Tag Archives: Elad Gross

Punching down is never a good look

28 Monday Nov 2022

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As if a lack of transparency is aspirational.

St. Louis Comes After Lawyer Who Accused Them of Sunshine Law Violations
The city calls Elad Gross’ lawsuit “a publicity stunt,” seeks $25K in damages
By Ryan Krull on Mon, Nov 28, 2022 at 11:53 am

Elad Gross For Missouri
[….]
I sometimes sue the government on behalf of hurt people. The day before Thanksgiving, my government decided to sue me and start a negative media campaign in an Eric-Greitens-esque attempt to discredit my work.
I believe that the government should be accountable to the people it represents. A lot of folks agree, and that’s why Republicans and Democrats passed the Missouri Sunshine Law almost 50 years ago, so we could see what our government is doing with our money and in our name. But now, decades later, we have far too many government officials who think you and I shouldn’t see anything at all.
I represent a man who was temporarily detained in a St. Louis jail. Because the cell locks admittedly don’t work and the jail is unsafe, he was assaulted and severely injured. As part of our investigation, I asked for public records from St. Louis City. Over the course of a year, the City violated the Sunshine Law multiple times and delayed producing public records. I learned that attorneys, reporters, researchers, and other members of the public had similar issues with the City. I offered to help the City comply with the Sunshine Law on multiple occasions, and each time I was ignored.
As a last resort, I filed a Sunshine Law lawsuit against the City and several officials. Because of the number of violations involved, the lawsuit was very long and took considerable time to write. I again offered to resolve the dispute, and again the City ignored that offer.
Instead, the City and several of its officials decided to file an illegal lawsuit against me for daring to hold them accountable. They have asked for maximum monetary damages, including an award of punitive damages, which is not allowed in Missouri without special permission of the judge, permission they never asked for. They claim that once the City violates the Sunshine Law on a request, it can violate it as many times as it would like to without additional liability, a novel argument that I’m sure other lawbreakers would love to use in their cases too. Ironically, the name of the claim the City is using to try to shut me up and deter others from seeking transparency is called “abuse of process.”
The City spends a lot of its lawsuit disparaging me, saying that because I ran for Attorney General more than two years ago I should not be believed. I guess the City doesn’t want people running for office either, especially for an office that is supposed to police Sunshine Law violations. If only it did.
These City officials then shared portions of their work with the media in some weird attempt to discredit me. In their comments to the media, the government officials criticized me for… talking to the media. About folks – including reporters – being prevented from seeing public records. About people being assaulted in their jails! These City officials left out the fact that reporters approached me about the issues they were having, or that we have freedom of speech in this country.
Eric Greitens used to attack me for being a “Democratic operative” when I sued him for hiding records, well before I was a candidate for office. Josh Hawley, Eric Schmitt, and Mike Parson took their turns too. They all lost.
It’s a very sad time in the Show-Me State when some government officials act like they own their offices, like the people don’t matter. It’s a scary time when some officials are willing to use their authority and taxpayer money to silence citizens. In some states, these kinds of strategic lawsuits against public participation filed by the City are strictly prohibited. They should be in Missouri too.
If you’ve had issues with the St. Louis City public records portal online and are willing to tell the court about it, please feel free to reach out. Sounds like we’ll be in court soon

Bet on Elad.

Elad Gross (D) [2020 file photo].

The Heavens open, the light begins to shine on the darkness

29 Tuesday Jun 2021

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It isn’t called “the Missouri Sunshine Law” for nothing.

Elad Gross (D) [2020 file photo].

Today the Missouri Supreme Court said [pdf]:

SUPREME COURT OF MISSOURI
en banc

ELAD GROSS, Appellant,
v.
MICHAEL PARSON, et al., Respondents.

No. SC98619
Opinion issued June 29, 2021

APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COLE COUNTY
The Honorable Patricia Joyce, Judge

Elad Gross appeals the circuit court’s judgment on the pleadings in favor of Governor Michael Parson and the custodian of records for the governor’s office, Michelle Hallford (collectively, “the Governor’s Office”). The underlying lawsuit filed by Mr. Gross involves two public records requests he made under the Sunshine Law, sections 610.010-.035.

Mr. Gross claims the circuit court erred in entering judgment on the pleadings because the Governor’s Office violated the Sunshine Law when it: required Mr. Gross to pre-pay an estimate of costs for his first request that included attorney-review time; arbitrarily refused to waive the fees associated with his first request; failed to explain its estimated delay in producing certain requested records; and impermissibly redacted [….] certain records. Mr. Gross claims some or all of these violations were knowing and purposeful. He also alleges the circuit court misapplied the law by assigning him – not the Governor’s office – the burden of demonstrating the redaction of portions of the records complied with the Sunshine Law.

For the reasons set forth below, the circuit court’s judgment is vacated, and the cause is remanded.
[….]

Facts in the case:

….In 2018, Mr. Gross sent the Governor’s Office two requests for public records pursuant to Missouri’s Sunshine Law. In August 2018, Mr. Gross first sought “[a]ny and all records, communications, documents, emails, reports, and other material” sent from or received by the Governor’s Office from 27 specific individuals or entities after January 9, 2017, i.e., between January 9, 2017, and the processing of Mr. Gross’s request. [….] Mr. Gross says his request was made as part of his investigation into the use of “dark money” by nonprofit organizations in Missouri. Mr. Gross ended his request by noting where responsive documents should be sent and requesting a waiver of all fees related to his request….

….On October 12, 2018, the Governor’s Office provided records in response to Mr. Gross’s second request. The responsive records were separated into two sets. “Set A” [….] contained 17 pages, two of which were partially redacted. “Set B” contained 40 pages, none of which were redacted. In addition to the responsive documents, the Governor’s Office informed Mr. Gross it decided to waive the fees for his second request. The Governor’s Office did not, however, provide a further response regarding Mr. Gross’s first request….

….After filing its answer, the Governor’s Office filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings, alleging Mr. Gross’s claims fail, as a matter of law. In particular, the Governor’s Office alleged Mr. Gross’s fee-waiver claim fails because the Governor’s Office has [….] discretion to waive fees; Mr. Gross’s excessive-fee claim fails because attorney review time is chargeable to a requester and $40 per hour is the hourly rate of the lowest-paid attorney who works for the Governor’s Office; Mr. Gross’s claim regarding the inadequate timeline provided by the Governor’s Office fails because the 120-day estimate is reasonable given the scope of Mr. Gross’s request; no improper redaction occurred because the Sunshine Law “authorizes the redaction of closed information, which includes attorney-client privileged communications”; and Mr. Gross’s allegations regarding “knowing” or “purposeful” violations of the Sunshine Law are based only on speculation. On July 8, 2019, the circuit court sustained the motion for judgment on the pleadings and entered judgment in favor of the Governor’s Office….

The gist of the appeal:

….On appeal, Mr. Gross claims the circuit court erred in sustaining the Governor’s Office’s motion for judgment on the pleadings. In 10 points relied on, Mr. Gross offers 10 different legal reasons to support his position. First, he claims the Governor’s Office violated the Sunshine Law when it required him to pre-pay an estimate of costs for his first request that included attorney review time. Second, Mr. Gross alleges the Governor’s Office violated the Sunshine Law when it failed to provide him with the earliest date upon which the records in his first request would be available. Third, Mr. Gross alleges the Governor’s Office violated the Sunshine Law when it failed to provide him with a detailed explanation of why it required at least 120 business days to produce documents in response to his first request. Fourth, Mr. Gross alleges he properly pleaded the Governor’s Office violated the Sunshine Law when it redacted certain records in response to his second request without explanation and without closing any records. Fifth, Mr. Gross alleges the circuit court erred in holding he had the burden of demonstrating the Governor’s Office did not comply with the Sunshine Law when, under the Sunshine Law, it is the Governor’s Office’s burden to demonstrate compliance with the law when redacting public records. In his sixth and seventh points, Mr. Gross alleges he adequately pleaded the Governor’s Office knowingly violated the Sunshine Law with respect to his first and second requests, respectively. In his eighth and ninth points, Mr. Gross alleges he adequately pleaded the [….] Governor’s Office purposely violated the Sunshine Law with respect to his first and second requests, respectively. Tenth, and lastly, Mr. Gross alleges the Governor’s Office abused its discretion in violation of the Missouri and United States constitutions by acting arbitrarily and capriciously in denying his request for a fee waiver or reduction associated with his first request….

Point by point:

….In his first point, Mr. Gross alleges the circuit court erred in granting judgment on the pleadings because the Governor’s Office violated the Sunshine Law when it required him to pre-pay an estimate of costs for his first request that included attorney review time. Mr. Gross avers the Sunshine Law does not authorize the Governor’s Office to charge him for attorney review time.

[….]

….Because the Sunshine Law does not authorize a public governmental body to charge a requester for attorney review time, the Governor’s Office was not entitled to judgment, as a matter of law, from the face of the pleadings. In this respect, the circuit court erred in sustaining the Governor’s Office’s motion for judgment on the pleadings….

….In his second claim, Mr. Gross alleges the Governor’s Office violated the Sunshine Law when it failed to provide him with the earliest date records in his first request would be available for inspection…

[….]

Because the pleadings show the Governor’s Office provided Mr. Gross with a time estimate of 120 business days from payment rather than the exact calendar date upon which Mr. Gross could inspect the requested records, the Governor’s Office was not entitled to judgment, as a matter of law, from the face of the pleadings. In this respect, the [….] circuit court erred in sustaining the Governor’s Office’s motion for judgment on the pleadings….

….In his third claim, Mr. Gross alleges the Governor’s Office violated section 610.023.3 when it advised Mr. Gross it would take at least 120 business days to produce documents responsive to his first request without providing him with a detailed explanation as to why it required at least 120 business days…

[….]

… Because section 610.023.3 requires a public governmental body to provide a “detailed explanation” when records are not immediately made available and the pleadings do not show the Governor’s Office did so, the Governor’s Office was not entitled to judgment, as a matter of law, from the face of the pleadings. With respect to Mr. Gross’s claim that the Governor’s Office violated the Sunshine Law by failing to provide a detailed explanation for the delay associated with his first request, the circuit court erred in sustaining the Governor’s Office’s motion for judgment on the pleadings….

….In his fourth claim, Mr. Gross alleges he properly pleaded the Governor’s Office violated the Sunshine Law when it redacted certain records in his second request without explanation…

[….]

….Mr. Gross’s pleading sufficiently alleged the Governor’s Office violated the law when it redacted records responsive to his second request. In this respect, the circuit court erred in sustaining the Governor’s Office’s motion for judgment on the pleadings….

….In his fifth claim, Mr. Gross alleges the circuit court misapplied the law when it concluded he had the burden of demonstrating the Governor’s Office did not comply with the Sunshine Law when it made the relevant redactions….

[….]

A requester does not have the burden to show noncompliance when an open record is redacted. The circuit court’s conclusion that Mr. Gross must have pleaded “more” than unexplained redaction is erroneous….

….In his sixth claim, Mr. Gross alleges the Governor’s Office knowingly violated the Sunshine Law with respect to his first records request and he sufficiently pleaded the Governor’s Office committed knowing violations….

[….]

…Mr. Gross has sufficiently alleged the Governor’s Office acted knowingly; therefore, the Governor’s Office was not entitled to judgment, as a matter of law, from the face of the pleadings. In consequence, the circuit court erred in sustaining the Governor’s Office’s motion for judgment on the pleadings as to this issue….

….In his seventh claim, Mr. Gross alleges the Governor’s Office knowingly violated the Sunshine Law with respect to his second sunshine request when it redacted two records it provided to him. Mr. Gross also claims he sufficiently pleaded that a knowing violation occurred. The Governor’s Office alleges its redactions were proper and Mr. Gross failed to plead otherwise sufficiently. The circuit court held Mr. Gross did not plead any facts “support[ing] even an inference that the Governor’s Office engaged in any conduct to knowingly . . . violate the Sunshine Law.” This conclusion was erroneous….

…In his eighth and ninth claims, Mr. Gross alleges the circuit court erred in sustaining the Governor’s Office’s motion for judgment on the pleadings with respect to Counts III and VII of his petition. Count III alleges the Governor’s Office purposely violated the Sunshine Law with respect to his first request, and Count VII alleges the Governor’s Office purposely violated the Sunshine Law with respect to his second request….

[….]

…These allegations sufficiently allege the Governor’s Office had an intent to violate the law. The Governor’s Office was not entitled to judgment, as a matter of law, on the face of the pleadings; therefore, the circuit court erred in sustaining the Governor’s Office’s motion for judgment on the pleadings in regard to Counts III and VII of Mr. Gross’s petition….

….In his tenth and final claim, Mr. Gross alleges the Governor’s Office violated “Missouri statutory and case law, the Missouri Constitution, and the United States Constitution” and “abused its discretion by acting arbitrarily and capriciously in denying [his] request for [the Governor’s Office] to waive or reduce fees associated with his first [….] Sunshine Request.” While his point relied on mentions “Missouri statutory and case law,”
Mr. Gross’s argument alleges only constitutional violations….

[….]

…Because Mr. Gross failed to raise this issue in the circuit court and never sought to amend his pleadings, his constitutional claims have not been preserved for appellate review….

Go. Read the whole thing.

Openness and transparency are supposed to be an essential element when it comes to government in Missouri. Not always in practice. There are a lot of people who should know better.

Governor Mike Parson (r) [2018 file photo].

Making 218,473 friends along the way

05 Wednesday Aug 2020

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Last night, in the Missouri Attorney General Democratic Party primary:

State of Missouri – Primary Election, August 04, 2020
Unofficial Results
as of 8/5/2020 5:49:13 PM

Attorney General 3575 of 3575 Precincts Reported
[….]

Rich Finneran Democratic 271,436 55.405%
Elad Gross Democratic 218,473 44.595%
Party Total: 489,909
[….]

Elad Gross (D) [2020 file photo].

From Elad Gross (D):

Thank You for the Opportunity

This is long, but, if you read until the end, I promise it will be worth it.

I remember touching the imprint of the state seal on my folder on October 4, 2018. I was sitting in a Cole County courtroom listening to Eric Greitens’ lawyer argue about how the public deserved no transparency, how our government can so easily be broken, and how it should stay that way.

I got that folder working as an Assistant Attorney General of Missouri. It witnessed some of the proudest moments of my career, many of which were prefaced with, “Your Honor, I am here on behalf of the People of Missouri.”

I decided in that courtroom to take a shot, to run for Attorney General, to try to fix the brokenness so many of us live every day. And you came with me.

One of the first invitations I got was from Stoddard County. For the next two years, I would travel to 567 more events all over our state and spend a lot more time in courtrooms trying to hold our government accountable.

In the middle of it all, one of our staff members, Darlisa, asked me a question. “What is your number one priority right now? I mean, winning the election….”

“No. I’m not running to win. I’m running to make Missouri better. And when we forget that, whatever the outcome, we’ve already lost.”

You believed that too.

We had a great time. We made campaigning fun. We showed Missouri what this can be, how it can be so meaningful, how it can be real.

That’s how we broke down so many divisions in our state. We had Republicans crossing over to vote Democratic. We had both young and old voting for the first time. We had at least one woman asking for the “ballot with Elad on it.” I know because they are still texting me!!! (It’s OK. You can still text!)

I know some folks will look at this campaign and try to draw conclusions about where our electoral focus should be in Missouri. I ask you not to fall for that trap. Missouri is a special place. We’re in this broken spot because we’ve ignored so many folks who don’t have money or power. Building trust doesn’t happen overnight, especially after years of breaking it. Visit with people. Listen to them. Come with patience and compassion and understanding. And don’t give up.

Almost 200,000 Missourians voted for the kid with a funny sounding name. Just not enough people saw what we built by 7 PM on August 4.

These last two years have meant the world to me. We made Missouri better. And I know we’re not done yet.

On November 3, I’ll be voting for Rich Finneran to be Missouri’s next Attorney General. Until then, I’ll be helping him get there. I met Rich years ago, and, before and even during all of this, I kept volunteering to guest judge his appellate advocacy classes he taught at Wash U. Rich’s students love him for a reason. I hope you get to know him too because he is going to need all the help he can get in the general election. We need a new Attorney General very badly.

I also want you to find a local candidate, someone running for state representative or state senate or county commissioner or school board. I want you to contact them. I want you to ask them why they’re running. And if you like the answer, ask them how you can help. Goodness knows we need you.

Finally, and most importantly, I want you to know who helped pull this all together.

Jessica Lambrecht was the firebrand manager of this campaign. I don’t know what Freddy Doss’s official position was because he would do whatever it took on any given day. I’ve know these two for a very long time. This campaign meant so much to so many of you because it was run by some of the best friends anyone could ask for. They built the most active, responsive, dedicated campaign Missouri has seen in a long time. And they helped other campaigns too all over our state. You need to call them.

Daniel Williams came on board a little later, but he made up for lost time. He responded to an email. Little did he know he would become the volunteer manager for a statewide campaign with A LOT of amazing volunteers. He ran a program that reached out to many hundreds of thousands of people in Missouri. He also adopted his new dog Barney during this campaign, locking up the canine vote at a crucial time. There are few people I’ve met anywhere who work harder than Daniel. Call him too.

Our interns were phenomenal. We wanted this campaign to teach young folks how to be more civically engaged. I asked our interns to lead on making policy, to creating volunteer plans, to taking ownership of our state. In the years to come, you’ll see them fighting in every corner of Missouri.

I realized we weren’t going to pull it off early last night. I wanted to spend the time with them, especially at the moment when the press would eventually call it. Maybe it was the teacher in me. I couldn’t have asked for a better sendoff.

My wife, Tasha, and my mom, Margalit, were always ready to tell me what to do. They were usually right. And now they both have that in writing, along with more free time for my manual labor at two locations in St. Louis City, imagine that.

Our amazing volunteers truly were that. They would walk door-to-door days after surgery, text half the state on their own, call and listen patiently for a chance to get a voter, and do everything humanly possible to improve our state. I’d do anything for them.

To all of our record-number of donors, to all of the folks who endorsed this campaign, to everyone who shared my name with a friend, thank you for believing in me.

There’s nothing I’ll be able to do in my life to repay you all for what you’ve done for me and for our state. You gave your time, your money, your energy. I promise you I’ll keep fighting to make your dedication worthwhile.

Missouri, thank you. I love you…

[….]

.

Class.

Right wingnut political spin is a lot harder to sell when people have sufficient time on their hands to not buy it

22 Sunday Mar 2020

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Rep. Hannah Kelly (r) tried to get into a social media fight with candidate for Attorney General Elad Gross (D).

Representative Hannah Kelly (r) [2019 file photo].

Hannah Kelly @HannahKellyMO
Republican supermajority said YES TO 40 Million in the supplemental budget 2 fight #coronavirus.Going into Session is not contingent on the absence any 1 member.We are all praying for the swift health recovery & return of Rep. Runions. @BigElad needs to stop with the politics.
[….]
4:53 PM · Mar 21, 2020

That’s “pro-life” for you. How many people in Missouri? What’s the latest prediction of the COVID-19 infection rate, maybe 50%? Do the math.

Some of the responses:

$7 million from State

Elad Gross: $7 million that was already allocated for emergency response efforts.

These folks are trying to play our state in the midst of a pandemic. We cannot afford this.

Yes your not the one being dishonest. It’s just nuts how they spin.

Legislative staffer: It is a little ironic @BigElad saying no more playing politics while playing politics and spreading false information. He could have argued about the amount. But in fairness probably didn’t do his research. #FeelBetterRunions #MoreImportantThings

More important things? The General Assembly was elected to serve the people. If it can’t find a way to do so during any type of emergency, then what purpose does it actually serve? If you can’t, then step aside for someone who can and will.

Elad Gross (D) [2020 file photo].

Elad Gross: [….] I rarely ever talk about the parties, but this is absolute crap.

Rep. Runions deserves more than our well-wishes. He needs us to be responsible, protect him, and protect all of the people of our state.

A friend of mine is on a ventilator right now. We deserve better.

Elad Gross: $7 million is STATE FUNDS we have now.
$33 million of FEDERAL FUNDS is a made-up number hoping that we get it.

The Governor agrees we need emergency funding NOW!

Because of this failure, we need to bring #Coronavirus-exposed reps back to Jeff City!?

I try very hard to be nice and polite but I’ve had it.
You are failing the people of Missouri.
You and the Governor with his inept, pathetic excuse for a Director of health have done virtually nothing to avert this crisis.
Hospitals are all ready begging for assistance.

You have abdicated responsibility to Mayors and thank God for them.
Why am I Tweeting this?
Because when the death toll mounts there needs to be a record of what you didn’t do, of how you didn’t lead, and of how your inaction resulted in harm to Missouri.
Shame on you.

Why is it too much to be fully honest?

Missouri is going to lose many, many people because of you. People will lose jobs and homes; families will be broken up because of you.

We will not forget.

Politics got us into this disaster and politics is going to get us out. No shame in talking about the next election. I wish it were tomorrow.

Hannah Kelly is a liar.

There’s about to be a lot of blood on your hands. Absolutely disgusting.

This made me feel nauseous. I hope this makes Hannah feel nauseous.

Here’s a hat for you & your @gop so-called “super” majority…of [….]

This isn’t the time for politics! That time was last week when the “liberal media” was spreading a hoax! Amirite @HannahKellyMO?

Not nearly enough. More medical supplies are urgently needed, and people will have their livelihoods ruined and/or die because of a your refusal to do all you can. Don’t hurt your arm patting yourself on the back.

@gop are #UnfitForOffice #UnfitToLead #ResignNow

@HannahKellyMO The bare minimum you could do. #NoMedals #TrumpPandemic

I wonder why when Republicans are called out now their claim is, but, but, you’re wrong, it’s so very benign.

Tragic for our country when partisan politics were never an issue and now it’s every single one!

Your the one who needs to stop with the politics. You did the bare minimum, you agreed to take federal money. That’s it. Why do you Republicans have to lie all the time?

33 million of that was just taking the federal money. Once again, don’t break your arm patting yourself on the back. You voted down a reasonable package of 87 million that would have helped healthcare with desperately needed supplies & equipment NOW.

Lol most of that was just accepting federal funds. What about the $87M you voted down for healthcare/medical needs? OUR HOSPITALS AND MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS NEED HELP NOW!!!

You voted down an 87 million packge that included healthcare! What are you bragging about?

If you’re not going to seriously help, STFU. We see your record you idiot.

They’re not buying it.

Elad Gross (D) – Sedalia, Missouri – January 25, 2020

26 Sunday Jan 2020

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Elad Gross (D), candidate for Attorney General, speaking in Sedalia, Missouri on January 25, 2020.

Lindsey Simmons, a Democratic Party candidate in the 4th Congressional District, held a campaign meet and greet event, including area and statewide candidates, in Sedalia yesterday evening. Elad Gross (D), a candidate for Attorney General addressed the crowd of a little over a hundred individuals:

Elad Gross (D): (audio edit) …Today Missouri is the, one of the most dangerous states in the country because of the level of violence that we’re seeing in so many communities. It’s not limited to St. Louis, it’s not limited to Kansas City, it’s in Springfield, it’s in St. Joe, it’s in Columbia, it’s just about anywhere that you’d go.

That’s what’s at stake in this election. That’s what we’re voting on. We have to decide if we’re gonna be putting our kids before all these other issue that we squabble about all the time. It’s way beyond party, it’s way beyond all this stuff that we see on TV, all this manufactured debates. It’s about the character of us as Missourians.

We need to change the people that we have representing us and the way that we are being represented. And that’s why we need to send Lindsey [Simmons] to Congress. [applause] That’s why we need to do that. Because, you see that there’s almost no event where you’re going to see Lindsey by herself. You’ve always got your kid with you. And that means so much, right? You all know him. But that’s, that’s the representation that we need. And so I’m so happy you’re running. Thank you for doing it. [applause] Thank you. Yeah.

(audio edit)

…Because the way that we get this done is by building community with each other. It’s by looking at each other and finding out how can we help one another. It’s by saying that when, when you’re kid is hurt, that’s my kid, too. It’s by saying that we have each others’ backs. And that’s why it is so important for us to be in this room tonight. And we all understand it. But we also know that there are lots of people who are not in tis room tonight. There are lots of folks who should be in this room tonight, who have the same interests that we do, who know what the stakes are, but so many of them have given up. So many of them have said, what’s the point? I get all these promises and nothing ever changes for me. Right? We know those people.

That’s why this has to be so much more than just getting one or two or three people in this room elected to office. Even all of us.

We have got to change the way that we run Missouri. We have got to change it. We have got to take back our state.

That’s what’s at stake in this election. And that’s why we need to get people in this room elected. We need to get people in this room. We need to go door-to-door and make sure that they understand that they have hope in this election, too. That we are going to take back our state and make sure that folks like Lindsey [Simmon] and everybody else in this room represent us. [applause] That’s what we ought to do. Thank you all.

Previously:

Lindsey Simmons (D) – in the 4th Congressional District – Sedalia, Missouri – January 25, 2020 (January 26, 2020)

Elad Gross (D): Sunshine!

14 Saturday Dec 2019

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610.011. Liberal construction of law to be public policy. — 1. It is the public policy of this state that meetings, records, votes, actions, and deliberations of public governmental bodies be open to the public unless otherwise provided by law. Sections 610.010 to 610.200 shall be liberally construed and their exceptions strictly construed to promote this public policy.
  2. Except as otherwise provided by law, all public meetings of public governmental bodies shall be open to the public as set forth in section 610.020, all public records of public governmental bodies shall be open to the public for inspection and copying as set forth in sections 610.023 to 610.026, and all public votes of public governmental bodies shall be recorded as set forth in section 610.015.
­­——–
(L. 1987 S.B. 2, A.L. 2004 S.B. 1020, et al.)

Liberally construed. That means access to public records is the norm.

Elad Gross (D) [2019 file photo].

This morning, from 2020 Attorney General candidate Elad Gross (D):

Elad Gross @BigElad
Big news in my Sunshine Law case!

On Friday, the Western District Court of Appeals accepted three amicus briefs in support of my lawsuit from 4 orgs:
@aclu_mo, the Freedom Center of MO, @missouripress, and @MarkPedroli and the Sunshine and Gov’t Accountability Project.
[….]
8:00 AM · Dec 14, 2019

And the explanation thread:

I identified 27 groups and individuals with ties to a scheme to hide the identities of political donors in Missouri. I asked the Office of the Governor for any communications with those folks.

The answer: Over 13,000 records responsive to my request.

Sometimes, the government charges copying fees for public records. These records appear to be electronic, which means copying costs shouldn’t be high at all.

But I was charged over $3,600 to access the records at a rate of $40 per hour. That was more than double what the previous administration charged (and more than double the rate I got paid as an Assistant Attorney General!).

Despite my requests, the government refused to reconsider and the Attorney General – who is supposed to enforce Missouri’s Sunshine Law – never answered me.

I eventually filed a lawsuit to enforce the Sunshine Law. I’ve been in court fighting this with my money for over a year.

Through litigation, I discovered the government was charging me so much money not to make copies, but to have an attorney review public records. Charging for an attorney had never been allowed by a court.

Until my case.

The judge ruled against me and said the government could charge attorney’s fees.

That means that the only folks who can access records from our government now must have enough money to pay for a lawyer.

And the Attorney General has been training state agencies to charge these fees. School boards, health departments, our state hiding records about kids getting dropped from health care services: All of these documents will be inaccessible for most people.

That’s not how the Sunshine Law has ever worked, and it’s not how it is supposed to work. It was designed to allow the public to have transparency, to access public records, to hold our government accountable.

In a few months, I’ll explain that to the Court of Appeals, and, hopefully, we’ll make Missouri’s Sunshine Law work again.

I’m proud to fight for the freedom of the press and for public transparency, and I’m honored to have such wonderful organizations in my corner.

Sunshine is a very good thing.

Welcome to America (and Missouri) in 2019

09 Tuesday Jul 2019

Posted by in Healthcare, social media

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Yep, this about sums it up:

Elad Gross @BigElad
Good morning, Missouri.

Today, our Attorney General is in federal court arguing that we should eliminate health care coverage for Americans who have preexisting conditions.

Let’s get a new Attorney General.
[….]
7:32 AM – 9 Jul 2019

Non-existent Trumpcare, courtesy of Eric Schmitt (r).

Elad Gross (D) [2019 file photo].

Elad Gross (D): April Campaign Finance Report – 2019

20 Saturday Apr 2019

Posted by in campaign finance

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The April quarterly campaign finance reports are due at the Missouri Ethics Commission. Elad Gross (D) is a 2020 candidate for Attorney General.

Elad Gross (D) [2019 file photo].

C180694: Elad Gross For Missouri
Committee Type: Candidate
Po Box 21666
St Louis Mo 63109
Party Affiliation: Democrat
Established Date: 11/12/2018
[….]
Information Reported On: 2019 – April Quarterly Report
Beginning Money on Hand $10,178.64
Monetary Receipts + $8,588.21
Monetary Expenditures – $4,836.02
Contributions Made – $0.00
Other Disbursements – $0.00
Subtotal $3,752.19
Ending Money On Hand $13,930.83

[emphasis added]

Well, okay. Then you look at the details. During the fundraising quarter there were 207 itemized contributions (and $52.00 in anonymous contribution(s)) for a total of $9,081.21. There were a couple of $500.00 contributions and a few ranging from $100.00 to $300.00. There were a lot of $5.00 and slightly larger contributions. The average?: $43.87

What do the campaign spend all that money on? Video production. And gas.

That’s such a novel idea. Drive around Missouri and talk to voters to make your case.

Previously:

Elad Gross (D) in Sedalia – April 7, 2019 (April 7, 2019)

Elad Gross (D) in Sedalia – April 7, 2019

07 Sunday Apr 2019

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The 4th Congressional District Democratic Committee held its bi-monthly meeting in Sedalia this afternoon. Elad Gross (D), a candidate for Attorney General in 2020, an open records advocate, and a foe of “dark money”, spoke to the group.

Elad Gross (D), Sedalia, Missouri, April 7, 2019.

…I’m running for Attorney General because we need to enforce those rules, very much. I’m running to prosecute public corruption in our state, bring accountability back to Jefferson City, and end dark money. [applause] I’m assuming from that reaction we know what dark money is. [laughter] Dark money’s the worst. Dark money is anonymous campaign contributions. It’s pretty much it. So, if you’ve donated to a candidate before….if you want to donate, if we want to donate we have to give a whole bunch of information about ourselves, right? So you say how much money I’m donating, we get your first name, your last name, your address, uh, who you work for, what you do. Yeah?

Now, if you have a whole bunch of money you don’t have to do any of that….but if you have a bunch of money, you hire a bunch of attorneys, and you start a charity….So we create this charity…we take millions and millions of dollars from you and all of your friends and you put it into the non-profit….and all the names of the donors it cleanses them off because these…non-profits don’t have to reveal the names of their donors. Yeah, so then, the non-profit takes all that money and gives it away to candidates, to issues, whatever it wants. Right, million of dollars. And we never see the original sources of those donations. None. [….]

Elad Gross spoke for about forty-five minutes and then took questions.