Previously: Campaign Tracker: the worst job in politics and you still have to wear a suit (March 17, 2010)

Representative Denny Hoskins (r – noun, verb, CPA) was on the radio today complaining about mean people, or something:

….Representative Denny Hoskins: Well, one of the other things I wanted to talk about was just the, uh, article in last Friday’s paper…

Marion Woods, KOKO radio: I saw that.

Representative Hoskins: …talking about trackers.

Marion Woods: I saw that.

Representative Hoskins: Yes, yes, and, uh…

Marion Woods: Where did that come from anyway?

Representative Hoskins: I don’t know.  I, uh, think some people have active imaginations.

Marion Woods: [laughter]

Representative Hoskins: Is it [inaudible][crosstalk]…

Marion Woods: You have no tracker, do you?

Representative Hoskins: No, I, I have not hired any tracker. My campaign has not hired any tracker. [crosstalk]

Marion Woods: I didn’t know there was such a thing as a tracker.

Representative Hoskins: Yes, you know, until I got into politics I didn’t realize that there was, either. But, you know, back in two thousand eight when, um, you know, you had Ike Skelton running and, and you had, you know, other people.  Now, even, you know if I’m at event with, uh, state Senator Stoufer or, or Vicky Hartzler…

Marion Woods: Um, hm.

Representative Hoskins: …I mean there will be a tracker there. Uh.

Marion Woods: There will be.

Representative Hoskins: Yes, usually there’ll be a tracker there videotaping them and taking pictures of, of everything they say. Um, you know, same thing goes for Ike Skelton. When he’s around lots of times there’s a, there’s a tracker there. When Roy Blunt came through on his job’s tour…

Marion Woods: Uh, huh.

Representative Hoskins: …and was down at Heroes [Warrensburg restaurant] there was a tracker there that was recording and, and taking pictures.

Marion Woods: Is now, is that tracker from the other party from where you are?

Representative Hoskins: Lot.

Marion Woods: Is that the way that works?

Representative Hoskins:  Lots of times. Lots of times it’s from the other party. But, I have not hired any tracker to, to, I, I could, you know, care less about where Courtney is going [Woods: laughter] or when she’s in Excelsior Springs and when she’s here and…

Marion Woods: Yuh.

Representative Hoskins:   So it, you know, it’s one of my least priorities I guess I should say…

Marion Woods: [laughter]

[….]

Representative Hoskins:   So, when, you know, articles come out in the paper and, you know, Courtney’s says that I’ve stooped to some, having, following her, she’s lying.

Marion Woods: Yeah.

Representative Hoskins:   I’ll call a spade a spade, she’s lying. I’m not having anybody follow her…

[….]

Marion Woods: I, I, I never have understood that why, why, uh, why we have to have the dirt slinging and things like that that goes on. Uh, that doesn’t.

Representative Hoskins:  No it doesn’t, it doesn’t serve any purpose. But like I’ve said before, you know, this hundred twenty-first district has been a swing district. [crosstalk]

Marion Woods: Yuh.

Representative Hoskins:   And we’ve been honorably represented by Republicans and Democrats. And it’s the number one, um, due to that fact and, and the fact that I won by a hundred twenty-two votes this past time….

“…I don’t know. I, uh, think some people have active imaginations…”

Uh, we were there. There was a tracker. We asked him. We photgraphed him.

SMP: …So, are you a tracker or something?

Tracker: Uh, you could say that I guess…

In fact, he has a unique license plate:

…Tracker: You like the license plate? [In response to me photographing the back of the car.]

SMP: Actually? Interesting…

So, I suppose there must be some way to track that down. And if we did, we could check that identity against campaign payments to individuals to see who might be paying him. I mean, the tracker must at least be getting mileage, right? He did say he worked in politics:

…Tracker: Uh, yeah, I’ve been working in politics for a while…

And who is virtuous?

“…I, I, I never have understood that why, why, uh, why we have to have the dirt slinging and things like that that goes on. Uh, that doesn’t….”

“…No it doesn’t, it doesn’t serve any purpose…”

Dirt slinging in politics? You think for some people it depends on the truth? Or who is doing it? Does anyone remember candidate Denny Hoskins complaining about this lie?:

Denny Hoskins (r) in the 121st Legislative District: attack piece ignores the NRA (October 17, 2008)

The Missouri republican State Committee is hurling an outrageous amount of money on behalf of Denny Hoskins (r – noun, verb, CPA) in his quest to take the open seat race in the 121st Legislative District over Jim Jackson (D).

The typical republican campaign startegery – throw lots of money at their problems

The problem for Hoskins and the Missouri republican State Committee is that they’re so desperate to attack a Democrat on guns that they neglected to check with the National Rifle Association before they created their attack piece. Either that, or they can’t read. Which brings up the issue of the total lack of republican support for education. But, I digress.

The republican way – when in doubt, attack and damn the facts

Uh, you forgot to check in with the NRA:

Well, it looks like they got the same rating. Here’s a word problem for all you logic whizzes: If Jim Jackson and Denny Hoskins have the same “A” rating from the NRA, and “Missouri gun owners can’t trust Jim Jackson to defend our gun rights”, doesn’t that mean that “Missouri gun owners can’t trust Denny Hoskins to defend our gun rights”? Just asking….

Or did Denny Hoskins complain about this?:

Meet your Missouri GOP: an unholy alliance with Missouri Right to Life (October 27, 2008)

I get it, *IOKIYAR.

*it’s okay of you’re a republican

There was a fundraiser this evening for Courtney Cole, the Democratic candidate in the 121st Legislative District, at the home of former state representative Deleta Williams in Warrensburg. Missouri Secretary of State (and U.S. Senate candidate) Robin Carnahan attended and spoke briefly.

There was a vehicle with an individual in the driver side seat parked along an access road across from the driveway entrance to the event.

Note the video camera in his lap.

Our conversation:

Show Me Progress: How are you doing?

Tracker: Hello. How are you?

SMP: Good, good. So, are you a tracker or something?

Tracker: Uh, you could say that I guess.

SMP: Yeah. I’m with Show Me Progress. [I handed him my business card. He took it.]

Tracker: Oh!

SMP: Yeah. So, so, where are you from?

Tracker: Uh, I’d rather not say.

SMP: Oh, okay, that’s cool. [sound of camera shutter]

Tracker: You like the license plate? [In response to me photographing the back of the car.]

SMP: Actually? Interesting.

Tracker: Um, hm.

SMP: Yeah, so, uh, so have you been doing this for long or working in, in politics and stuff like that? [crosstalk]

Tracker: Uh, yeah, I’ve been working in politics for a while. [crosstalk]

SMP: Yeah. Good, good. Uh, where are you from, just in, are you from Missouri or just?

Tracker: I’d rather not say.

SMP: Okay, that’s cool. Well, listen, have a good evening, all right?

No job is too insignificant in a campaign, but wearing a tie for this?

Representative Denny Hoskins (r – noun, verb, CPA) issued his latest legislative update video (something that Fired Up! has been reveling in) and in it he took time to lament being the target of an [our word] “alleged” push poll:

…one of the other things that we’ve had a lot of, um, ethics bills in, in the Ethics Committee and Government Accountability Committee this week. Um, with one of the things that I’ve think we should propose is a legislation on, um, ethical push polling. Recently in my home district this week the Democrats launched a push poll. And what a push poll is, uh, I’ve had several constituents call and, uh, tell me about the push poll as far as what they ask is, yes, would you vote to re-elect Representative Hoskins, and when my constituents ask yes, they provide, uh, some false and misleading and untrue statements about myself or my family. And then after they provide that information then they say, well, would you still vote for Representative Hoskins knowing these other things that we’ve told you. When several of my constituents asked who was paying for the poll, uh, the polling company, uh, did not, would not disclose that. And I think that that’s something, and, you know, ethically that our voters and constituents should know who is paying for the polling and so they can determine themselves if it’s a biased poll or not…

Representative Hoskins also put the same story in the written version of his January 28, 2010 “Capitol Report”:

….The House Committee on Governmental Accountability and Ethics Reform met again this week to hear testimony on several ethics reform bills.  One ethical reform the legislature should address is proper disclosure for campaign rhetoric. I was the subject of a prime example of campaign rhetoric just this week.  Disguised as a “survey,” a company called Liberty Polling conducted a biased telephone “push-poll” in my district. When asked who paid for the “survey,” Liberty Polling would not answer the question.  The issue here is not that there was a poll, but that it was veiled and not actually a survey at all.  In the name of good ethics and transparency, whoever is paying for the “survey” should be disclosed, especially when the recipient of the call requests that information.  I appreciated hearing from a number of constituents that you did not welcome this call. I won’t commit space here to go into details about what I was told about the calls, but I’d be happy to discuss it further if you would like….

This is amusing on so many levels. There’s the republican propensity to join the “cult of the victim.” And there’s the “isn’t that mean when they say something untrue about me”, but it’s okay when the republicans demonstrably do that to somebody else on your behalf. And, finally, there’s the basic misunderstanding of polling.

The American Association for Public Opinion Research has a lot of useful information on polling practices:

Fraudulent Polls  vs. Message Testing

The fact that a poll contains negative information about one or more candidates does NOT in and of itself make it a ‘push poll.’ Political campaigns routinely sponsor legitimate “message-testing” surveys that are used by campaign consultants to test out the effectiveness of various possible campaign messages or campaign ad content, often including negative messages. Political message-testing surveys may sometimes be confused with fake polling, but they are very different. One way to tell is that message-testing surveys exhibit the characteristics of a legitimate survey, such as:

At the beginning of the call, the interviewer clearly identifies the call center actually making the calls. (However, legitimate political polling firms will often choose not to identify the client who is sponsoring the research, be it a candidate or a political party, since that could bias the survey results.)

The interview contains more than a few questions.

The questions usually ask about more than one candidate or mention both sides of an issue.

Questions, usually near the end of the interview, ask respondents to report demographic characteristics such as age, education level, and party identification.

The survey is based on a random sample of voters.

The number of respondents falls within the range of legitimate surveys, typically between 400 and 1500 interviews.

AAPOR stresses that these criteria apply most of the time, but exceptions will arise. Journalists and members of the public are encouraged to investigate allegations of “push polling” to ascertain whether or not the calling activity was carried out for legitimate research purposes….

….Issues in Message Testing

Despite their legitimacy of purpose, message-testing surveys occasionally generate vigorous complaint. They are sometimes the subject of public controversy in political campaigns, and may appear in press stories about dubious campaign practices. AAPOR recognizes that message tests may need to communicate positive or negative information in strongly political terms, in a tone similar to campaign advertisements. Still, these surveys should be judged by the same ethical standards as any other poll of the public: Do they include any false or misleading statements? Do they treat the respondent with fairness and respect…?

[emphasis added]

People are caught off guard when they get a random sample poll, because, well, they were selected at random. The odds of any one person getting called are pretty steep and so most people who are called don’t tend to record the actual conversation with the poll interviewer (as if they’re sitting around waiting with a recording device or pencil and paper). And since it can be a unique experience (that random sample thing again) people who are called might not get all of the details of the conversation committed to memory, especially if they aren’t very aware of what to look for (see the AAPOR information above).

Absent a recording of an interview I’m not willing to call anything a “push poll.” In the past I’ve seen legitimate polls (I was interviewed for one) with candidate contrast questions characterized as a “push poll” in the local paper by a few outraged recipients. Testing the unpleasant (to the individual) facts in a candidate’s or politician’s record does not necessarily make that phone call part of a “push poll.”

It is not a given that Democrats, as Representative Hoskins stated in his video, sponsored the poll. It’s entirely possible that republicans, worried about Denny Hoskins’ numerous missteps are testing his (and their) vulnerability. Now that’s a possibility that should really make him nervous. If it were an independent republican expenditure Denny Hoskins wouldn’t have been told about it.  

State Representative Denny Hoskins (r – noun, verb, CPA) held an hour long “Idea Raiser” town hall starting at 7:30 a.m. in a meeting room at the Warrensburg branch of the Trails Regional Library. There were approximately fifteen people in attendance (in addition to media and library staff).

Representative Hoskins spent approximately the first fifteen minutes talking about bills that he is sponsoring or co-sponsoring in the upcoming session. In particular, he addressed ethics reform legislation:

Representative Denny Hoskins:…The other hot topic issue it, it seemed like it’s got a lot of press these days, is ethics. And, um, we’ve had, I’ve had two House colleagues and one Senate colleague that, um, um, basically resigned this past year, Jeff Smith and Steve Brown and [inaudible] El, El-Amin. Most of those names probably don’t, may not sound familiar because they’re from the eastern part of the state. But, with, uh, the situations that they were in and, uh, one [inaudible] accepted a bribe from a gas station owner. One of them, and then the other two, uh, basically lied under oath, under Federal oath, when they were, talked about some campaign, uh, finance literature, they lied under oath. Now the ironic thing is, um, you know, of course, bribes are never legal. So, [inaudible] you never want to accept a bribe, especially as an elected official. Uh, but then, number two, if my colleagues Jeff Brown and, uh, Jeff Smith and Steve Brown would have, uh, come clean and when they were under Federal investigation, they would have just told the truth under, when they were under oath they probably would have received a, uh, slap on the wrist a maybe a little bit of a fine. So, but because they chose to lie under oath Senator Smith’s facing about a year in prison and a fine and, uh, Representative Steve Brown faced a hefty fine and actually had to resign his license to the bar.

So, ethics has been a pretty big topic and currently there’s a couple different, uh, bills out there, ethics bills. Uh, Representative Tim Flook and Representative, uh, Kander, both from the Kansas City area, have proposed ethics, some ethics reform. Uh, Representative Steve Tilley has proposed another bill that I’m planning on being a co-sponsor on and just deals with some of the things,as far as [inaudible] lobbyists’s gifts and, um, other ethical, uh, I think issues.

Is it illegal to accept a meal or a gift from a  lobbyist? No, that, that’s not illegal. In fact, uh,just this past week, uh, everybody in the House and the Senate, we all got, I’m not wearing mine today, we all got ties. All, all the men got ties and it has a little picture of the Missouri State Seal on it. So, it arrived in our office and, uh, I imagine that that would be, uh, showing up on our lobbyist report. [audience laughter]

So, uh, ethics and ethics reform is, is a kind of a big, uh, heated topic it seems these days, just with like I mentioned with those three individuals and, uh, perception from the public…

What, nothing about public perceptions about the plane?

After his opening remarks Representative Hoskins asked attendees to share their concerns or ideas for the upcoming legislative session. The majority of the discussion was about the state budget and concerns about funding for education along with ideas about economic development.

Previous coverage on Show Me Progress about the need for ethics reform:

Republican-crafted Ethics “Reform” and the Missing Piece

Only 180 Days? (the Tilley Ethics Plan unveils itself)

Anonymous Republican state rep: “We need new leadership in the House”

Campaign Finance: It’s their world, the rest of us only live in it

Kander (D) and Flook (r): ethics reform legislation in Jefferson City

Kander (D) and Flook (r): ethics reform legislation in Jefferson City, part 2

Kander (D) and Flook (r): ethics reform legislation in Jefferson City, part 3

Courtney Cole, the Democratic Party candidate in the 121st Legislative District, continued her fundraising juggernaut last night with an event in Warrensburg. There were seventy individuals in attendance.

Courtney Cole, the Democratic Party candidate in the 121st Legislative District.

Former State Representative Deleta Williams (D) introduced Courtney Cole:

….I would like to introduce an individual, to introduce an individual who has stepped up and committed to take back the 121st Legislative District seat. [applause] That seat has been in the hands of Republicans since I left there in early two thousand three. And I will have to say that my experience as a member of the legislature and having had that seat was an incredible experience and I know that the individual who has stepped forward will also find it an incredible experience. And I truly believe that with all of her capabilities she will also be an excellent person to serve the constituents of the 121st District while upholding the principles of the Democratic Party [applause]….

Former State Representative for the 121st Legislative District Deleta Williams introduces Courtney Cole.

Courtney Cole then spoke:

….[applause] I want to thank all of you, especially, thank you so much for your kind words Deleta. That means so much to me….

….You know, so often people ask me why I decided to run for state representative and get into this race. And there are so many good reasons. But the one that I think is most important is, considering so many families right now are hurting, there are so many people who are having a hard time, a very difficult time. And I go around and I’ve been speaking to a lot of individuals and there’s a lot of people who are out of work and there’s a lot of individuals who have spoken to me and they’re worried that they might soon be. And so, while we’re seeing on a national level things really start to pick up with our economy, on a local and a state level we know that there are still needs that are here….

….I’ve been kind of tired about the lack of accountability and responsibility that some of our leaders have. And, as a teacher I always try to teach my students to be responsible and be accountable for their actions. So, I want all of you to know that with my campaign I will always be honest with you, I will always be accountable, and I’m always going to come to you and talk to you about the issues….

….This campaign isn’t my campaign. You know, I’ve said that before. This is our campaign. And these are our voices….We need to turn the voice back to the people. And that’s what I plan to be for you if I am so privileged to be able to serve you in Jefferson City. I want to be your voice….

Gary Grigsby, the recently announced Democratic Party candidate in the 122nd Legislative District, attended Courtney Cole’s fundraising event in Warrensburg.

Among those attending the event was Gary Grigsby, a Johnson County small business proprietor, who has announced that he is a candidate in the 122nd Legislative District.

Our previous coverage of Representative Denny Hoskin’s (r – noun, verb, CPA) property tax issue:

Denny Hoskins: Noun, Verb…CPA? (November 12, 2009)

I think I was way too nice to Denny Hoskins when I gave him the benefit of the doubt (November 13, 2009)

Denny Hoskins (r) in the 121st District: who is to to blame for all this misfortune? (November 16, 2009)

Denny Hoskins (r) in the 121st District: “You must have been misinformed.” (November 17, 2009)

Well, the Warrensburg Daily Star-Journal has been running a number of letters to the editor, the following from Monday, November 23rd (available on-line):

First he can’t pay, then pays next day

We are confused. The paper first says that Mr. Hoskins’ taxes are delinquent in the amount of nearly $20,000. … Then he suddenly finds the money to pay them [….]

There are a few more:

People struggle, but they pay taxes

Denny Hoskins all of the sudden came up with $20,000 in less than 24 hours to pay his delinquent taxes that he couldn’t pay for a year [….]

Astonishing news about taxes

[….] And to think: We elected this guy to guard our tax dollars in Jefferson City [….]

Thanks for making tax issue public

As a concerned citizen I am proud of the fact this tax issue was made public by you [….]

Then to come up with a lame excuse as Rep. Hoskins has made for non-payment of the tax is appalling [….]

CPA should make better choices

After reading and listening to the various articles and interviews regarding Rep. Denny Hoskins’ failure to pay his 2008 taxes, I am frustrated [….]

Interestingly, the Warrensburg Daily Star-Journal has not made an editorial and several other letters to the editor on the same subject (which were in a printed edition from last week) available on-line.

Representative Denny Hoskins (r – noun, verb, CPA) at his June 19, 2009 townhall meeting in Knob Noster, Missouri. Uh, we were there, we covered three of his townhalls in the same day, and it was interesting. So what’s the big deal?

Representative Denny Hoskins (r) in the 121st Legislative District has not been having a good month when it comes to property taxes. This morning he talked with Marion Woods about it on his regular KOKO radio show.

The transcript:

[note: laughter and crosstalk in transcript came from the interviewer]

….Marion Woods: Our State Representative for the 121st District, Denny Hoskins. Hi, Den.

Representative Denny Hoskins: Hi, how are you Woody?

Woods: I’m pretty good.

Hoskins: Good, good.

Woods: It’s Monday, I got through the weekend. Although it’s kind of miserable out there today.

Hoskins: Yes, it is kind of…  

Woods: And it’s not going to change all week! [crosstalk]

Hoskins: …cruddy out there. Exactly, exactly.

Woods: We’ve got to talk about HOS Properties, LLC today.

Hoskins: Yes.

Woods: Now you probably knew I would ask you about that.

Hoskins: Right, right.

Woods: You probably prepared a…  

Hoskins: Well, I…  

Woods: To discuss it a little bit?

Hoskins: Yes, I’m, I’m definitely prepared to discuss Hos Properties, LLC and, and it’s something that I want to talk about.

Woods: Oh. Okay.

Hoskins: So, inform…So I can inform the listeners about what’s going on.

Woods: Ok.

Hoskins: Um, basically Hos Properties, LLC is, is a rental property company owned by my brother Brian, and myself. Uh, Brian has taken over managing the rental properties and paying the bills and whatnot ever since I started campaigning for election back in January two thousand eight. Um, unfortunately, we were late this year paying our property taxes.

Woods: Yeah.

Hoskins: And the House Democrat Campaign Committee, including Chris Moreno, sent out press releases to every media outlet, um, in Johnson County and I think across the state.

Woods: [laughter] Everybody got one, huh?

Hoskins: Yes, last, uh, Wednesday informing them, with, with copies of our HOS Properties, LLC property taxes.

Woods: Did you have any indication this was coming? That, that you were, there was going to be a big news story?

Hoskins: No, no, I had, I had no indication. You know we, um, all my individual income taxes are paid. All my personal property taxes are paid. My property taxes on my house are paid. This was a, like I said, a business, HOS Properties, LLC. That owed, we paid our 2008 property taxes late. We are responsible for those property taxes. Um, we just paid them late. And, I know that there’s are a lot of other Missourians out there that are struggling just like we are.

Woods: Yeah.

Hoskins: Um, when we have tenants that can’t pay their rent, uh, because of economic recession and downturn, uh, in turn it’s tough for us to pay our mortgage.

Woods: Yeah.

Hoskins: And our property taxes as well.

Woods: Now your brother takes care of this for you?

Hoskins: Brother takes care of…[crosstalk]  

Woods: For HOS Properties, LLC.

Hoskins: Yes.

Woods: Did you know that they hadn’t been paid?

Hoskins: Yes, I, I knew that they had not been paid. And, so, he um, he’d been saving money back, and we, I mean, we’ve had a plan for a while. He’d been saving money back. We can, not necessarily pay them in installments, but we can pay, it was a couple different properties, so we can pay each parcel off and that’s what we were working on trying to do.

Woods: Yeah, you can’t pay ’em in installments can you?

Hoskins: No, you cannot pay them in installments. When we talk about installments is, um, you know either setting money back, um, us setting money back in order to pay them all in full, or, like I said, you can pay off different parcels, and so we’ve got, um, I think five, five parcels, or five uh, rental, rental houses, rental buildings.

Woods: Yeah.

Hoskins: And so we could pay off each one. We didn’t have to pay all of ’em up at one time.

Woods: It’s a, there were separate bills then?

Hoskins: Exactly.

Woods: Okay. Okay.

Hoskins: Yes. They were separate bills. And so, you know, like I said, the previous tenants skipped town without paying, and so we’ve been struggling on collecting delinquent rent and getting those paid.

Woods: That’s always fun too, isn’t it?

Hoskins:: It, it is, uh. It’s very, it’s very frustrating and, and struggling and I know there’s a lot of other landlords out there, too, that go through the same thing. In fact, I’ve received, um, several phone calls from other landlords here in Johnson County, in Warrensburg, that have experienced the same thing and, and it’s frustrating for them, and to try to collect delinquent rent. Because, the, the Missouri laws are definitely written in favor of the tenants.

Woods: Really?

Hoskins: Yes, um.  

Woods: Maybe something for you to work on! [laughter]

Hoskins: It might, it might be something that, that we take a look at.

Woods: Yeah.

Hoskins: You know, we’ll see. You know this is a, um, like I said these are, you know, I just want to make it clear because sometimes the headlines don’t always reflect…[crosttalk]

Woods: Yeah.

Hoskins: …what, what’s actually going on. These were two thousand eight property taxes for HOS Properties, LLC, which is a company that my brother and I own, for, and we paid the taxes, we know that we’re, we’re responsible for the taxes. We weren’t trying to dodge not paying the taxes, they were just paid late.

Woods: And you’re going to have to pay late fees, too.

Hoskins: Yes, and we paid, we paid the late fees, all the late fees and the property taxes have been paid in full. So, like I said, my, we’ve had a plan. My brother’s been setting aside money and, uh, we’ve paid those off all last week. So.

Woods: So, it’s done.

Hoskins: It’s done.

Woods: Now, there’s still going to be questions aren’t there?

Hoskins: Right, there, there’s still going to be questions, and you know this is um, we’ve talked a little bit about it and it, it feels, we’re a year out, a little over, a little less than a year out from the next general election, as a state representative I serve a two year term.  

Woods: Yeah.

Hoskins: Um, I am the number one targeted race in the state of Missouri. So what that…  

Woods: Do you know why you are?

Hoskins: Well, based on the fact that um, um, I won by a hundred twenty-two votes last, last November.

Woods: Very short, very small margin then.

Hoskins: Right. And we’ve had, you know, Republican and Democrat representatives here represent us in the 121st District.

Woods: Yeah.

Hoskins: We’ve had, you know, Senator Pearce represented us. We’ve had, uh, former State Representative Deleta Williams. We’ve had, uh, Rep – who was a Democrat. We’ve had Republican Gene Lange represent us. So…[crossstalk]

Woods: Yeah.

Hoskins: It’s a district that’s swung back and forth. And, um, this is just the, the Chris Mor
…, I know I’ve had a lot of people that said, well who, who’s Chris Moreno. I got an email from Chris Moreno. Um, Chris Moreno…[crosstalk]  

Woods: I have no idea myself.

Hoskins: Yes, you don’t? Um, Chris Moreno, he is, he was the lobbyist for the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, um, last year, under Governor Nixon’s administration. He left that position to become, um, the Chairman of the House Democrat Campaign Committee. He’s also one that I’ve talked about before about Representative Scott Largent, myself, uh, offering the amendments to save Meals on Wheels and get rid of the government lobbyist. Well he’s one of the positions that we, um, amended to cut [laughter] in, in order to put that money toward Meals on Wheels.

Woods: Yeah.

Hoskins: He’s also, and we’ve talked about this, on the, on the radio show before too, um, with my colleagues Representative Molendorp and Representative Zerr, about the, uh, when they were offered jobs, and job security, in order to place a vote, um, Repre…, er, you know, Chris Moreno, as well as Dustin Allison from the Governor’s office were the two people that, that were there offering them, um, perks and things in, in order for the vote. So that’s, that’s who Chris Moreno is. Um.  

Woods: So his job right now is to get your job?

Hoskins: Well, his, his, yes. His job is, his job is to make sure that uh, um, there’s a candidate here, um, to try and take my job. So, um, you know, like I said, this is, it’s a targeted race, there’s going to be a, uh, lot name-calling toward me and we’ve already had, there’s people down at the courthouse, um, from the House Democrat Campaign Committee, or, or firms that they’ve hired that are pull, pulling my personal and business records. Um, someone, I um, I can’t prove anything, but I think someone was actually going through my trash…[laughter]…before.

Woods: Really?

Hoskins: Yes, yes. I’ve had fake constituents, uh, email me and, and when I’ve tried to call ’em back, there, there’s no, the phone number they list is, is not there.

Woods: Nonexistent?

Hoskins: Nonexistent. I, look them up on the registered voter hotline, and there’s, they’re not a registered voter at least within my district.

Woods: Yeah.

Hoskins: So, so they’re, they’re being put up to something, um, by, by other people. I’ve had, um, someone call my office, and, um, ask, you know, or had, had someone ask one of my supporters well, you know it’s really hard to get a hold of Representative Hoskins, you know, how much, how much would it take to meet with Representative Hoskins? Well, my answer is, it’s free. It’s free. [laughter] It’s free to meet with Representative Hoskins. I don’t, I don’t charge anything. [crosstalk, background laughter] And then, you know I’ve talked about it, at my town halls, too, I had a, um, when we had the three town halls, one at Holden, one at Warrensburg, and one at Knob Noster. I had a gentleman, a liberal blogger, um, Michael Bersin…

Woods: Um, hm.

Hoskins: Um, come and tape record and take pictures at not just Holden, not just Holden and Warrensburg but Holden, Warrensburg, and Knob Noster. So, like said, it, it’s a targeted race. There’s going to be a lot of information and everything out there but, what I encour…what I encourage people to do is, if they want the truth, if they want the facts, you know, don’t, uh, listen to, and, front page editorial on the local newspaper, you know, give me a call. My door’s always open. I’ll be, you know, email me, you know, it’s, uh, a lot different living your life in a fish bowl.

Woods: It is, it is different isn’t it?

Hoskins: Right. And that, and that’s the way I describe it, but you know I’ve got thick skin and like I said, my door’s always open.

Woods: Now where can they find you, Denny?

Hoskins: They can find me, um, either at Denny dot Hoskins at house dot mo dot g-o-v, um, my, we have a new 866 or 800 number. I don’t have that number on me, well, maybe I do.

Woods: Maybe you do, in the phone?

Hoskins: Yes, yeah, let me look it up here.

Woods: What about, uh,  if they want to come in and meet you face to face?

Hoskins: If they want to come in and meet me face to face, you know, we, I’ve got my new office, uh, Taylor, Hoskins, Shaw CPAs at 201 North Holden that they come in and set an appointment. I’d be glad to meet ’em, with them here in the district. Or, um, most of the time I’m here in the district or where we can meet you know, for coffee somewhere as well.

Woods: Yeah.

Hoskins: Anything like that. Um, you know, or they can always call my Jeff City office and, my legislative assistant Rose Marie can schedule an appointment there too.

Woods: Okay, did you find your eight hundred number there?

Hoskins: Yes, it is, 866-331-4073. Again that’s 1-866-331-4073. Um, what we’re, you know, what I’m excited about, I’m excited about getting back to work this next legislative session. Um, Representative Burlison, uh, from Springfield and I have got some potential legislation that could I think, uh, be very environmental friendly and that we’re excited about and working on together. One, one of, one of the other things I’m going to do is, I had another colleague of mine tell me about, uh, an idea they had, it’s called a, you know I’ve had four town halls in the past year.  

Woods: Yeah.

Hoskins: What they called was an idea raiser. And so we’re working on trying to get a time and a place for an idea raiser here in Johnson County. And what an idea raiser is, um, constituents are invited to come, we meet, and we talk about their ideas. Their ideas to help make Johnson County and the 121st District and Missouri a better place to live and work. And, I’ll be there to listen to their ideas. They’ll have a chance to write those ideas down and talk to me about, um, any potential legislation they think that could, could, um, help make that better. So, I’m excited about that and like I said, I’m excited about getting back to Jeff City. Pre-filing starts December 1st.

Woods: Which is not far off, is it?

Hoskins: It’s not far off.

Woods: A couple weeks.

Hoskins: Right, a couple weeks. And we’ll talk, here in the next week or two, we’ll talk about different, um, um, legislation that, that we’re working on pre-filing. But, if any, like I said, if anyone has any questions, you know, feel free to give me a call or shoot me an email because, um, you’re, you’re going to get, I’m going to shoot you the record straight.

Woods: [laughter] Yeah.

Hoskins: I guess I should say.

Woods: But it, I think everyone needs to be alert, this is a contested race coming up. You’ve got another year and then, there’s another election.

Hoskins: Yes, yes, it’s uh, you know, like I said, it’s been interesting. You know with, there’s another local, uh, news media source that printed a, uh, on their online website, Digitalburg.com.

Woods: Um hmm.

Hoskins: They printed, um, the other announced candidate, um, her press release announcing her election bid, or bid for my, my job, my state representative job. Um, I sent them copies of my press release twice. Called them, left two messages, never, never heard anything. It was never printed. You know all the other local media outlets, uh, including the radio station and warrensburgradio.com picked that up. When I was finally able to make contact, uh, with the, with the gentleman, he said that, uh, the incumbent, me announcing my run for reelection twelve months was, ahead of time was not news, but, uh, the only other announced candidate announcing her re-election bid, for sixteen months out, that was big news. And, I said, well it was kind of interesting and, and frustrating that, uh, her husband works in, in that department at the University, the Department of Communications. And, u
h, he said her husband working three doors down from me has nothing to do with us printing her press release and not yours. So.

Woods: Yeah.

Hoskins: So, like I said, it’s, it’s a targeted race. Um, I look forward to this next session. I look forward to campaigning and you know, become, staying your state representative.

Woods: Thank you, Denny.

Hoskins: Thanks a lot Woody.

Woods: You bet. Denny Hoskins, your state representative of the 121st District….

Okay. He’s talking about not paying his property taxes for eleven months and then paying them after the media covers that fact. And somehow:

“…And then, you know I’ve talked about it, at my town halls, too, I had a, um, when we had the three town halls, one at Holden, one at Warrensburg, and one at Knob Noster. I had a gentleman, a liberal blogger, um, Michael Bersin [….] Um, come and tape record and take pictures at not just Holden, not just Holden and Warrensburg but Holden, Warrensburg, and Knob Noster….”

Yes, covering a state representative’s townhall in a blog that covers politics and government in Missouri is somehow connected to not paying your property taxes for almost a year. Am I missing a connection here?

The list of other meanies that seem to be responsible for all this misfortune doesn’t just include me.

If Representative Hoskins had actually paid his property taxes when they were due (like the reported 92% of other taxpayers in Johnson County who paid up) all those people who pointed that fact out wouldn’t be meanies?

That’s just rich.

Oh, and by the way, it’s the Democratic Party.

This evening we attended a fundraising event for Courtney Cole, the Democratic Party candidate in the 121st Legislative District, at the Pi Gallery in Kansas City. State Auditor Susan Montee (D) and State Representative Jason Kander (D) also attended the event and later addressed the crowd.

Courtney Cole, the Democratic Party candidate in the 121st Legislative District, addresses the crowd.

State Representative Jason Kander introduced Courtney Cole who then spoke to the crowd about her call to public service and why she was running for office.

State Auditor Susan Montee (D) spoke of the importance of taking back the majority in the Missouri House of Representatives.

Courtney Cole’s third quarter fundraising numbers were quite good. This event will add to her fourth quarter fundraising total.

Several attendees speak with Chris Moreno (right), Executive Director of the Missouri House Democratic Campaign Committee.

The current representative in the 121st legislative District, Denny Hoskins (r – noun, verb, CPA) issued a press release today:

As the only Certified Public Accountant in the Missouri State Legislature, Representative Denny Hoskins, R-Warrensburg, is offering his experience as a CPA and auditor to ensure transparency and accuracy as Missouri accepts federal stimulus dollars.  In a letter sent to Governor Nixon and Senate Leadership, Rep. Hoskins offered himself as a resource and expressed an interest in serving on committees relating to the federal funds….

Gee, I recall reading somewhere that Missouri has a State Auditor. And, the Missouri State Auditor has a thing or two to say about federal stimulus money:

…The state auditor’s office is Missouri’s independent watchdog agency and we are committed to embracing a high level of transparency and accountability of public funds within Missouri state government….

….Missouri and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

On February 26, 2009, the Office of Administration created two new funds within the State Treasury to deposit most ARRA money coming into Missouri. The two funds are the Federal Budget Stabilization Fund and the Federal Stimulus Fund and were subsequently codified into state law when SB 313 was signed into law on March 26, 2009. The Office of Administration subsequently established additional funds to aid in tracking ARRA monies. This site will be updated daily to reflect the allocation of federal funds received in the State Treasury as a result of the ARRA….

[emphasis added]

“…The Office of Administration subsequently established additional funds to aid in tracking ARRA monies. This site will be updated daily to reflect the allocation of federal funds received in the State Treasury as a result of the ARRA….” That sound like transparency and accountability to me.

How about we let Susan Montee (D), a CPA, do her job, you know, the person elected statewide by the voters of Missouri?

I called the Missouri State Auditor’s office this afternoon and a spokesperson confirmed that there is a federal mandate for the ongoing audit of federal funds (including stimulus money) for the State Auditor: Issues Related to Expenditures of Federal Awards – Federal Single Audit Act

Meanwhile, the Missouri House Democratic Campaign Committee issued a press release (And gave us a hat tip. No, we didn’t know about it until we got the press release like everyone else):

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Rep. Mike Talboy

October 7th, 2009…                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Hoskins Record Fails In Accuracy and Transparency

Hoskins is on record using fuzzy math and opposing transparency in government

JEFFERSON CITY – In a Press Release sent out today, Rep. Denny Hoskins offered his services as a CPA to the Governor and Senate towards the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) because of what he now claims is “proven experience in accuracy and transparency in government”. Ironically, he is now admitting that he opposed the stimulus plan before even being trained on the facts.

In a post dated June 8th, 2009 on his official Twitter page, Republican Denny Hoskins claimed that the ARRA would “cost $1,311,666 per job” as an argument to his constituents for opposing the stimulus plan. He then posted how he came to the calculation saying “$7.9 billion dollars divided by $600,000 new jobs equals $1,311,666 per job”. After the blog Show Me Progress, pointed out that his math actually equals $13,166 per job (which as a CPA Denny Hoskins should know) Hoskins attempted to cover his misinformation by saying he “hit a few extra zeros”. Unfortunately, even his cover up was fuzzy math.

“Rep. Hoskins is on record consistently failing at basic math when it comes to the stimulus numbers in a failed effort to scare his constituents into opposing the plan, and now, he is admitting he had no previous experience or “training” on the matter before criticizing it,” said Rep. Mike Talboy (D-Kansas City), Speaker-Elect of the Missouri House Democratic Caucus, “On top of all of that, Denny argued in support of SB66 which would allow government officials to avoid disclosing any financial conflicts of interest with the use of taxpayer dollars. His record clearly shows that when it comes to taxpayer dollars, he is neither accurate with math nor supportive of transparency in government.”

Fact Check:

5/01/2009- Denny Hoskins uses Knob Noster Mayor Stan Hall as an example during a floor debate on SB66 as to why government officials shouldn’t have to fill out documents showing any conflicts of interest with the use of taxpayer dollars. He also argued that having to show conflicts of interest “prevents people from running for office.”

5/07/2009- Mayor Stan Hall tells the Warrensburg Daily Star Journal that he is opposed to SB 66 and isn’t sure why Rep. Denny Hoskins used him as an example since he “doesn’t feel that filling out a disclosure statement is burdensome.”

5/07/2009- Denny Hoskins tells the Warrensburg Daily Star Journal that “he doesn’t know of anyone who has decided not to run for office” because they have to fill out this paper work.

6/08/2009- Denny Hoskins states on twitter that “Obama “stimulus” plan will cost taxpayers $1,311,666 per job created.”

6/08/2009- Show Me Progress Blog calls Denny Hoskins out for falsifying numbers that prove by his own math it would cost $13,166 per job created.

10/07/2009- Hoskins admits that he had no previous training or experience on the stimulus plan before criticizing it publicly.

##

[emphasis in original]

Okay, that left a mark.

Courtney Cole is the announced Democratic Party candidate challenging Hoskins in the 121st Legislative District for the November 2010 election.

So, Representative Denny Hoskins (r – noun, verb, CPA) is posturing about doing someone else’s job. One has got to wonder if he isn’t interested anymore in the one he has now.

It looks like Representative Denny Hoskins (r – noun, verb, CPA) has friends in the CPA world who want to prop up his quarterly campaign fundraising numbers. On September 30th, via the Missouri Ethics Commission [pdf]:

MISSOURI ETHICS COMMISSION

CONTRIBUTION OF MORE THAN $5,000.00 RECEIVED BY ANY COMMITTEE FROM ANY SINGLE DONOR – TO BE FILED WITHIN 48 HOURS OF RECEIVING THE CONTRIBUTION

CITIZENS FOR HOSKINS 9/30/2009

C081024

MISSOURI CPA PAC

540 MARYVILLE CENTRE DRIVE, SUITE 200

ST. LOUIS, MO 63141 9/29/2009

5,000.00

[emphasis added]

They can’t be supporting him because of his stellar legislative achievements, that’s for sure. The republican incumbent industrial complex must be feeling the heat from Courtney Cole (D).

Can’t you just feel that Denny Hoskins (r – noun, verb, CPA) grass roots wave washing over you?

Now, we found a previous contribution from this organization for someone else:

Detailed Summary of Contributions And Loans Received

Committee: FRIENDS FOR JASON SMITH

Report Date: 4/10/2009

MISSOURI CPAPAC 540 MARYVILLE CENTRE DRIVE, SUITE 200 ST. LOUIS, MO 63141 03/27/2009

$300.00

Evidently they’re getting more generous. It must be the booming economy.

We’ll keep digging.