August GOP Primary Endorsements

For what they are worth, here are my picks for the August 2 GOP primary election. There are several interesting races with big contrasts, so this is one worth showing up for. I omitted the US Senate and House races (though I think anti-incumbent message votes may be appropriate) and the associate judge race from this listing.

Governor: Eric Greitens.  He has an accomplished record of military service, charitable service, leadership, and international experience. He has made cleaning up Missouri politics a major point of his campaign, and some tactics we’ve seen in this campaign show how much that is needed. While some question his conservatism, as he was a Democrat in the past, he has explained why he converted, and I see no reason to doubt him. The perfect replacement for bumbling governor Nixon and his lack of leadership.

Lt. Governor: Bev Randles. I like her record with the Missouri Club for Growth, where she was elbows deep in Missouri issues and the conservative solutions we need to enact.  Along with Greitens, she is another fresh, inspirational face in Missouri politics. Her opponent, Mike Parson, has received lots of lobbyist gifts and helped fight ethics reform in the state Senate this year.

Attorney General: Josh Hawley. He has been the subject of vicious, totally bogus attacks from opponent Kurt Schaefer. Former Senator Jack Danforth said one such attack was “an intentional and malicious misstatement of fact.” Let’s not reward such attacks. Hawley’s harshest attack is that Schaefer is a moderate, since that’s what he once called himself. Hawley is a constitutional lawyer who teaches at Mizzou and worked on the Hobby Lobby Obamacare case.

Secretary of State: Will Kraus. A senator with a solid record who serves in the Missouri National Guard and led the push for a voter ID law, part of which is ready for a veto override and part of which will be on the November ballot. His opponent, Jay Ashcroft, seems to have used his name and connections to travel from big defense contractor to big shot law firm during his career. I’m not a big fan of political legacies.

JeffCo Sheriff: Sean Cooper. I think the JeffCo Sheriff’s Office is ready for some outside leadership after the long reign of Glenn Boyer. Cooper is the only candidate who does not currently work for the JeffCo sheriff. He showed high courage and integrity when he was a Festus cop a decade ago after a drunken driving incident involving a judge that he refused to help cover up (I will write about this shortly). He has also expressed strong support for constitutional rights. He is currently second in command to the sheriff in Madison County.

JeffCo Treasurer: Mark Paul. I think he has best articulated his goals for transparency and efficiency in this office, recognizing the limits of the office’s powers but pledging to do what he can to improve its operations. One of his opponents, Ken Horton, won this primary in 2012 against county executive Ken Waller’s wife Trina, but lost the general election by 1,600 votes.

JeffCo Assessor: Bob Boyer. He has a record of small government conservatism on the county council, and he will bring this to the assessor’s office.

County Council District 4: Charles Groteke. This is close to a toss up, but I think Groeteke is working harder in this race, and opponent George Engelbach has been missing meetings in recent months. The winner of this matchup will have to face a harsh, perhaps underhanded campaign from former legislator Jeff Roorda in November, and I think Groeteke will be best equipped for that. This is a rematch of 2012, when Groeteke was the incumbent and lost to Engelbach by 4 votes.

Council District 6: Kevin Weaver. I like his focus on business and jobs.

House District 111: Jason Jarvis. I am not that impressed with incumbent representative Shane Roden, who focuses mainly on niche issues like motorcycle helmets and saying the pledge in schools. Jarvis has wide experience, and he is focused on serious issues like heroin and business.

Prop V (in the county and various cities): Yes. This just levels the playing field between in-state and out-of-state car dealers in terms of sales taxes paid.

 

Politics Must Be Considered in JeffCo Clerk Proposal

Jefferson County Clerk Wes Wagner, a Democrat, is proposing that the office be changed from an elected one to a system like St. Louis County, with a board appointed by the governor that hires two election directors (one Democrat, one Republican) to run elections for the county. Wagner says in the May 26 Leader that politics are not the motivation for this. It is clear, however, that they give him a strong incentive to get this change approved.

Wagner has been elected county clerk three times, in 2006, 2010, and 2014. In 2006, he won with 56% of the vote, in 2010 he was unopposed, and in 2014 he received 50% of the vote, defeating 2nd place candidate Jeremy Day by 2,500 votes in a 3-man race. Given the electoral trends in the county, it is quite possible that Wagner could find himself on the losing end in 2018.

If the change he is requesting is made, though, he can reasonably expect to be hired as the Democratic election director. That would be a job that would likely offer the same pay as now, but with duties shared between him and a co-director (and all the non-election clerk duties transferred to others). It would also offer pretty good job security. But comments from county council chairwoman Renee Reuter suggest that this idea will not be approved by the council (which would trigger a public vote) this year.

Granted, Wagner has proposed this idea in the past, and it may have some merits, though it would cost more and put the governor in ultimate control. In addition, St. Louis County, which uses this system, had serious issues at the April municipal election.

In denying the existence of political motivation, Wagner says he is confident that he will be re-elected in 2018 if he chooses to run (but all politicians say that). However, in a rank bit of cynicism, he says:

[I]f I were that concerned about party affiliation, I could just switch parties and file as a Republican.

He must think GOP voters are pretty dumb then, that they would just accept that a guy who has been elected clerk three times as a Democrat, was elected to the state House of Representatives four times as a Democrat, and whose dad was elected as a Democrat to be circuit clerk for 30 years, can just call himself a Republican right before the election and win over the party’s voters.

Wegge in the Spotlight Over Critchlow Crimes

Update: How about federal wire fraud charges for submitting fraudulent income data to the state retirement system over the internet, as the former St. Joseph superintendent was charged with?

Jefferson County Prosecutor Forrest Wegge has three Critchlow cases on his plate right now. Everyone knows about the Fox scandal (currently under review by Wegge’s office) and Jamie Critchlow’s latest DWI (case in progress, being handled by assistant prosecutor Thomas Hollingsworth), but Wegge’s office will also be defending the state Department of Revenue in Jamie’s petition to have his drivers license revocation overturned.

Wegge, a Democrat, was first elected as JeffCo Prosecuting Attorney in 2006. He won re-election unopposed in 2010 and 2014. He is two years away from having to face voters again, should he choose to run for another term. Given the Republican shift in the county, one would think a challenger will emerge in 2018.

The Critchlow Fox case may be the biggest one of Wegge’s tenure. Public interest and anger here are very high. You might say, oh, murder is a bigger deal than this, but murder is a black-and-white thing – somebody was killed or they weren’t – and most murderers around here are rather easy to identify (Amanda Jones case notwithstanding, though the culprit seems clear). In this case, the number of charges, the type of charges, and the number of people charged are open questions that are up to prosecutor discretion. Disgraced former Fox C-6 school district superintendent Dianne Critchlow could be charged with a number of offenses. Here are the potential broken laws that I can find, based on my reading of the law and the facts of the case (note: I am not a lawyer):

• Felony stealing (B felony if over $25,000 stolen – multiple counts possible here)
• Official misconduct (misdemeanor)
• Fraudulent use of a credit device (felony if over $500 stolen within 30 days)
• Fraudulent use of facsimile signature or seal (felony, 2-10 years jail). I’m not sure if this applies. We know she made unauthorized use of facsimile signatures on her contracts, but did she do so on “a public security or an instrument of payment?”
• Tampering with physical evidence – felony in this case. Fox CFO John Brazeal said that several district employees destroyed electronic records and that former CFO Mark McCutchen shredded documents. Did Dianne do this or order others to do so?
• Probably something securities related, having to do with the misuse of bond proceeeds that Brazeal reported in August 2014. While it noted the district’s failures in bond issuance, the auditor’s report did not mention anything about how bond proceeds were used.
• Possibly something related to tax fraud due to unreported income, but I think this is mostly the district’s problem (this is related primarily to Critchlow’s vehicle mileage).

Let me know if you have other ideas for charges against Dianne.

Watch for how many counts Dianne gets charged with (assuming she gets charged – if not, it may be tar and feathers time). Also, McCutchen should get charged for at least tampering for his paper shredding. His role in all this has not been fully explored, and only at trial will this happen. Perhaps McCutchen will take a deal and testify against Dianne.

Jamie Critchlow could be charged with receiving stolen property, a felony; he surely knew what was going on. Could anyone else be charged? Several board members and administrators received scholarships for their kids or jobs for their relatives. Was there any quid pro quo? Other assistant superintendents made questionable credit card charges. What about former CFO James Berblinger? The district points fingers at him in the audit response, but Fox seems to allege incompetence, not malice.

A plea deal for Dianne is a possibility, but I think this needs to go to trial. Let’s hear all the details about what went on at Fox. Let’s see what defense she puts on. Her lawyer’s few media statements have been along the lines of “the board approved everything she did.” Do any former administrators or board members testify on her behalf? Or against her? I assume Dianne won’t testify, but you never know.

Jamie’s DWI

In addition, Jamie has been charged with aggravated DWI (a felony worth up to 7 years in jail) and misdemeanor leaving the scene of an accident (up to a year in jail) for an incident on May 30. One wonders why he was not charged with felony leaving the scene, though, since did this before (at his January 2015 Arnold DWI) and thus is eligible for a felony charge. Critchlow plead out his two recent Missouri DWIs; will he fight this one? He is already on probation, and this is his first felony, so there is a lot more at stake this time around.

As is his modus operandi, Jamie refused a breath test when arrested on the 30th, which means an automatic one year revocation of one’s drivers license (notably, Arnold police did not do blood tests at either arrest, while Iron County did perform one, revealing a 0.28 blood alcohol level in July 2014). The revocation can be challenged in court, and Critchlow is doing just that. While his suit in this matter is against the state Department of Revenue, which controls drivers licenses, state law requires the county prosecutor to appear in court on behalf of the DOR. At the hearing, the prosecutor must satisfy the court that the police had reasonable grounds to stop Critchlow and believe he was drunk in order to uphold the license revocation. Interestingly, Critchlow’s lawyer has already moved to have the assigned judge, Tony Manansala, removed from the case.

How will Wegge’s office handle these cases? The answer will determine what kind of justice gets served, and perhaps also if Wegge has any shot at re-election.

Politics Can’t Be Ruled Out in Mahn Case

As you may have read in the Leader on March 10, the lawsuit against former county circuit clerk Howard Wagner and others alleging a politically motivated firing was dismissed by a US District Court judge in early March. Let me summarize the case, and show that the dismissal does not necessarily mean that politics were not involved.

The case by former circuit clerk employee Jamie Mahn centers around three questions:

1. Did county clerk Wes Wagner tell Howard (his dad) how Mahn voted (it is known that she voted GOP and that the Wagners are Democrats)?
2. Was party affiliation or loyalty a motivating factor in Mahn’s dismissal?
3. Was Mahn fired for reasons other than politics?

For the first question, the court ruled that no concrete evidence was presented that Wes Wagner told Howard how Mahn voted, just speculation, and his portion of the case was dismissed. For the third question, the judge ruled that sufficient performance issues related to Mahn’s work existed to justify termination. Based on the answers to these questions, the judge declared there was no basis for the suit, and thus dismissed it.

However, on question two, the judge ruled that there was sufficient evidence to litigate this issue. Four circuit clerk employees (aside from Mahn) testified that Howard Wagner made various comments about voting. Alleged statements include:

• “I don’t see the ballots, but I know how you vote.”
• “This is a Democrat world, people are Democrat there, and we should support the Democrats.”
• Three employees testified that they felt pressured to vote Democrat and/or pretend they were Democrats.

Wagner testified that trying to influence Mahn’s vote in a primary election in which the Democrat candidate to replace him, Jeannette McKee, was unopposed, would make no sense, but what makes no sense is to assume that any pressure or intimidation would have no effect on employees’ votes in the general election three months later, in which McKee was opposed. The judge also did not seem to understand this point.

The court found that “Mahn has submitted sufficient evidence [to go forward with trial] that political affiliation or loyalty was a motivating factor in her dismissal.” But this was not enough to counteract the other two questions stated above.

So while Wagner won this suit, let’s not come away from this lawsuit with the impression that politics were not played in the JeffCo circuit clerk’s office.

Another lawsuit by Mahn, alleging she was discriminated against for using sick leave during an illness, is still ongoing.

A Look at the County Primary Ballot

Lets take a look at some of the candidates that have signed up to run for county elected office on the August 2 primary ballot (found here).

• As has been previously reported, former state rep Jeff Roorda (Democrat) is running for county council in District 4. He lost a state senate race to Paul Wieland in 2014. He may face off against incumbent Republican George Engelbach, who defeated another former state rep, Tim Meadows, to win the seat in 2012.
• Engelbach, however will have to defeat a man named Flat Top (aka Tom Rorabacher) in the primary to advance to the general election:

• TJ McKenna, latest in a line of local McKenna Democratic politicos, is making another run for office, this time as public administrator. He served a term as a state representative from 2012-14 until he was ousted by Becky Ruth.
• He will be running against former local tea party leader Steve Farmer, who unseated incumbent Bruce King for the job four years ago.
• Two non-establishment Republicans will be facing off in the primary for treasurer. Ken Horton, another former tea party leader who defeated the wife of county executive Ken Waller in the primary for treasurer four years ago before losing the general election by less that 2,000 votes, will face libertarian Mark Paul, who challenged Waller unsuccessfully in the county executive primary in 2014. It is unfortunate that these two have to run against each other instead of coming to some agreement to seek different offices.
• Another candidate in the GOP primary for treasurer is Paula Wagner, who is current chief deputy in the treasurer’s office. On the Democrat side, Dorothy Stafford, who was unseated from her position as county auditor in 2014 in an upset by Richard Carter, is seeking the treasurer’s job.
• JeffCo will have a new sheriff for the first time in many years as Glenn Boyer is stepping aside. Four candidates have signed up to run for his spot, and three of them currently work for the department: Democrat and current 2nd in command Steve Meinberg and Republicans Dave Marshak and Ron Arnhart. The other candidate is Sean Cooper, who lives in the county but is currently 2nd in command in the Madison County Sheriff’s Office. Will voters want an insider or an outsider as the next sheriff?

McKee Circuit Clerk Ragequit

The Leader on July 16 at long last corroborates what I reported back in May, that JeffCo 23rd Circuit Clerk employee and failed Democratic candidate for clerk Jeanette McKee was fired from the office in April. However, the Leader provides more info: that McKee appealed her firing and was reinstated in mid-May (it is hard to fire government employees, after all). But this victory was short-lived, as McKee resigned at the end of June. And she went out in a fit of pique, going to the Leader to air her alleged grievances towards her new/old boss.

There was bound to be tension in the circuit clerk’s office when new clerk Mike Reuter (Republican) took over. There was no way he would retain McKee as deputy clerk, and no reason to expect that he should; he is entitled choose someone he can trust. It is hard when an office is operated for decades under the principles of patronage, only to have the head patron replaced with someone of the opposite party. “Anyone who supported me or was hired by [previous clerk] Howard Wagner he has something against,” McKee claims. Of course, when it was the whims of Wagner, a Democrat, that ruled, she did not object.

McKee claims there was a “strained working relationship” and said Reuter “was never going to let up.” Reuter is unable to defend himself in a personnel situation such as this, so McKee is free to fire away unanswered. McKee would not sign a legal release, as requested by Reuter’s attorneys.

McKee says she took a three-week Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) absence because Reuter was “demeaning” her in front of others. Now, I’m not a human resources guy, but I think it is quite likely that this particular excuse is not covered under FMLA, which is intended for actual medical conditions. This is consistent with McKee’s past liberal use of leave. She took a month off in October to campaign for the clerk’s job.

McKee also says Reuter moved her from a “semi-private office to a cubicle outside his office door and then, after her leave, to a downstairs file room to do microfilming.” One has to wonder if Reuter also gave her a can of pesticide and asked her to take care of the cockroaches down there. Hopefully she got to keep her red stapler.

McKee also accused Reuter of not knowing the job and of relying too much on legal advice. She said Wagner did his own human resources work, to which Reuter attorney Stan Schnaare replied:

“I have no doubt that Howard Wagner did the bulk of his human resources work,” he said “I would say that perhaps in the past, the employees were not getting the same due process as they should have in the past – at least that’s my observation.”

We can see the fruits of Wagner’s HR work in the lawsuits filed by former clerk’s office employee Jamie Mahn.

One has to wonder what McKee’s new employers at the US Court of Appeals in St. Louis think of McKee’s parting shots. What will she have to say about them some day? Also, while it is clear that McKee is trying to cause political damage to Reuter, does she have her eyes on trying to run for the clerk seat again in 2018?

Mahn Files Another Suit Against Wagner

As I mentioned in a recent post, former Jefferson County (23rd) Circuit Court employee Jamie Mahn has filed a second lawsuit against former circuit clerk Howard Wagner and the circuit itself. The suit, filed in early April, claims employment discrimination based on disability, alleging that the stated reason for Mahn’s firing from the clerk’s office in September was “abuse of sick leave” (apparently a quote from her dismissal letter) after Mahn took a total of about two months of leave for two separate specified medical issues in 2014.

This suit was filed in the 23rd circuit (a state court), but a motion has been filed to transfer it to the Missouri Supreme Court for reassignment, given the obvious potential conflicts of interest.

This “abuse of sick leave” quote gives us the first clue about Wagner’s official reason for firing Mahn. In a Leader article from November, Wagner said “I can’t really comment on work performance and that sort of thing.” This seems like a backhanded insinuation that Mahn was fired for poor performance, clearly violating the spirit of his “can’t comment on personnel issues” stance.

Prior to filing the lawsuit, Mahn filed a complaint with the Missouri Commission on Human Rights (MCHR) on November 6. MCHR invites parties in a complaint to mediate or settle the complaint. According to their website, a complainant can let the investigation proceed or request a Right to Sue letter, which terminates the MCHR proceedings and allows the complainant to file a lawsuit. Mahn chose this route, receiving the Right to Sue letter on January 7.

Mahn filed a federal lawsuit against Wagner, the county, the circuit, county clerk Wes Wagner, and circuit chief deputy Jeanette McKee (who was defeated by current clerk Mike Reuter in the November election) in October, alleging that the real reason she was fired was because she voted in the GOP primary in August rather than voting Democrat (McKee and both Wagners are Democrats). I discussed that suit here.

Mahn is seeking upwards of $500,000 in the federal suit and $100,000 in the state suit.

Keeping Up With the Circuit Clerk’s Office

A few news items from the Jefferson County Circuit Clerk’s office:

• The inevitable awkward arrangement between new clerk Mike Reuter (Republican) and the woman he defeated in November to win the seat, Jeanette McKee, a clerk’s office employee, is over. McKee is no longer employed by the clerk’s office. I am hearing that she was fired in early April.

• McKee’s husband Randell was charged with 3rd degree assault in November 2013. The issue of his alleged criminality was raised by a website during the 2014 campaign. That case was settled in a plea deal on April 27; he plead guilty to disturbance of the peace and was given a $500 fine. A judge from Franklin County was brought in for this case, given the potential conflict.

• Jamie Mahn, a clerk’s office employee, was fired in September 2014 and claimed in a federal lawsuit that it was because she voted Republican in the August primary election. On April 4, Mahn filed a lawsuit in the 23rd Circuit Court (JeffCo) for employment discrimination. I do not yet have a copy of the suit; when I do, I will break it down for you.

Nixon Withholds Port Cash

UPDATE: Port money has been released, 4/3/15.

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon is once again withholding allocated money from the Jefferson County Port, to the tune of $500,000. Nixon did this in 2013, as well, and I theorized that it was to pressure local representatives to vote not to override his veto of a tax cut bill.

This time, there appears to be no specific rhyme or reason for withholding the port money. This is part of the $480 million or so that Nixon is withholding over concerns about a balanced budget. One would think, perhaps, that Nixon would cut his home county a little slack, but I guess not.

Seven JeffCo legislators signed a letter from Rep. Becky Ruth to the governor on this topic:

This week, I drafted a letter to Governor Nixon requesting that he release the funds being withheld for our ports. Seven legislators from Jefferson County signed the letter and I personally hand delivered it to the Governor’s office. As you are aware, Jefferson County has made progress in the development of the Jefferson County Port in Herculaneum, but it is only a beginning and will take more funds to fully complete this project. We hope that the Governor will see that this is a vital economic development project that affects not just Herculaneum, but will affect our entire county and state. The amount of jobs and economic growth that the Jefferson County Port will bring is substantial and impactful. The development of our ports will further position our state to compete on a global level in terms of industry and agriculture.

In addition, all seven members of the Jefferson County Council signed a letter to the governor:

From the Jefferson Countian

Will these letters help? Will Nixon show some love to the county he once represented in the state Senate? The money may come out eventually, but I doubt he will do us any favors.

Search for Truth over Clerk’s Office

I wrote previously about the Leader’s attack on new circuit clerk Mike Reuter, which included an article about a cockamamie scheme to usurp his power, followed by an indignation-filled editorial. The title of the editorial was “Courts lead search for truth; circuit clerk should do the same.”

This title is ironic, given the letter that Reuter’s lawyer, Stan Schnaare, wrote to the Leader in the January 15 edition (interestingly, Schnaare ran unsuccessfully against new presiding judge Robert Wilkins, who is part of this story, in 2012). He lists a number of attempts that the Reuter camp made to reach out to the Wagner camp, all of which were rebuffed:

• A phone call from Reuter’s lawyer to outgoing clerk Howard Wagner’s lawyer was not returned.
• Only one clerk’s office employee appeared at a meet-and-greet Reuter held.
• A letter Reuter delivered to Wagner was unanswered, except by Wagner’s lawyer saying Reuter could meet with the staff once he takes office.
• Reuter met with Wilkins and chief clerk’s office deputy (and election loser) Jeanette McKee (this apparently occurred after Martin wrote his column). He was not allowed to see his new office, however.

Pat Martin must not have heard about any of these attempts. His pal Wagner told him that Reuter hadn’t “called or visited,” which I guess is technically true, though it would appear to be a lie by omission. Rather than Reuter not being interested in having discussions, it appears that he was being stonewalled by Wagner.

Thus, in the search for truth, it is the Leader that seems to have come up short. But at least they printed Schnaare’s letter.