Tag Archives: Peter Kinder

Campaign Finance: trickle in

07 Sunday Feb 2016

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Yesterday at the Missouri Ethics Commision for Peter Kinder’s (r) 2016 gubernatorial campaign:

C151161 02/06/2016 MISSOURIANS FOR PETER KINDER Dr. Dan Brown for Senate PO Box 934 Rolla MO 65402 2/5/2016 $10,000.00

[emphasis added]

A familiar amount, just not as frequent.

Previously:

Peter Kinder (r) announces for the 2016 gubernatorial race (July 13, 2015)

Peter Kinder (r) – July 2015 Campaign Finance Report (July 18, 2015)

Peter Kinder (r) – October 2015 Quarterly Campaign Finance Report (October 25, 2015)

Peter Kinder (r): ruh, roh (December 5, 2015)

Peter Kinder (r) – January 2016 Quarterly Campaign Finance Report – “PAC Man” (January 18, 2016)

Campaign Finance: shell game

24 Sunday Jan 2016

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You may have noticed that we spend a lot of time perusing campaign finance reports available online from the Missouri Ethics Commission. We see interesting things.

For instance, this political action committee:

C051257: Citizens For Insurance Reform

Committee Type: Political Action
101 East High Street
Jefferson City Mo 65101 Established Date: 11/02/2005
[….]

Treasurer [….]
Donna Schellman
101 East High Street
Jefferson City Mo 65101

[emphasis added]

And this political action committee:

C051251: Alliance For Elderly Health Care

Committee Type: Political Action
101 East High Street
Jefferson City Mo 65101 Established Date: 11/01/2005
[….]

Treasurer [….]
Donna Schellman
101 East High Street
Jefferson City Mo 65101

[emphasis added]

And this political action committee:

C051259: Citizens For New Health Care Concepts

Committee Type: Political Action
101 East High Street
Jefferson City Mo 65101 Established Date: 11/02/2005
[….]

Treasurer [….]
Donna Schellman
101 East High Street
Jefferson City Mo 65101

Fancy that.

You’d think all these citizens and alliances would be grass rootsie. You’d think.

C051257: Citizens For Insurance Reform

[….]

Information Reported On: 2016 – January Quarterly Report

Beginning Money on Hand $3,582.50
Monetary Receipts + $4,000.00
Monetary Expenditures – $0.00
Contributions Made – $7,500.00
Other Disbursements – $0.00
Subtotal ($3,500.00)
Ending Money On Hand $82.50

They took in $4,000.00, disbursed $7,500.00 and had a balance at the end of the quarter of $82.50. That’s cutting it close.

Some of the details:

MISSOURI ETHICS COMMISSION
CONTRIBUTIONS AND LOANS RECEIVED
CITIZENS FOR INSURANCE REFORM [pdf] 1/13/2016

Capital Health Management, Inc. PO Box 7688 Columbia, MO 65205 12/1/2015 $4,000.00

[….]

EXPENDITURES AND CONTRIBUTIONS MADE

Schmitt For Missouri PO Box 220722 Kirkwood MO 63122 12/3/2015 $2,500.00

Missourians For Peter Kinder PO Box 712 Jefferson City MO 65102 12/14/2015 $2,500.00

Hanaway for Governor, Inc. 7509 NW Tiffany Springs Parkway, Ste. 300 Kansas City MO 64153 12/31/2015 $2,500.00

[emphasis added]

Aside from giving the same amount to rival republican gubernatorial candidates, nothing particularly remarkable.

Then there’s this:

C051251: Alliance For Elderly Health Care

[….]

Information Reported On: 2016 – January Quarterly Report

Beginning Money on Hand $4,298.05
Monetary Receipts + $4,000.00
Monetary Expenditures – $0.00
Contributions Made – $7,500.00
Other Disbursements – $0.00
Subtotal ($3,500.00)
Ending Money On Hand $798.05

[emphasis added]

They took in $4,000.00, disbursed $7,500.00 and had a balance at the end of the quarter of $798.05. Other than the balance, it’s all so familiar.

Some of the details:

MISSOURI ETHICS COMMISSION
CONTRIBUTIONS AND LOANS RECEIVED
ALLIANCE FOR ELDERLY HEALTH CARE [pdf] 1/13/2016

Capital Health Management, Inc. PO Box 7688 Columbia, MO 65205 12/1/2015 $4,000.00

[….]

EXPENDITURES AND CONTRIBUTIONS MADE

Schmitt For Missouri PO Box 220722 Kirkwood MO 63122 12/3/2015 $2,500.00

Anne Zerr For Missouri PO Box 1191 St Charles MO 63302 12/10/2015 $2,500.00

Missourians For Peter Kinder PO Box 712 Jefferson City MO 65102 12/14/2015 $2,500.00

[emphasis added]

What, nothing for Catherine Hanaway (r)?

And there’s this:

C051259: Citizens For New Health Care Concepts

[….]

Information Reported On: 2016 – January Quarterly Report

Beginning Money on Hand $2,896.05
Monetary Receipts + $4,000.00
Monetary Expenditures – $0.00
Contributions Made – $5,000.00
Other Disbursements – $0.00
Subtotal ($1,000.00)
Ending Money On Hand $1,896.05

[emphasis added]

They took in $4,000.00 and disbursed $5,000.00. They didn’t have enough to drop another $2,500.00 on another candidate.

Still, it’s all so familiar:

MISSOURI ETHICS COMMISSION
CONTRIBUTIONS AND LOANS RECEIVED
CITIZENS FOR NEW HEALTH CARE CONCEPTS [pdf] 1/13/2016

Capital Health Management, Inc. PO Box 7688 Columbia, MO 65205 12/1/2015 $4,000.00

[….]

EXPENDITURES AND CONTRIBUTIONS MADE

Missourians For Peter Kinder PO Box 712 Jefferson City MO 65102 12/14/2015 $2,500.00

Schmitt For Missouri PO Box 220722 Kirkwood MO 63122 12/3/2015 $2,500.00

[emphasis added]

Nothing for Catherine Hanaway (r) again. Not that her campaign has a history of suffering.

You’ve just got to love the “sincere” committee names. But, wouldn’t it have been easier just to write one check?

Peter Kinder (r) – January 2016 Quarterly Campaign Finance Report – “PAC Man”

18 Monday Jan 2016

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Peter Kinder (r) [August 2013 file photo].

Peter Kinder (r) [August 2013 file photo].

Peter Kinder’s (r) 2016 gubernatorial campaign filed its January quarterly campaign finance report with the Missouri Ethics Commission on January 15th:

C151161: Missourians For Peter Kinder

Committee Type: Candidate
Po Box 712 Party Affiliation: Republican
Jefferson City Mo 65102 Established Date: 08/25/2015
[….]

Information Reported On: 2016 – January Quarterly Report

Beginning Money on Hand $276,431.58
Monetary Receipts + $300,307.17
Monetary Expenditures – $85,915.68
Contributions Made – $0.00
Other Disbursements – $45,554.21
Subtotal $168,837.28
Ending Money On Hand $445,268.86

[emphasis added]

Not bad at all, but the total take for the quarter is still only 60% of a single contribution to one primary opponent.

Contributions reported on Peter Kinder's (r) quarterly campaign finance report filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission on January 15, 2016.

Contributions reported on Peter Kinder’s (r) quarterly campaign finance report filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission on January 15, 2016.

There was one contribution for $15,000.00, four contributions for $10,000.00, 103 contributions between $5001.00 and $1000.00, and nineteen contributions of $500.00, just to point out a few.

Let’s take a look at some of the expenditures:

MISSOURI ETHICS COMMISSION
ITEMIZED EXPENDITURES OVER $100 SUPPLEMENTAL FORM
MISSOURIANS FOR PETER KINDER [pdf] 1/15/2016
[….]

St Louis Cardinals 700 Clark Ave St. Louis MO 63102 10/1/2015 Tickets $2,128.00

[….]

Capitol Consulting LLC PO Box 931 Jefferson City MO 65102 11/30/2015 Fundraising $9,557.81

[….]

[emphasis added]

Well, at least they weren’t Rams tickets.

Previously:

Peter Kinder (r) announces for the 2016 gubernatorial race (July 13, 2015)

Peter Kinder (r) – July 2015 Campaign Finance Report (July 18, 2015)

Peter Kinder (r) – October 2015 Quarterly Campaign Finance Report (October 25, 2015)

Peter Kinder (r): ruh, roh (December 5, 2015)

Campaign Finance: Is there a $10,000.00 club?

02 Saturday Jan 2016

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Peter Kinder (r) [August 2013 file photo].

Peter Kinder (r) [August 2013 file photo].

Today at the Missouri Ethics Commission for Peter Kinder’s (r) 2016 gubernatorial campaign:

C151161 01/02/2016 MISSOURIANS FOR PETER KINDER Chester Bross Construction Company PO Box 430 Hannibal MO 63401 12/31/2015 $10,000.00

C151161 01/02/2016 MISSOURIANS FOR PETER KINDER AMS Medical Lab 2900 Lemay Ferry Rd Ste. 205 St Louis MO 63125 12/31/2015 $10,000.00

C151161 01/02/2016 MISSOURIANS FOR PETER KINDER MidAmerica Hotels Corporation 105 South Mt. Auburn Cape Girardeau MO 63703 12/31/2015 $10,000.00

[emphasis added]

Or maybe they all just like round numbers.

These contributions will show up on the campaign’s 4th quarter 2015 campaign finance report due by January 15, 2016.

Previously:

Campaign Finance: ya gotta make it up somewhere (December 16, 2015)

Campaign Finance: trickle in… (December 29, 2015)

What’s up with Republicans and charter schools?

30 Wednesday Dec 2015

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Last week there were numerous radio reports that Missouri Lt. Governor (and one of a  bevy of GOP gubernatorial candidates) Peter Kinder was all worked up about the recommendations of the Ferguson Commission Report that concerned education. Seems the report neglected to mention charter schools, the favorite GOP fix for the failing schools one finds in the poorest parts of the U.S.

True – some Democrats talk the charter school talk  as well, usually in the name of allowing innovation – or  as seems to be the case for some state senators representing urban St. Louis, despair that the legislature will ever provide adequate resources to bring urban public schools up to the level of those in the suburbs – where, significantly, nobody wants charter schools. But for the most part, charters tend to ring specifically Republican bells.

The partisan bias has become more pronounced now that we have some experience with charter school performance and opponents have begun to push back. Recent studies evaluating charters show that their results are, overall, no better than those of public schools. Some do better, some do worse, some show little difference – despite the ability of charter schools to cherry-pick the best students and exclude problem children. There is also the problem of financial malfeasance that has cropped up with some regularity:

The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) reports that 2,500 charter schools have failed since 2000. The list includes “ghost” schools that collected public funds but never served any students. These include 25 charter schools in Michigan that were awarded federal grants of between three and four million dollars in 2010-2011 but never opened. CMD estimates that during the last twenty years the charter school industry has received over three billion dollars in federal tax dollars that should have gone to public schools.

But hey! What’s a little fraud and corruption if  you’re an ideologically-committed conservative? Charters, especially for-profits, fit well with the extreme free market religion espoused by many on the right. They can operate free of  regulations that govern most public schools; they circumvent the hated federal government’s role in setting educational policy;  and they are free to hire non-union (and even unaccredited) teachers.  Finally, many Southern states seem to be taking advantage of the lack of oversight to violate constitutional strictures against religion in publicly-funded charter school classrooms. For example, an outfit called Responsive Education Solutions (RES) rakes in federal dollars, $82 million in Texas alone where it is a major player, and in return delivers lots of that old time religion:

 For a student enrolled in an RES charter school to pass biology they have to study “Knowledge Units,” workbooks that overtly and underhandedly discredit evidence-based science and teach creationism as science in public-school classrooms. Responsive Ed not only discredits science, the opening section of a workbook section on the origin of life plagiarizes the Christian bible and states, “In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth.” The so-called science curriculum also states emphatically that “scientists question the validity of the conclusions concerning the age of the Earth” to mislead students into believing there is serious scientific debate about the age of the Earth, the nature of the geological record, and validity of biological sciences.

You can see why all this potential right-wing bounty might appeal to some wingers despite the indifferent educational record racked up by charter schools. But there’s even more to the Republican love-affair with charter schools. And by more I mean the private  money that greases the political system.

In Missouri, it doesn’t hurt that Rex Sinquefield, the billionaire who has been in the process of buying the state on the installment plan for the past several years, counts charter schools along with other efforts to privatize education as one of his main priorities. The aforementioned Peter Kinder received over $250,000 from Sinquefield in 2008 when Kinder was running for his second term as lt. governor. Almost any state politician, regardless of party, who’ll say  a good word about charter schools, has gotten a bite of the dough that Sinquefield regularly doles out – which means that lots of Missouri pols will continue to ballyhoo the virtues of charter schools as the answer to all educational ills.

In 2008 Kinder also received big donations from the charter school crusader, hedge fund owner Paul Singer. Why is a hedge fund manager located in New York donating to a Missouri supporter of charter schools? According to a story that appeared in the Washington Post, investment bankers like Singer, along with real estate types, see big opportunities in charter school expansion that  will allow them to profit off the publicly-funded schools:

As a result of this change to the tax code, banks and equity funds that invest in charter schools in underserved areas can take advantage of a very generous tax credit. They are permitted to combine this tax credit with other tax breaks while they also collect interest on any money they lend out. According to one analyst, the credit allows them to double the money they invested in seven years. Another interesting side note is that foreign investors who put a minimum of $500,000 in charter school companies are eligible to purchase immigration visas for themselves and family members under a federal program called EB-5.

The tax credit may also explain why Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg partnered with the former mayor of Newark, New Jersey, to promote charter schools; donated a half a million dollars worth of stock to organizations that distribute charter school funding; and opened his own foundation, Startup: Education, to build new charter schools.

The real estate industry, which already receives huge tax breaks as it gentrifies communities, also stands to benefit by promoting charter schools and helping them buy up property, or rent, in inner city communities.

So charter schools have something for every Republican. They hit all the right ideological notes, satisfy the GOP one percenter patrons, and bring in the dollars.With all that who cares if they’re effective?

No wonder Kinder is so aggressive in pushing charter schools as a solution to the issues of education in Ferguson. He gets a chance to criticize the Ferguson report (which earns points with Missouri GOP racists)  while avoiding any discussion of the report’s actual recommendations – which stress equity in funding across all school districts –  and significantly increased funding to support the “whole” child, something that the legislature (and a GOP governor, should there be one) will likely never touch since it might mean admitting that Missouri’s inadequate and unbalanced system of taxation should be addressed by  something other than a flat tax. On top of that, Kinder’s commitment to the charter school cause pleases many of the ideology über alles crowd while stimulating the largess of rich men who plan on getting even richer off charter schools. Hog heaven for Republicans.

Edited slightly for clarity 12/31/15

Campaign Finance: trickle in…

29 Tuesday Dec 2015

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Today at the Missouri Ethics Commission for Peter Kinder’s (r) 2016 gubernatorial campaign:

C151161 12/29/2015 MISSOURIANS FOR PETER KINDER James Hebenstreit 5828 Pembroke Court Mission Hills KS 66208 Bartlett & Co CEO 12/28/2015 $10,000.00

[emphasis added]

Hmmm. Can’t vote in the primary. Is there nothing going on in Kansas? Oh, right…

Previously:

Campaign Finance: ya gotta make it up somewhere (Decemeber 16, 2015)

Campaign Finance: ya gotta make it up somewhere

16 Wednesday Dec 2015

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Today at the Missouri Ethics Commission for Peter Kinder’s (r) 2016 gubernatorial campaign:

C151161 12/16/2015 MISSOURIANS FOR PETER KINDER Pfizer Inc. 6730 Lenox Center Ct. Memphis TN 38115 12/15/2015 $5,001.00

How nice.

Previously:

Peter Kinder (r) announces for the 2016 gubernatorial race (July 13, 2015)

Peter Kinder (r) – July 2015 Campaign Finance Report (July 18, 2015)

Peter Kinder (r) – October 2015 Quarterly Campaign Finance Report (October 25, 2015)

Peter Kinder (r): ruh, roh (December 5, 2015)

Peter Kinder (r): ruh, roh

05 Saturday Dec 2015

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The 2016 republican gubernatorial primary will not disappoint us.

Peter Kinder [2013 file photo].

Peter Kinder [2013 file photo].

In the Columbia Daily Tribune:

Kinder campaign revises finance reports over $50,000 discrepancy
By Rudi Keller
Saturday, December 5, 2015 at 12:00 am

Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder’s campaign committee on Friday filed 16 amended finance reports, dating back to 2012, to correct reporting omissions that resulted in a difference of more than $50,000 between actual and reported bank balances….

…The amended report for the January through March quarter of the year showed a cash balance of $830.02. The report filed with the ethics commission on April 15 reported the balance as $56,673.27…

Ruh, roh.

Serious issues with a committee’s finance reports is never a good thing. The number of amended reports alone is mind boggling.

Previously:

Peter Kinder (r) announces for the 2016 gubernatorial race (July 13, 2015)

Peter Kinder (r) – July 2015 Campaign Finance Report (July 18, 2015)

Peter Kinder (r) – October 2015 Quarterly Campaign Finance Report (October 25, 2015)

Campaign Finance: “Don’t look at the trombones, it only encourages them…”

16 Monday Nov 2015

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Peter Kinder (r) [2013 file photo]

Peter Kinder (r) [2013 file photo]

Today at the Missouri Ethics Commission for Peter Kinder’s (r) 2016 gubernatorial campaign:

C151161 11/16/2015 MISSOURIANS FOR PETER KINDER Paul Thompson PO Box 993 Aledo TX 76008 self Physician 11/14/2015 $5,001.00

[emphasis added]

Won’t be able to vote in the Missouri republican primary…

Previously:

Peter Kinder (r) – October 2015 Quarterly Campaign Finance Report (October 25, 2015)

Peter Kinder (r) – October 2015 Quarterly Campaign Finance Report

25 Sunday Oct 2015

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Peter Kinder [2013 file photo].

Peter Kinder [2013 file photo].

Peter Kinder’s 2016 campaign for Governor filed its third quarter campaign finance report with the Missouri Ethics Commission on October 15th:

C151161: Missourians For Peter Kinder

Committee Type: Candidate
Po Box 712 Party Affiliation: Republican
Jefferson City Mo 65102 Established Date: 08/25/2015

[….]

Information Reported On: 2015 – October Quarterly Report

Money on Hand

Beginning Money on Hand $0.00
Monetary Receipts + $297,473.92
Monetary Expenditures – $21,339.60
Contributions Made – $109.00
Other Disbursements – $0.00
Subtotal $275,973.15
Ending Money On Hand $275,973.15

Receipts

Previous Receipts for this Election $0.00
Monetary Contributions Received + $154,634.00
Loans Received + $0.00
Miscellaneous Receipts + $142,839.92
In-kind Contribution Receipts + $1,477.05

[emphasis added]

The “Miscellaneous Receipts” of $142,839.92 was a transfer from the “Friends of Peter Kinder” committee.

All of the contributions:

Contributions to Peter Kinder's 2016 gubernatorial campaign for the third quarter – from the campaign’s October quarterly campaign finance report filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission.

Contributions to Peter Kinder’s 2016 gubernatorial campaign for the third quarter – from the campaign’s October quarterly campaign finance report filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission.

The contributions excluding the transfer from the “Friends of Peter Kinder” committee:

Contributions to Peter Kinder’s 2016 gubernatorial campaign for the third quarter, excluding the transfer from the “Friends of Peter Kinder” committee – from the campaign’s October quarterly campaign finance report filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission.

Fifteen of the third quarter contributions were for $5,000.00 or more, twenty-six contributions were for $2,000.00 or more, thirty-nine of the contributions were for $1,000.00 or more, forty-seven of the contributions were for $500.00 or more. Sixteen contributions were for $100.00, eight contributions were for $50.00, and five contributions were for $25.00.

The expenditures:

MISSOURI ETHICS COMMISSION
ITEMIZED EXPENDITURES OVER $100 SUPPLEMENTAL FORM
MISSOURIANS FOR PETER KINDER [pdf] 10/15/2015

Red Letter Communications 231 N. Main Street Cape Girardeau MO 63702 9/2/2015 Media & Strategic Services $5,000.00

Capitol Consulting LLC PO Box 931 Jefferson City MO 65109 9/16/2015 Fundraising $4,698.08

Red Letter Communications 231 N. Main Street Cape Girardeau MO 63702 9/30/2015 Media & Strategic Services $5,500.00

Capitol Consulting LLC PO Box 931 Jefferson City MO 65109 9/30/2015 Fundraising $10,613.84

Capitol Consulting LLC PO Box 931 Jefferson City MO 65109 9/30/2015 Fundraising $2,407.32

[emphasis added]

No t-shirts? Maybe we missed them in there somewhere.

Previously:

Peter Kinder (r) announces for the 2016 gubernatorial race (July 13, 2015)

Peter Kinder (r) – July 2015 Campaign Finance Report (July 18, 2015)