Capitol Calling

Thank You Again

I received  unexpected word this afternoon that The Pitch named me Kansas City's Best Blogger. I am completely honored and humbled to receive this award.

Of course, this blog post would be complete without a gratuitous Web video:

This award certainly comes at a convenient time. I am traveling to the Kansas City area tomorrow to see Dave Catanese's favorite band, Thursday. 

Thanks again to the The Pitch! And congratulations to Tony Messenger and Tony's KC for their respective honors.

Go Ed Go: Martin jumps in to take on Carnahan

It probably won't make any national lists of congressional races to watch. But the battle between Ed Martin and U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan, D-St. Louis, could be entertaining.

Martin kicked off his congressional bid on Wednesday in south St. Louis County. The Republican faces an uphill battle of sorts against Carnahan, a three-term lawmaker who represents parts of St. Louis City, St. Louis County, Jefferson County and Ste. Genevieve County.

I use the term "uphill" because the district is decidedly Democratic. Carnahan has won his general elections without too much trouble over the past few years, his closest one being in 2004 when he beat Republican Bill Federer with 52 percent of the vote.

But Martin is perhaps a more credible contender than Carnahan's recent opponents because he may be able to raise more money than previous candidates. He has ties, for example, to anti-abortion rights organizations that could bring financial and organizational support.

Of course, it's likely that Martin's detractors will bring up his role in Gov. Matt Blunt's administration. As Blunt's chief of staff, Martin was embroiled in a spat involving the retention of e-mails and the firing of Blunt aide Scott Eckersley. He's also been prone to make controversial statements.

But Martin's propensity to say noteworthy - and controversial - statements that could make a debate with Carnahan one of the more intriguing political events of 2010. But when and if that happens remains unknown.

One lingering question about Missouri's 2010 congressional contests: will a well-funded and well-organized Democrat will run against U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-St. Elizabeth next year?

Unsolved mystery!

Phillips tapped as U.S. Attorney

A few days after President Barack Obama picked Cole County Judge Richard Callahan to be the U.S. Attorney for Missouri's Eastern District, the Democratic chief executive nominated Beth Phillips for the open position.

Phillips - who had served as an assistant U.S. attorney since 2008 - was nominated as the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri. Her nod was announced with several other U.S. attorney nominations.

"The men and women I am nominating today boast impressive legal careers that speak to their exceptional intellect and diligence," said  Obama in a statement. "They share a commitment to the pursuit of justice that will make them esteemed U.S. Attorneys and distinguished public servants. I am grateful for their willingness to serve their country."

Both Phillips and Callahan will need to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate in order to take their positions. If Callahan's nomination is successful, Gov. Jay Nixon will have to pick someone to fill the Democratic judge's position.

Missouri GOP slams Nixon on "midnight massacre"

The Missouri Republican Party released a statement this afternoon after Gov. Jay Nixon's decision to place DNR director Mark Templeton on leave.

Here is Missouri GOP executive director Lloyd Smith's statement:

“The midnight massacre began today at noon. Jay Nixon placed DNR Director Mark Templeton on temporary leave, but he has continued to refuse to take action against his own staff. We now know that knowledge of the dangerous levels of E. coli in the Lake of the Ozarks reached the highest levels of state government, including probably Nixon himself. Nixon must immediately and permanently dismiss not just Templeton, but Chief of Staff John Watson, Senior Policy Advisor Jeff Mazur, and Communications Director Jack Cardetti. And he should finally end the cover-up and be straightforward about what he knew and when he knew it.”

In recent weeks, the first-term Democrat has faced increasing criticism over whether his staff knew about a  report showing elevated e.Coli levels in the Lake of the Ozark area. Nixon had initially denied that his staff knew about the report until June. A former spokeswoman told Senate investigators that the information was known to Nixon's administration in May.

Nixon suspends DNR director

Gov. Jay Nixon put the director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources on unpaid leave after he said the agency gave him false information about beach closures.

In a Wednesday conference call with reporters, Nixon said that his administration was originally told that beaches in the Lake of the Ozarks were closed after high e.Coli tests. But he said on Wednesday that beaches remained open - even with high levels of the bacteria.

"This is quite simply unconscionable," Nixon said. "It is nothing short of an outrage. And my reaction is sheer disappointment and disgust."

Nixon said because of the failure to close the beaches, some Missourians were "needlessly put at risk." He characterized the move as "abysmal failures."

The governor also said that he was "unwittingly passing on false information to the press and the public" about the beach closures.

"That is inexcusable," Nixon said. "It should never of happened and I sincerely regret having unknowingly shared information that was not true."

Nixon said he had suspended DNR director Mark Templeton without pay. Deputy director Bill Bryan will lead the department in an interim basis. Bryan and an inspector general for the Department of Corrections have been given authority to investigate the situation, Nixon said.

In recent weeks, the first-term Democrat has faced increasing criticism over whether his staff knew about a suppressed report showing elevated e.Coli levels in the Lake of the Ozark area. Nixon had initially denied that his staff knew about the report until June. A former spokeswoman told Senate investigators that the information was known to Nixon's administration in May.

KBIA Commentary: Targeting Skelton

My KBIA commentary is on U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton's impending battle for re-election.

While the Lexington Democratic lawmaker has experience on his side, he'll be facing tougher competition than what he's used to facing.

Take a listen:

Callahan tapped to be U.S. Attorney

President Barack Obama selected Cole County Circuit Judge Richard Callahan to be the new U.S. Attorney for Missouri's Eastern District.

There had been speculation for some time that longtime judge and former Cole County prosecutor was on the shortlist for the position. But the White House made it official today in a press release announcing several other nominees.

"These nominees have displayed an unyielding dedication to serving the public good," said President Obama in a statement.  "They are some of the most diligent, judicious and well-respected legal minds in the country.  I am confident that, as U.S. Attorneys, they will be relentless in their pursuit of justice and serve the American people with distinction."

Callahan was often at the forefront of many significant cases dealing with state government. He presided over a marathon trial over the state's school funding formula. And he also heard challenges to various laws and ballot summary language.

If he's confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Gov. Jay Nixon will get to pick Callahan's successor.

Catherine Hanaway was the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri during President George W. Bush's second term. She resigned to take a position at a law firm set up by former Attorney General John Ashcroft.

El-Amin pleads guilty to bribery

The St. Louis Beacon is reporting that Rep. T.D. El-Amin, D-St. Louis, pleaded guilty today to taking a bribe from a gas station owner.

From Jo Mannies' article:

Court documents said that between March 1 and June 1 of this year, El-Amin met a number of times with the owner of a gas station and convenience store in his district; the owner was identified only as John Doe.

In the meetings, which were recorded on audio and video, the station owner said he was being subjected to nuisance citations and summons by the city. The documents said El-Amin agreed to help the owner deal with the problem in exchange for a series of payments totaling $2,100.

At a news conference after the court proceedings, John Gillies, the FBI special agent in charge of the St. Louis office, said more cases like that of El-Amin will be coming. He said since his office set up a special unit to combat official corruption, an increasing number of witnesses have come forward complaining they have been taken advantage of by public officials.

"We'll continue to weed out corruption," Gillies said, adding that it "takes a lot of courage" for the public to cooperate with authorities.

Read the rest here.

Missouri Republican Party executive director Lloyd Smith released the following statement on El-Amin's guilty plea:

“Our elected officials are expected to put service over self, but Democrat State Rep. T.D. El-Amin committed the gravest violation of the public trust—acting for personal profit rather than for the Missourians he represents.  He is the fourth St. Louis-area Democrat who has admitted violating federal laws in the past two years—following State Sen. Jeff Smith and State Reps. Steve Brown and John Bowman.  Whether the efforts of Smith and Brown to lie to federal investigators, Bowman’s role in a credit card kickback scheme, or El-Amin’s acceptance of bribes, these actions are wrong and cannot be tolerated.”

Purgason stays

Earlier this week, state Sen. Chuck Purgason promised a "major announcement" about his U.S. Senate campaign.

Could it be that the bolo-wearing legislator was dropping out the GOP primary? Was he resigning from the state Senate? Was he casting away his bolo forever?

Nope.

It turns out that Purgason, R-Caulfield, didn't use his Capitol Rotunda new conference for any breaking developments about his bid to replace U.S. Sen. Kit Bond. Instead, he used the media attention to criticize U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt for being a leadership when the nation's deficit exploded.

Blunt, R-Springfield, has racked up numerous endorsements and is raising big money for the contest. But Purgason said he's not backing down from his electoral fight.

Here's video from his presser:

Purgason said at his news conference that he was still opposed to plan where the state would issue bonds for capital improvement projects. He joined several other Republicans to torpedo the program earlier this year.

Missouri Democratic Party executive director Brain Zuzenak issued the following statement on Purgason's "major" announcement:

“Senator Purgason’s candidacy shows that Republicans are not unified behind Congressman Blunt because, as Senator Purgason said, the deficit is out of control and as part of the GOP leadership, Roy Blunt is part of the problem. But Missourians won’t be well served by Senator Purgason or Congressman Blunt – both have records of trying to cut senior citizens and the disabled off of Medicaid and Medicare. In contrast, Robin Carnahan has a record of standing up for seniors and putting Missourians first.”

Stouffer makes congressional bid official

State Sen. Bill Stouffer, R-Napton, said earlier this year that he would run for Congress against U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Lexington.

Over the past few days, Stouffer has made the bid uber-official with campaign announcement stops all over the sprawling district. He made a pitch for his campaign today in Jefferson City, one of the bigger population centers of the district.

Stouffer will have to get past former state Rep. Vicky Hartlzer and James Scholz in the GOP primary. If he wins the primary, Stouffer will face a challenge in beating a long-time incumbent who's done well in a Republican-heavy district.

Here's Stouffer answering questions from the media. I'll post parts of his speech when I can: