commerce’s Fast Track Awards.

Over the years Spence has given back to the business community by continually sharing his experiences as an entrepreneur with up-and-coming owners.

As the recipient of an SBA loan that he used to get his business going, Spence ought to, at least, be able to figure out that government has a role to play in generating prosperity – which would be a novelty for the GOP right now.

However, in case that snippet doesn’t satisfy your desire to know more about Spence, the Entrepreneurship Institute presents Spence’s  proudest achievements as:

– Leading a balanced life with four young children, marriage and the demands of a fast growing business.

– One of the founding members of a charitable foundation that has raised over 1 million dollars to proved college scholarships to members of Beta Theta Pi Fraternity at Mizzou.

– Not taking “no” for an answer during his career. It has meant that in spite of all the advice that was given, he was able to accomplish some things that seemed improbable.

– Leading an ethical business and personal life – yes it can be done!

One can only hope that Kinder does not, as Catanese suggests, decide to “pass the baton” to another candidate, since a primary between the Inspector Clouseau of Missouri politics and a GOP version of Dudley Do-Right ought to be a barrel of laughs.

Anne Laurie at Balloon Juice:

…Willard Romney doesn’t seem to have Darth Cheney’s delight in other peoples’ suffering, if only because he doesn’t pay that much attention to other people…

That left a mark.

At the Federal Election Commission:

Image# 11971562242 10/11/2011 17:12

FEC FORM 3

REPORT OF RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS For An Authorized Committee

Graves for Congress

October 15 Quarterly Report (Q3)

6 (a). Total Contributions $130,950.00

7 (a). Total Operating Expenditures $52,687.05

8. Cash on Hand at Close of Reporting Period $323,975.01

11. CONTRIBUTIONS (other than loans) FROM:

(a) Individuals/Persons Other Than Political Committees (i) Itemized (use Schedule A) $38,750.00

(c) Other Political Committees (such as PACs) $92,000.00

[emphasis added]

Some of the individual contributions:

Andrew C. Taylor Saint Louis MO 08/26/2011 Enterprise Rent-A-Car Vice President Transaction ID : 10930.C15340 $2500.00

Andrew C. Taylor Saint Louis MO 08/26/2011 Enterprise Rent-A-Car Vice President Transaction ID : 10930.C15341 $2500.00 [second of two transactions on the same day]

Alan David Levine Pompano Beach FL 08/26/2011 Enterprise Rent-A-Car Vice-President Transaction ID : 10930.C15326 $2500.00

Jack C. Taylor Saint Louis MO 08/26/2011 Enterprise Rent-A-Car CEO Transaction ID : 10930.C15344 $2500.00

Jack C. Taylor Saint Louis MO 08/26/2011 Enterprise Rent-A-Car CEO Transaction ID : 10930.C15345 $2500.00 [second of two transactions on the same day]

Barbara B. Taylor [same address as Andrew C. Taylor] Saint Louis MO 08/26/2011 Homemaker Civic Leader Transaction ID : 10930.C15342 $2500.00

Barbara B. Taylor [same address as Andrew C. Taylor] Saint Louis MO 08/26/2011 Homemaker Civic Leader Transaction ID : 10930.C15343 $2500.00 [second of two transactions on the same day]

Brian S. Mogauro Windermere FL 08/26/2011 Enterprise Rent-A-Car Executive Transaction ID : 10930.C15327 $1500.00

Michelle L. Bosch Potomac MD 08/22/2011 Enterprise Rent-A-Car Vice President/General Manager Transaction ID : 10930.C15323 $2500.00

John Eckermann Miami FL 08/26/2011 Enterprise Leasing Vice President Transaction ID : 10930.C15324 $1500.00

Raymond T. Wagner, Jr. Ballwin MO 08/26/2011 Enterprise Holdings VP of Govt & Public Affairs Transaction ID : 10930.C15347 $1000.00

Arie C. Vance Jacksonville FL 09/30/2011 Enterprise Holdings Vice President/General Manager Transaction ID : 11007.C15382 $1500.00

[emphasis added]

What, is Sam Graves the Representative from Enterprise or something?

Kock Industries PAC (KochPAC) Washington DC 08/08/2011 Transaction ID : 10930.C15300 $1000.00

Enterprise Holdings, Inc. PAC Saint Louis MO 08/26/2011 Transaction ID : 10930.C15334 $5000.00

[emphasis added]

Uh, yep.

SCHEDULE B (FEC Form 3)

ITEMIZED DISBURSEMENTS

Enterprise Rent-A-Car 08/19/2011 Transaction ID : 10930.E5401 MEMO: CAR RENTAL $246.94

[emphasis added]

Heh.

Previously: A conversation with State Treasurer Clint Zweifel (D) (October 20, 2011)

State Treasurer Clint Zweifel (D) was in Warrensburg Thursday afternoon and evening for a few events and interviews. We sat down with him for a conversation at a downtown coffee shop early in the afternoon.

State Treasurer Clint Zweifel (D) talking with voters at a coffee shop in downtown Warrensburg.

The final portion of the transcript:

…State Treasurer Clint Zweifel (D): There are always bright lights and examples of individuals on both sides who have been willing to take political risks to stand up for what is right for America in the long term. Um, I, I saw some of that action on the Simpson Bowles Commission early on when they were talking about, uh, deficit issues and, and fiscal issues long term. Agree or disagree with the report, there was people on both sides of the aisle on that commission that voted for something that enable, that, that forced them, that they chose to take political risks by supporting it, both Democrats and Republicans. And, and I think individuals like that deserve credit for being willing to stand up and do that. And that doesn’t mean sacrificing your values, but that means, um, at least standing up and being able to say, hey, this is sort of what, what a beginning conversation looks like on the deficit. And we’re all willing to sort of stand up and, and support it at level, at least the start of that conversation. I think that at the state level there are still tremendous opportunities and I think part of that is, ultimately, I think when you have a, uh, an environment where party, where you have, uh, split leadership in the executive branch and, and in the legislature there’s opportunities for that. I would say that, that the loser the parties are, are aligned, uh, numbers wise in the House and the Senate probably produces a little bit more rational results. So, uh, more of a fifty fifty mix is probably better for voters in the long term I think…

…Um, having legislative districts that are drawn in the way, Mike, that, that allow really true competitive districts, uh, so that, you know, Democrats and Republicans are, and, and third parties if you will are out there competing for those votes and, and, and competing and, and trying to get their message out I think produces the best public policy long term. So I think one of the pieces to that is redistricting. And if you have competitive districts you’re gonna have more rational actors in the process.

Show Me Progress: Yeah, and while the legislative districts are still in flux, uh, I remember the comment from Claire McCaskill was that Missouri is not a six – two state. It’s a, you know, it’s, it’s, uh, much closer than that, uh.

Treasurer Zweifel: I think that’s right.

Show Me Progress: Yeah, definitely.

Um, getting to your campaign, um, right now, you know, as we look at, at the reports and, and everything else you really haven’t, no, no name has come up for somebody to challenge you. Uh, but at the same time, somebody can. And as we know, you know, the, you still have to run and, uh, so you’ve been, you know, going out across the state and, and doing the fundraising thing that all candidates unfortunately have to do. Um, as you go through this process, um, do you find that, that you, you talk to people about the campaign and they’re, that they say things like, well, you don’t have a, you don’t have an opponent yet. You know, uh, but ultimately do you, do you say, tell them things like, well, but look at the history of this state, you know, you’ll always draw an opponent.

Treasurer Zweifel: You know, I think we get a little bit of that, but, you know, I was talking to a friend on the way out here and, I think, you know, looking back at, at, at where we started, um, running for office for the first time statewide in two thousand eight, looking back at my first run in two thousand two for the, for the House, I couldn’t be more proud of where we are from a campaign perspective at this point, Mike. I think that everything that we’ve done on the campaign, uh, the issues we’ve talked about, uh, they way we approach the campaign is very similar to the way I govern, uh, uh, in that we’re really talking to people, um, constantly talking to individuals. You know, on the campaign side, uh, I’ve been traveling the state, uh, we’ve touched every county from a policy perspective and political perspective in the state. Uh, secondly, the amount of donors that we’re getting support from right now is, is through the roof. I mean individual donors. Uh, they’re sometimes giving five or ten dollars, they’re sometimes giving five hundred dollars, but these are individuals, and sixty percent of them since I started are brand new. Uh, so there’s a lot of excitement right there. I think from, from our base and looking forward, uh, to the election knowing that there’s probably going to be a competitive election, Missouri’s a competitive state, that’s okay. And they’re accepting of that and embracing that just as, just as I am. Uh, but, but I think that they aren’t trying to do too much analysis on who’s running or what type of candidate it’s gonna be. It’s more like, hey, let’s, let’s make sure that we’re prepared long term, um, to not only win this office but to be prepared to, to play a leadership role in the state for the long term.

Show Me Progress: And, so, in, in the long view, as you know it’s, it’s still, you know, the election is [crosstalk]…

Treasurer Zweifel: Right.

Show Me Progress: …almost a year out. Um, what do you see will be the, the big challenge in, leading up to the two thousand twelve election getting your message out about what you think is important about the role of the state treasurer and what you’ve done and, and all that that entails.

Treasurer Zweifel: Yeah. I think the most important thing that I can do is, is provide clarity and certainty in, in how I communicate what I’ve been working on to voters. Uh, you know, I’m personally really excited and passionate about the projects that we’ve worked on so I think it’s gonna show through in the campaign, it’s gonna show through on one on one conversations, it’s gonna show through on, on speeches to two hundred people. Uh, and I think when you do that and you have passion about what you do and what you care about it, it shows through and it takes care of a lot of the things that create a lot of uncertainty that we do worry about, right. I mean, you know, is there gonna be excitement about an election, well, you don’t have an opponent yet, those sort of things. I think that you knock yourself against a wall if you think too much about those things and, and it’s not a very productive. The more important thing to do is proactively think about things that you can do to improve the job you’re doing, to improve your communication and a lot of other things tend to take care of themselves with that. Uh, and, you know, you get that excitement that, that, you know, I can already sense it right now at this point in the campaign. You know, you can feel people getting excited about things when I’m on the phone with them or meeting with them personally, so.

Show Me Progress: Yeah, and, and ultimately the, it’s that communicating with the voters about what you do, that it makes a difference.

Treasurer Zweifel: I think that’s right. And I think that in every area that I’ve worked on in the office we’ve been able to quantify a tangible difference in the lives of Missourians. Small business loans, agriculture loans, helping families save for college, we now have the fifth best college savings plan in the nation, uh, we have a triple A credit rating, we, uh, you know, we, we worked on something that I’ve w
orked on for eighteen months and we’ve been successful in, in helping put real money toward the mentally ill, uh, those that are suffering from a high risk of being homeless who are mentally ill. These are veterans, uh, these are foster kids that are aging out of the foster care system. We’re gonna, we’re gonna put real, this was done bipartisan on the Housing Commission and we had support and for the first time ever we’re putting real resources into that. So, I’m, I’m really proud of our record and I think that’s gonna come through in the campaign in a big way, so.

Show Me Progress: Well, thank you very much for your time.

Treasurer Zweifel: it’s really good to see you. Thank you.

At the Federal Election Commission:

Image# 11952645641 10/15/2011 15:55

FEC FORM 3

REPORT OF RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS For An Authorized Committee

Vicky Hartzler for Congress

October 15 Quarterly Report (Q3)

6 (a). Total Contributions $114,823.84

7 (a). Total Operating Expenditures $26,926.99

8. Cash on Hand at Close of Reporting Period $222,306.61

11. CONTRIBUTIONS (other than loans) FROM:

(a) Individuals/Persons Other Than Political Committees (i) Itemized (use Schedule A) $67,137.10

(c) Other Political Committees (such as PACs) $45,221.74

[emphasis added]

Some of the individual contributions:

David Pearce Warrensburg MO 09/29/2011 Missouri State Senator Transaction ID : 11010.C8656 $250.00

Gilbert Powers Warrensburg MO 09/30/2011 Johnson County Clerk  Transaction ID : 11010.C8711 $250.00

Susan Wiedenmann Drexel MO 09/14/2011 Wiedenmann and Godfrey Constr  Owner Transaction ID : 10919.C8601 $2,500.00

Herman Wilson Houston TX 09/15/2011 Pioneer Equipment President Transaction ID : 10919.C8602 $2,500.00

Ronald Birkey Danville IL 09/07/2011 Birkeys Farm Store CEO Transaction ID : 10919.C8592 $1,250.00

Ronald Birkey Danville IL 09/29/2011 Birkeys Farm Store CEO Transaction ID : 11010.C8668 $750.00

Dean Dohrman La Monte MO 09/30/2011 Pettis Co Mo Assessor  Transaction ID : 11010.C8697 $500.00

Brad Alpert Kingsville MO 09/29/2011 Operations Manager Missouri Bullet Company Transaction ID : 11010.C8661 $1,000.00

Thomas Fitzpatrick Warrensburg MO 09/29/2011 Fitzpatrick Consulting Information Requested Transaction ID : 11010.C8666 $1,250.00

Jerry Franklin Warrensburg MO 07/26/2011 Self-employed Commercial Real Estate Transaction ID : 10919.C8600 $1,250.00

Penny Monetti Warrensburg MO 09/30/2011 Self-employed Business Owner Transaction ID : 11010.C8710 $250.00

Sara Hargis Springfield MO 07/06/2011 Ozarks Coca-Cola & Dr. Pepper Vice President Transaction ID : 10919.C8595 $2,500.00

Michael Herson Bethesda MD 07/06/2011 American Defense Adjuster Transaction ID : 10919.C8596 $500.00

[emphasis added]

And a number of physicians, a few attorneys, and several homemakers with significant disposable income. But wait, there’s more! PACs:

Family Research Council Action PAC Washington DC 08/12/2011 Transaction ID : 10824.C8583 $5,000.00

Rely On Your Beliefs Fund Washington DC 09/20/2011 Transaction ID : 11010.C8622 $5,000.00

General Electric Pac Washington DC 09/16/2011 Transaction ID : 10919.C8609 $1,000.00

Lockheed Martin Employees Pac Arlington VA 09/30/2011 Transaction ID : 11010.C8677 $1,000.00

Honeywell International PAC  Washington DC 09/15/2011 Transaction ID : 10919.C8607 $1,000.00

Employees of Northrop Grumman PAC Los Angeles CA 09/19/2011 Transaction ID : 10919.C8616 $1,000.00

Bank of America PAC Washington DC 08/12/2011 Transaction ID : 10824.C8584 $2,000.00

Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. PAC Washington DC 08/15/2011 Transaction ID : 10824.C8586 $2,000.00

United Technologies Corporation PAC Washington DC 09/19/2011 Transaction ID : 10919.C8618 $1,000.00

Altria Group, Inc. PAC Washington DC 09/26/2011 Transaction ID : 11010.C8637 $500.00

JPMorgan Chase & Co. PAC Chicago IL 09/26/2011 Transaction ID : 11010.C8639 $1,000.00

[emphasis added]

Defense, agriculture, and banking (!) PACs. It’s so grassrootsie without a hint of special interests. Oh, wait.

What is it with Altria and Missouri politicians?