…or even what doing the job you want entails.

Yesterday via Twitter, on the Kentucky county clerk who won’t issue marriage licenses:

Rachel Held Evans @rachelheldevans

No one’s being jailed for practicing her religion. Someone’s being jailed for using the government to force others to practice her religion. 1:30 PM – 3 Sep 2015

You might be surprised by the number people who apparently don’t understand that, even some with law degrees.

So, one of the 2016 republican candidates for Attorney General in Missouri just had to weigh in:

Missouri Attorney General candidate expresses support for jailed Kentucky clerk

Friday, September 4, 2015 ~ Updated 3:19 PM

By Tyler Graef Southeast Missourian

Missouri Attorney General candidate Josh Hawley on Friday denounced the jailing of county clerk Kim Davis of Kentucky and called for more clearly defined protections for religious people in the public sphere…..

[….]

….”[A recorder of deeds in Missouri] should be able to opt out and designate someone else, a deputy or another official to issue the license instead,” Hawley said during a phone interview. “That would protect their constitutional rights and also allow for that license to be issued.”

Uh, correct us if we’re wrong, but it wasn’t that the Kentucky county clerk didn’t want to personally issue marriage licenses to same sex couples, but as the public official in charge of the office she wasn’t allowing the issuance of any licenses to any couples. That is a significant difference.

A statement by Jake Zimmermann (D), one of the Democratic Party candidates for Attorney General in 2016, in response to Josh Hawley’s (r) statements as reported in the newspaper article:

“The Attorney General’s job is to enforce the law, not to make it up as you go along.  Marriage equality is the law of the land.  If you don’t understand that, you shouldn’t be running for Attorney General.”

 

Kurt Schaefer’s (r) 2016 attorney general campaign filed its July quarterly campaign finance report with the Missouri Ethics Commission on July 15th:

C081145: Citizens To Elect Kurt Schaefer Attorney General

  Committee Type: Candidate

Po Box 1614 Party Affiliation: Republican

Columbia Mo 65205 Established Date: 04/04/2008

[….]

Information Reported On: 2015 – July Quarterly Report

Beginning Money on Hand $1,326,971.20

Monetary Receipts + $96,097.50

Monetary Expenditures – $38,920.56

Contributions Made – $0.00

Other Disbursements – $0.00

Subtotal     $57,176.94

Ending Money On Hand   $1,384,148.14

[emphasis added]

Not a particularly active fundraising quarter, though the cash on hand, at first glance, is impressive. There is $544,822.93 in outstanding indebtedness.

The contributions:

Contributions to Kurt Schaefer’s (r) 2016 attorney general campaign reported on its July 2015 quarterly campaign finance report.

Contributions to Kurt Schaefer’s (r) 2016 attorney general campaign reported on its July 2015 quarterly campaign finance report.

Pfizer PAC $5,001.00

Bob McCosh Chevrolet $5,000.00

Missouri Soybean Association $5,000.00

Otto Maly $5,000.00

RightChoice Managed Care $5,000.00

Alliance for Higher Education $2,500.00

CenturyLink $2,500.00

Cerner PAC $2,500.00

Coalition for Advanced Learning $2,500.00

Dealers Interested in Government $2,500.00

Express Scripts $2,500.00

Glazer’s Missouri PAC $2,500.00

Kum & Go $2,500.00

MHA $2,500.00

Missouri Realtors PAC $2,500.00

MO Corn Growers Association $2,500.00

MO Dental PAC $2,500.00

MO Health Care Association $2,500.00

Supporters of Health Research $2,500.00

Orscheln Management $2,000.00

GibbonsWorkman $1,500.00

Kevin Greenberg $1,500.00

MARF $1,500.00

MO Asphalt Pavement Assn $1,500.00

Support Kids Services $1,500.00

ACE Group PAC $1,000.00

Brent Hemphill $1,000.00

Cozen O’Connor PAC $1,000.00

Heal PAC $1,000.00

Microsoft Corp PAC $1,000.00

MOSFA PAC $1,000.00

Neal Bredehoeft $1,000.00

Penman & Winton $1,000.00

Polsinelli $1,000.00

Randy Coil $1,000.00

Robert Alpers $1,000.00

Ronald Russell $1,000.00

Thomas Rafter $1,000.00

Travelers Indemnity $1,000.00

W. E. Shoehigh $1,000.00

Warren Stemme $1,000.00

MFA Oil $800.00

AMEC PAC $600.00

Bristol-Meyers Squibb $500.00

Central Bancompany PAC $500.00

D. C. Inc $500.00

FEAPAC $500.00

Gary Drawing $500.00

Greg Steinhoff $500.00

Hulett Heating $500.00

Jennifer Brant Bukowsky $500.00

MBA Capitol Region $500.00

MO American Water Employees $500.00

MO Beer Wholesalers $500.00

MO Independent Bankers Assoc $500.00

Re/Max Boone Realty $500.00

Socket Telecom $500.00

Toni Wyrick $500.00

Reid & Associates $150.00

There are a lot of PACs in the mix.

Some of the expenditures:

MISSOURI ETHICS COMMISSION

ITEMIZED EXPENDITURES OVER $100 SUPPLEMENTAL FORM

CITIZENS TO ELECT KURT SCHAEFER ATTORNEY GENERAL [pdf] 7/15/2015

Robert Knodell 110 Venus Holts Summit MO 65043 6/4/2015 Campaign Worker $10,000.00

VPR 2870 S Ingram Mill Road Springfield MO 65804 6/10/2015 public relations $5,291.01

Mike Roman & Associates 2305 Rhawn Street Philadelphia PA 19152 4/1/2015 research $7,500.00

[emphasis added]

======================

Jake Zimmerman’s (D) 2016 attorney general campaign filed its July quarterly campaign finance report with the Missouri Ethics Commission on July 15th:

C051130: Citizens For Jake Zimmerman

  Committee Type: Candidate

9046 Old Bonhomme Road Party Affiliation: Democrat

St Louis Mo 63132 Established Date: 06/13/2005

[….]

Information Reported On: 2015 – July Quarterly Report

Beginning Money on Hand $797,924.74

Monetary Receipts + $156,129.57

Monetary Expenditures – $30,862.82

Contributions Made – $50.00

Other Disbursements – $2,081.91

Subtotal     $123,134.84

Ending Money On Hand   $921,059.58

[emphasis added]

An comparatively impressive fundraising quarter and a healthy cash on hand. There is $203,890.86 in outstanding indebtedness.

The contributions:

Contributions to Jake Zimmerman’s (D) 2016 attorney general campaign reported on its July 2015 quarterly campaign finance report.

Contributions to Jake Zimmerman’s (D) 2016 attorney general campaign reported on its July 2015 quarterly campaign finance report.

David Roberts $5,000.00

Steve Berman $5,000.00

Matthew Fischer $5,000.00

Archein Construction $5,000.00

Michael Staenberg $5,000.00

University Terrace Association $4,800.00

Robern Incorporated $2,500.00

Christopher Giampapa $2,500.00

Hugh Scott $2,500.00

Ed Balk $2,500.00

CLAYCO $2,500.00

Lawrence Chapman $2,500.00

Terry Bloomberg $2,500.00

Howard Jacobson $2,500.00

Don Musick $2,500.00

Hensley Construction $2,500.00

Stone Leyton & Gershman $2,000.00

Paramount Apparel $2,000.00

Cathy Steele $2,000.00

Schlichter Bogard & Denton $1,500.00

Stone & Alter Real Estate $1,500.00

University Square $1,500.00

Anthony Shapiro $1,500.00

City Wireless $1,500.00

Gloss LLC $1,500.00

Stephanie Peterson $1,100.00

Robert Denlow $1,000.00

American Medical Consulting $1,000.00

Roby Robertson $1,000.00

Matthew Landwehr $1,000.00

Mary R Wolff Real Estate $1,000.00

Sheila Greenbaum $1,000.00

John Dubinsky $1,000.00

Kristoffer Boevingloh $1,000.00

Gary Heifetz $1,000.00

Friends of Bill Frick $1,000.00

Phil Calabrese $1,000.00

Karen Levy $1,000.00

Robert Gellman $1,000.00

Vivian Gellman $1,000.00

Charles Sanders $1,000.00

Cerame Trust Management $1,000.00

Sun Associates Kirkwood $1,000.00

Atlantic Apartment $1,000.00

Charles Hatfield $1,000.00

Thomas Zupon $1,000.00

Commercial Bank $1,000.00

Reinsurance Group of America $1,000.00

Dean Franklin $1,000.00

Ken Katzif $1,000.00

David Bohm $1,000.00

BNSF Railway $1,000.00

Kevin Buchek $1,000.00

Donna Moog Landsbaum $1,000.00

William Murphy $1,000.00

George Capps $1,000.00

Express Scripts $1,000.00

Sauter Sullivan $1,000.00

Goralnik-Muskin Properties $1,000.00

Paul Macon $1,000.00

Scott Stern $1,000.00

MOSFA PAC $1,000.00

Aimee Aver $1,000.00

Ron Danna $1,000.00

Steven Funk $1,000.00

Kim Jacobs $1,000.00

Pagedale Business Center $1,000.00

Dudley Von Holt $900.00

Jeniphr A. E. Breckenridge $750.00

Christopher O’Hara $750.00

Andrew Volk $750.00

Shelter Insurance $750.00

Steven Sherman $700.00

Jennifer Connolly $500.00

Thomas Loeser $500.00

Seph McNamara $500.00

Cynthia Allen $500.00

Chesterfield Place $500.00

Creve Coeur Real Estate $500.00

Deerfield Apartments $500.00

Pebble Point Apartments $500.00

Daniel McCuaig $500.00

Tamar Fernandez $500.00

Paul Sonderegger $500.00

Paul Forman $500.00

Jason Growe $500.00

Thomas Litz $500.00

Andrew Smolik $500.00

Robert Goldson $500.00

Daniel Engle $500.00

Andrew Voss $500.00

Suzanne Fischer $500.00

Richard Fister $500.00

Charles Friedman $500.00

Douglas Baron $500.00

Edward Cohen $500.00

Lawrence Friedman $500.00

Barbara Geisman $500.00

Bob Hull $500.00

Kenton Knickmeyer $500.00

Raymond Massey $500.00

Thomas Snider $500.00

Isaac Young $500.00

Matt Fillo $500.00

Terry Stone $500.00

Daryl Crone $500.00

Janette Lohman $500.00

Khristine Heisinger $500.00

Jay Baumohl $500.00

Mark Sableman $500.00

MACO Development $500.00

William Koenigsdorf $500.00

Kay Drey $500.00

Daniel Cox $500.00

Sanford Jaffe $500.00

Kirk Presley $500.00

Sara Seabaugh $500.00

Robert Wagner $500.00

Murphy Orlando $500.00

Gordon Ankney $500.00

Robert Elgin $500.00

William Killian $500.00

Irv Rothenberg $500.00

N D Consulting $500.00

Rava Consulting $500.00

Enterprise Holdings $500.00

Joan Ellyn Silber $360.00

Michael Scully $350.00

Russell Iungerich $300.00

Rush Robinson $300.00

Jason Wheeler $300.00

Francine Cantor $270.00

Francis Buckley $250.00

Kathleen Sorkin $250.00

Howard Smith $250.00

Michael Litwack $250.00

Susan Block $250.00

William Danforth $250.00

Scott Wilson $250.00

Harry Hulings $250.00

David Capes $250.00

Brian Stone $250.00

Rodney Harrison $250.00

John Phillips $250.00

Paul Flotken $250.00

Robert Rothschild $250.00

Edward Goldberg $250.00

Eileen Hulsey $250.00

Scott Claassen $250.00

Mary Still $250.00

Mary Buenger $250.00

Gregory Patterson $250.00

Steven Cousins $250.00

Martin Israel $250.00

Seth Albin $250.00

Dan Ball $250.00

Christopher Bauman $250.00

Alex Berger $250.00

M. Susan Carlson $250.00

Barry Cervantes $250.00

Charles Elbert $250.00

Leonard Frankel $250.00

Robert Newmark $250.00

Susan Talve $250.00

Dan White $250.00

Kimberly Yates $250.00

Ivy Arai Tabbara $200.00

Christopher Thau $200.00

Jason Linder $200.00

Bruce Ryder $200.00

Linda Shapiro $200.00

William Holtz $150.00

Ashley Hanna $150.00

Humberto Reboredo $150.00

Amanda Kelley $150.00

Paul Donnelly $150.00

Michael Meredith $150.00

Benjamin Uchitelle $150.00

Timothy O’Connell $125.00

Valery Starr $125.00

Zileta Lolly Bennett $118.00

Catherine Schroeder $118.00

Morris Sterneck $100.00

Aaron McMurtray $100.00

JAC Consulting $100.00

Richard Halpern $100.00

Ray Dobinsky $100.00

Alan Sachs $100.00

James Graves $75.00

Shiran Kochavi $50.00

William Curtis $50.00

Zach Vigna $50.00

William Curtis $50.00

Kathleen Sorkin $25.00

Some of the expenditures:

MISSOURI ETHICS COMMISSION

ITEMIZED EXPENDITURES OVER $100 SUPPLEMENTAL FORM

CITIZENS FOR JAKE ZIMMERMAN [pdf] 7/15/2015

Benjamin Murray 3616 Cleveland Avenue St. Louis MO 63110 4/1/2015 Campaign Worker $10,000.00

Solvency Group 826 University Place Detroit MI 48230 4/14/2015 Fundraising $3,500.00

Solvency Group 826 University Place Detroit MI 48230 5/14/2015 Fundraising $3,500.00

[emphasis added]

======================

Scott Sifton’s (D) 2016 attorney general campaign filed its July quarterly campaign finance report with the Missouri Ethics Commission on July 15th:

C091061: Scott Sifton For Missouri

  Committee Type: Candidate

Po Box 4396 Party Affiliation: Democrat

St Louis Mo 63123 Established Date: 02/19/2009

[….]

Information Reported On: 2015 – July Quarterly Report

Beginning Money on Hand $440,679.28

Monetary Receipts + $100,033.91

Monetary Expenditures – $27,570.82

Contributions Made – $0.00

Other Disbursements – $25,000.00

Subtotal     $47,463.09

Ending Money On Hand   $488,142.37

[emphasis added]

Rough fundraising parity and a competitive cash on hand. There is $110,000.00 in outstanding indebtedness.

The contributions:

Contributions to Scott Sifton’s (D) 2016 attorney general campaign reported on its July 2015 quarterly campaign finance report.

Contributions to Scott Sifton’s (D) 2016 attorney general campaign reported on its July 2015 quarterly campaign finance report.

MO Optometric PAC $3,000.00

Express Scripts $2,000.00

James M. Dowd Law Firm $1,500.00

McCormack Baron Salazar $1,000.00

BNSF Railway $1,000.00

Geneva Shearburn $1,000.00

Polsinelli $1,000.00

UNITE HERE Union Local #74 $1,000.00

Anheuser Busch Companies $1,000.00

Charles Nester $1,000.00

PHLV $1,000.00

Sheet Metal Workers $1,000.00

Patricia Scaglia $1,000.00

Randy Alberhasky $1,000.00

MOSFA Pac $1,000.00

Travelers Indemnity $1,000.00

Evergreen Investments $1,000.00

Realtors PAC $1,000.00

Mid States $1,000.00

GibbonsWorkman $1,000.00

Joan Callis $1,000.00

FEAPAC $1,000.00

Vehicle Protection Association $1,000.00

Reliant Care Management $1,000.00

Luxco $1,000.00

Shelter Insurance $750.00

MO Truck PAC $750.00

Gregory Bratcher $600.00

Rush Robinson $500.00

James Ash $500.00

Quality Building $500.00

John McArthur $500.00

Robert Tomaso $500.00

Joy Doll $500.00

Centurylink $500.00

Dave Fenley $500.00

Missouri Dental PAC $500.00

Susan Philpott $500.00

Jack Martorelli $500.00

MO Asphalt Pavement Assoc $500.00

Paul Kalsbeek $500.00

Dan Burkhardt $500.00

Commercial Bank $500.00

St. Louis Labor Council AFL-CIO $500.00

MBA Capitol Region $500.00

Roger Wright $500.00

MLPA Legislative Fund $500.00

Phil Scaglia $500.00

Don Schlapprizzi $500.00

Fire Fighters Local 42 PAC $500.00

Heat and Frost Insulators $500.00

Steven Torline $500.00

MO American Water Employees $500.00

Responsible Building PAC $500.00

Travis Noble $500.00

Wes Rogers $500.00

Amy Wachs $500.00

Gregg Lombardi $500.00

American Family Insurance $500.00

Robert Haar $500.00

Independent Bankers Association PAC $500.00

Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers $500.00

Gas Workers Local 5-6 $500.00

Rick Brenner $500.00

Branch 343 National Association of Letter Carriers $350.00

Douglas Kennedy $300.00

Mary Creamer $250.00

Lucky Maynard $250.00

David Richardson $250.00

Larry Ward $250.00

David Clithero $250.00

Eric Trelz $250.00

Bob Stuber $250.00

Zane Cagle $250.00

David Sobelman $250.00

Jeff Demerath $250.00

Dick Deshon $250.00

SITE Improvement Association $250.00

Larry J Pitts $250.00

Douglas Schmidt $250.00

Susan Block $250.00

William James $250.00

Claire Owen $250.00

Missouri Association Of Municipal Utilities $250.00

Harry Wilson $250.00

Kenneth Slavens $250.00

Teresa Maledy $250.00

IBEW Local Union 1439 $250.00

John Crossley $250.00

Eli Karsh $250.00

Michael Nepple $250.00

Schuchat Cook and Werner $250.00

Rita Baron $250.00

Wally Bley $200.00

Nancy Copenhaver $200.00

Frank Keefe $200.00

William Demarest $200.00

Ben Lewis $200.00

Nancy Patterson $200.00

Gary Myers $200.00

Kathleen Mueller $200.00

Sidney Johnson $200.00

Richard Greenberg $200.00

Pauli Kendrick $200.00

Jordan Ault $150.00

Judith Mann $150.00

Michael Moroni $150.00

Brianna Lennon $150.00

Vernon Scoville $150.00

Mike Heins $125.00

Saul Pwanson $125.00

Patrick Witte $100.00

James Gates $100.00

Nancy Mogab $100.00

Margaret A. Eaton $100.00

Wyse Law Firm $100.00

Shulamith Simon $100.00

William Demarest $100.00

William Schlosser $100.00

Courtney Cole $100.00

Michael McNeil $100.00

Susan Plassmeyer $100.00

Doug Beck $100.00

Sarah Pleban $100.00

Glaziers, Architectural Metal and Glassworkers $100.00

Luxemberg Realty $100.00

Vernon Scoville $100.00

Pamela Coffin $100.00

Patrick Witte $100.00

William Richter $100.00

Bob Fanning $50.00

Rebecca Blackwell $50.00

Kathy Rieck $50.00

William Schlosser $50.00

Rea Kleeman $50.00

Max Wolfrum $50.00

Rea Kleeman $50.00

Timothy McBride $50.00

Richard Sifton $35.00

Ron Gibbs $25.00

Rebecca Blackwell $25.00

Ed Weisbart $20.00

Ed Weisbart $20.00

Ed Weisbart $20.00

Also:

MISSOURI ETHICS COMMISSION

CONTRIBUTIONS AND LOANS RECEIVED

SCOTT SIFTON FOR MISSOURI [pdf] 7/15/2015

13. TOTAL MONETARY CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED FROM PERSONS GIVING $100 OR LESS $3,430.00

[emphasis added]

Some of the expenditures:

MISSOURI ETHICS COMMISSION

ITEMIZED EXPENDITURES OVER $100 SUPPLEMENTAL FORM

SCOTT SIFTON FOR MISSOURI [pdf] 7/15/2015

Show-Me Victories 409 N 15th St Saint Louis MO 63103-2454 4/13/2015 Retainer $12,800.00

Previously:

Campaign Finance: now we know where the rest of the million dollars went (October 15, 2014)

Why would anyone trust Kurt Schaefer? (April 14, 2015)

===========

There is another (January 27, 2015)

Campaign Finance: also in under the wire (April 1, 2015)

Campaign Finance: now that’s personal commitment (April 2, 2015)

===========

Sen. Scott Sifton (D): running for Attorney General in 2016 (November 10, 2014)

Campaign Finance: the long road to 2016 (November 12, 2014)

Campaign Finance: St. Louis (November 25, 2014)

Sen. Scott Sifton (D) at the Back to Blue Dinner in Cass County – April 25, 2015 (April 28, 2015)

Campaign Finance: right at the end of the quarter (July 3, 2015)

The Jackson County Democratic Committee is holding its annual Truman Days celebration this weekend. The festivities at the Adam’s Mark in Kansas City started last night with the food and informal social atmosphere of the hospitality suites. Candidates, Democratic Party activists, and anyone in attendance have an opportunity to introduce themselves to each other, renew acquaintances, visit, and talk about campaigns and politics in Missouri.  

Democratic Party activists visiting in the hallway.

Jim White (D), candidate in the 4th Congressional District, speaking with Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D).

Jim White (D) to challenge Vicky Hartzler (r) in the 4th Congressional District (February 1, 2015)

Jim White (D) in the 4th Congressional District: speaking out (February 12, 2015)

Jim White (D) at the Back to Blue Dinner in Cass County – April 25, 2015 (April 27, 2015)

St. Louis County Assessor Jake Zimmerman (D), a candidate for Attorney General.

There is another (January 27. 2015)

Campaign Finance: also in under the wire (April 1, 2015)

Campaign Finance: now that’s personal commitment (April 2, 2015)

Sandy Querry, Democratic National Committee member from Missouri.

Senator Scott Sifton (D), a candidate for Attorney General.

Sen. Scott Sifton (D): running for Attorney General in 2016 (November 10, 2014)

Campaign Finance: the long road to 2016 (November 12, 2015)

Sen. Scott Sifton (D) at the Back to Blue Dinner in Cass County – April 25, 2015 (April 28, 2015)

Pat Contreras (D), a candidate for State Treasurer.

Pat Contreras (D) a candidate for State Treasurer in 2016 (April 13, 2015)

Senator Paul LeVota (D).

The speakers scheduled at tonight’s dinner include Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders, Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, Secretary of State Jason Kander, Attorney General Chris Koster, and keynote speaker Representative Marcy Kaptur of Ohio.  

Jake Zimmerman (D), a candidate for Attorney General in 2016, made a personal contribution to his campaign. Today at the Missouri Ethics Commission:

C051130 04/02/2015 CITIZENS FOR JAKE ZIMMERMAN Jake and Megan Zimmerman 9046 Old Bonhomme Rd Olivette MO 63132 St. Louis County Assessor 3/31/2015 $200,000.00

[emphasis added]

Previously:

Campaign Finance: also in under the wire (April 1, 2015)

Today at the Missouri Ethics Commission, for one of the Democratic Party candidates for Attorney General in 2016:

C051130 04/01/2015 CITIZENS FOR JAKE ZIMMERMAN Stuart Zimmerman 736 Audubon Dr Clayton MO 63105 Buckingham Asset Management Founder 3/30/2015 $25,000.00

C051130 04/01/2015 CITIZENS FOR JAKE ZIMMERMAN Susan Zimmerman 736 Audubon Dr Clayton MO 63105 Not Employed 3/30/2015 $25,000.00

[emphasis added]

Previously:

Campaign Finance: now we know where the rest of the million dollars went (October 15, 2014)

Campaign Finance: the long road to 2016 (November 12, 2014)

There is another (January 27, 2015)

Former Representative Jake Zimmerman (D) announced today that he’s a candidate for Attorney General in 2016:

[….]

Jake Zimmerman Announces Bid for Missouri Attorney General

Former Assistant Attorney General Pledges to Continue Fight for Fairness as Missouri’s Top Law Enforcement Official

Pledging to fight for fairness and equal treatment for all Missourians, Jake Zimmerman today announced that he will officially enter the race for Missouri Attorney General. As Missouri’s top law enforcement official, Zimmerman said he would draw on his experience as a former prosecutor, lawmaker, and the current St. Louis County Assessor to advocate for crime victims, consumers and taxpayers.

“Everyone has a right to fairness, regardless of whether you’re a millionaire or a single mom who is just trying to make ends meet,” Zimmerman said. “Whether it’s prosecuting corporations that are cheating their customers, or cracking down on casinos and developers who are trying to avoid paying their fair share of taxes, I’ve dedicated my career to fighting to make sure people are treated equally under the law. It’s a fight I want to continue as Missouri’s Attorney General.”

As an Assistant Attorney General for Missouri, Zimmerman fought on behalf of Missourians who had been victimized by illegal and unfair business practices. He prosecuted scammers who stole money from unsuspecting customers, shut down fake “training schools” that existed only to con students out of their hard-earned tuition, and even took on large cell phone companies that misled customers by disguising fees as taxes.

Zimmerman is the first elected St. Louis County Assessor since 1960. As Assessor for the largest county in Missouri, Jake fought back when powerful corporations tried to avoid paying their fair share of taxes by shifting the burden to small businesses and homeowners. He successfully challenged casinos that sought windfall tax cuts that would have slashed local school budgets and cracked down on wealthy developers who tried to dodge taxes by pretending that parking lots were “farms.” And when a luxury senior center attempted to claim it was a “charity,” Zimmerman fought until the owners agreed to pay their fair share.

Prior to being elected Assessor in 2011, Zimmerman served in the State Legislature, where he championed consumer protections and ethics reforms designed to prevent lobbyists from controlling the system with unlimited gifts and campaign contributions.

“The culture of corruption in Jefferson City has gone on for too long,” Zimmerman said. “We must fight for one fair set of rules for everyone. And if someone tries to exploit their position of power to game the system, they must be held accountable.”

Jake Zimmerman, a Democrat, was born and raised in St. Louis County. Zimmerman graduated from Clayton High School before going on to receive degrees from Claremont McKenna College and Harvard Law School. He and his wife Megan live in Olivette with their son Gabriel.

There’ll probably be a few more.

Previously:

Campaign Finance: the long road to 2016 (November 12, 2014)

Campaign Finance: now we know where the rest of the million dollars went (October 15, 2014)

Blue Girl has registered her amazement, and, dare I say it, her disgust at the obliviousness that Todd Akin showed as he assured his fans that he’s in the Senate race for the long haul. Many of us in Rep. Akin’s district have long been familiar with his somewhat dimwitted but frequently entertaining style of speech, but we also know that there’s a hardcore claque of Christian evangelical Missourians that think Brother Todd walks on water. The guy’s won his House seat six times after all, and this is far from his first outrageous public statement. It’s just the one that got the most attention and the first that occasioned any recoil from his currently rather jumpy and election-shy party.

Today’s overtly radicalized GOP has worked very well for folks like Todd Akin – a type of extremist I had thought obliterated years ago when we all stopped talking about the Birchers.  This fact was brought home to me today when I read in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about the disputed tax valuation of the Harrah’s casino in Maryland heights. This is County Assessor Jake Zimmerman’s second attempt to assign a higher value to the casino – and given the $610 million price it bought when it recently sold, he may have a stronger case this time around. As Zimmerman remarked, “When big entities like Harrah’s get special breaks, the rest of us wind up paying more.”

However, the attorney for the casino, Dan Peters, saw it a bit differently:

His voice rising, Peters countered: “What he (Zimmerman) is doing is Marxism. He is saying that he’s going to tax your restaurant based on what a successful business it is you have. If  you have people going there it creates value, then h e’s going to put a price tag of $100 million on that restaurant and he’s going to shut that restaurant down.”**

Dramatic to say the least. Accurate? Not so much. If Zimmerman were imposing a Marxist solution (hard to do all on one’s lonesome), he would appropriate for the state the entire hypothetical restaurant – along with all the other restaurants. And every other business. Instead, what he has the temerity to suggest is that a business making big bucks should pay its fair share of taxes. It’s not even socialism – it’s just a basic question of fairness. I like to know that my neighbor and I are taxed based on a fair application of the system we have agreed to. The same goes for local businesses, even those that can afford to make big political donations.

I don’t know what a fair tax valuation for Harrah’s casino should be. But I do know that arguments against the proposed valuation don’t, by any stretch of the imagination, have anything to do with the Pavlovian trigger words the casino’s lawyer has used in order to snow the members of the Board of Equalization. I also know that his use of those words signals just how far into a fact-free fantasy world we have moved. In this right-wing Missouri of the mind, words don’t have real, denotational meaning; they’re nothing more than tools used to leverage an emotional response to vaguely understood concepts. This is the world in which Akin thrives and which we now have to navigate.  

In the video Blue Girl posted, the operational fantasy construct is “freedom” from which Akin believes all good things, low taxation, minimal bureaucracy, etc. flow. Akin characterizes the difference between himself and Senator McCaskill as having to do with how great a quantity of freedom each will produce, the gist being that Akin’ll give us a measuring cup full, while McCaskill doles it out with a teaspoon.

What he fails to tell us is that the freedom he talks about is that of a totally unregulated market, a corporate class free to run roughshod over the American middle class, a group that has steadily been losing ground after each iteration of the Republican love affair with this lop-sided freedom that has been allowed to play out. It was Akin’s brand of freedom that in 2008 nearly crashed the world economy.

We aren’t out of the economic woods yet, but we are actually better off today than we were in 2009 by almost every objective measure. But, hey, who cares, as long as you’re for freedom and fight the good fight against Marxism, and that nasty old liberal hatred of God, you know better than objective facts.

** This quote appears only in the print edition version of the story. “Tax battle resumes over Harrah’s.” Aug. 24, 2012.

I’ve already written about why Jake Zimmerman will make an excellent St. Louis County assessor. Yay, Jake!

So instead of putting up film from his victory party of him talking about his goals as assessor, I thought you’d like to hear something about the man himself. Because you know there’s more to him than just the politician.

Jake expressed that kind opinion of Chip Wood to me several weeks back. He’s sincere about it. And it tells me that he understands what filling a nonpartisan post means.

As for Megan, I wouldn’t know how sincere he is since he hasn’t discussed her with me. But I’m betting he meant every word.