Politics Watch
Political updates from Columbia, Jeff City and Washington by The Maneater's political reporters.
Latest entries
Commission advises pay raises
By Andrew Denney
Posted at 5:56 p.m., Tuesday, November 25, 2008
At a public meeting in St. Louis last night, the Missouri Citizens' Commission on Compensation for Elected Officials recommended that, if state employees get a pay raise, so too should all elected offcials, according to a report by the Associated Press.
The commission agreed to a proposal that would raise the salary of associate court judges by $1,500, regardless of any change in pay for state employees.
The change will take effect unless the Missouri House and the Missouri Senate both reject the plan with a two-thirds vote.
The commission met on Tuesday with only nine of its members. Gov. Matt Blunt is supposed to pick 12 members for the commission, but said he would not. He has also said that he thinks elected officials should not have an increase in pay.
Blunt pardons two turkeys
By Andrew Denney
Posted at 5:48 p.m., Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Claiming the race was too close to call, Gov. Matt Blunt pardoned the two front running turkeys in a statewide contest to name and subsequently pardon a turkey for Thanksgiving.
The two turkeys, Turkulese and Stewie, were named by students from Eugene Elementary in Eugene, Mo. and Richland Elementary in Richland, Mo. This is the second consecutive year that the contest was held, and, according to the release, 4.5 million votes were received by Missourians.
"Missourians are used to close elections, and apparently that also goes for this year’s contest to name the lucky turkey which is still too close to call," Blunt said in a news release. "With the ballots still being counted, and Turkulese and Stewie locked in an unexpectedly tight race, I have decided to pardon two turkeys this year and save both Stewie and Turkulese from ending up on a dinner plate."
The turkeys will live out the rest of their days in at the Weston Red Barn Farm near Weston, Mo. The remaining turkeys in the state still have the chance to be slathered in cranberry sauce and eaten with a side of green bean casserole.
Pay raises for elected officials under consideration
By Andrew Denney
Posted at 4:45 p.m., Monday, November 24, 2008
A committee selected to consider pay raises for Missouri's elected officials will proceed with a series of public hearings, including one this evening in St. Louis, regardless of the fact they have less than half the required amount of members.
The Missouri Citizens' Commission on Compensation for Elected Officials which already met in Springfield last week, will meet in St. Louis tonight at the Gallery Level of the Old Post Office, located at 815 Olive St. The hearing will allow comments from the public. If you want to weigh in on the issue, and can't make it down to the Lou in the next 20 minutes, you can e-mail comments to Chairman Tim Hufker up until noon tomorrow at thufker@centrics.com.
By order of the State Constitution, the commission is to be formed every two years to consider changes in compensation. The governor appoints 12 members to the board, the Secretary of State picks nine and the Missouri Supreme Court chooses one.
However, Gov. Matt Blunt has not appointed anyone to the board as of yet, and, according to a report by the Associated Press, does not plan to. Any recommendation the board makes for changes in compensation must be approved by the state legislature with a two-thirds vote in both houses.
Blunt still wants you to name that turkey
By Andrew Denney
Posted at 2:45 p.m., Friday, November 21, 2008
In keeping with a yearly tradition that has lasted...two years, Gov. Matt Blunt is going to pardon a turkey for Thanksgiving, which will prevent the bird from becoming a delicious morsel on Nov. 27, and has once again allowed Missourians to vote for a name for the lucky winner.
Currently, the race between two of the five names, Turkulese and Stewie, is becoming a close one, and 4 million votes have already been cast, according to a news release from Blunt's office.
"This year’s contest to name the turkey who will receive a gubernatorial pardon has been very popular especially in Missouri classrooms," Blunt stated in the release. "Missourians still have time to make their voices heard on this year’s lucky turkey."
Click here to vote in the contest.
Clinton to accept Secretary of State position
By Greg Young
Posted at 11:12 p.m., Monday, November 17, 2008
Hillary Clinton will accept the cabinet post of Secretary of State, according to a report from The Guardian, a newspaper in England.
Clinton will be the second woman in a row to fill the post, after Condoleezza Rice. She was Obama's strongest challenger for the Democratic nomination, but since she lost, she has endorsed and campaigned for Obama throughout the general election campaign.
One of the biggest snags in the negotiations was expected to be former president Bill Clinton's associations with The Clinton Global Initiative, a charity run by Clinton that raises and donates money throughout the world. According to reports from The Washington Post, the Obama transition team was vetting through Bill's past associations throughout the day.
Can we be friends now?
By Greg Young
Posted at 5:14 p.m., Monday, November 17, 2008
Sen. John McCain and Pres.-elect Barack Obama met Monday in the 38th floor of the Kluczynski Federal Building in downtown Chicago at Obama's Presidential Transition Office.
There were no indications coming out of the meeting that Obama was prepared to offer McCain a cabinet position, but rather the meeting was portrayed as an attempt to show a display of unity among the former competitors.
When McCain was asked whether he's be willing to help out Obama while he was President, he simply said "obviously."
This meeting comes two days after Obama met with Sen. Hillary Clinton in Chicago, a meeting that set off speculation that she may be offered the Secretary of State cabinet position.
McCain and Obama also issued a joint statement after their meeting:
"At this defining moment in history, we believe that Americans of all parties want and need their leaders to come together and change the bad habits of Washington so that we can solve the common and urgent challenges of our time.
It is in this spirit that we had a productive conversation today about the need to launch a new era of reform where we take on government waste and bitter partisanship in Washington in order to restore trust in government, and bring back prosperity and opportunity for every hardworking American family. We hope to work together in the days and months ahead on critical challenges like solving our financial crisis, creating a new energy economy, and protecting our nation's security."
Nixon makes first cabinet appointment
By Andrew Denney
Posted at 5:09 p.m., Monday, November 17, 2008
In Gov.-elect Jay Nixon's first appointment to his cabinet, Kelvin Simmons, a former director of the Missouri Department of Economic Development, was named the commissioner of the Office of Administration on Monday.
"Kelvin Simmons has the experience, intellect and managerial skill to be a great Commissioner of Administration," Nixon said in a news release. "Kelvin's passion for public service and success in the private sector make him a uniquely qualified choice for this important position. During these difficult economic times, we must find ways to make government more efficient and accountable to the people."
Simmons has held positions in both the public and private sectors.
"It's clear that Missouri is facing difficult economic times," Simmons said in a news release after his appointment. "Just as Missouri families are looking for ways to do more with less, we must be ready to do the same in state government. Under Gov.-elect Nixon's leadership, we'll make government more efficient and improve services for the taxpayers. I'm honored Gov.-elect Nixon has asked me to join his team, and I look forward to returning to public service as part of his administration."
Simmons, who graduated from MU in 1986, has worked for several government agencies in the state. He became director of the Office of Equal Opportunity, which is within the Office of Administration. He was also named chairman of the Missouri Public Service Commission in 2001, and then was appointed as director of the Missouri Department of Economic Development in 2003 by then-Gov. Bob Holden.
Simmons was the first black person to hold the position.
In the private sector, Simmons has founded A.M. Development Company, a political consulting firm.
I spoke with Simmons during the last few days of the elections season (seems so long ago, doesn't it?) at a NAACP forum for local legislative candidates here in Columbia. He was at the forum to speak for state Rep. Judy Baker, D-Columbia, who was running for Missouri's 9th Congressional District.
State legislative parties pick new leadership
By Andrew Denney
Posted at 4:30 p.m., Thursday, November 6, 2008
The parties in the Missouri General Assembly met today to pick leaders for the upcoming legislative session.
The Senate Republicans picked Kevin Engler of Farmington as Majority Floor Leader, replacing Charlie Shields of St. Joseph, who the caucus will likely elect as President Pro Tem to replace Michael Gibbons, who has reached his term limit. Jack Goodman of Mt. Vernon will remain the Assistant Majority Leader.
The Senate Democrats picked Victor Callahan of Independence as Minority Floor Leader, and Rita Days of St. Louis as the Assistant Minority Floor Leader. Callahan is replacing Maida Coleman of St. Louis, who declined not to run for the position this year, and Days will replace Chuck Graham of Columbia, who lost his seat to Republican Kurt Schaefer on Election Day.
Both parties in the House kept most of their leaders. For the Democrats, Paul LaVota of Independence and J.C. Kuessner will return as the Minority Floor Leader and the Assistant Minority Floor Leader, respectively, and the Republicans retained Steven Tilley of Perryville as Majority Floor Leader and Tom Self as Assistant Majority Floor Leader.
Proposition 8 passes in California/McCain wins in Missouri
By Roseann Moring
Posted at 9:09 a.m., Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Proposition 8, which makes gay marriage unconstitutional in California, passed with 52.1 percent of the vote. 47.9 percent of people voted no.
Meanwhile, the final Missouri results are in, and John McCain won Missouri 49.4 percent to 49.2 percent, which is the first time since Dwight D. Eisenhower that Missouri has not voted for the president.
Barack rocks stocks in Asia; Mo. still too close to call
By Lindsay Eanet
Posted at 1:15 a.m., Wednesday, November 5, 2008
The British Broadcasting Corporation has reported that as international excitement welled about the election of Barack Obama has led to rising stocks in the Asian market. The report stated Japan's Nikkei 225 index went up 4.5 percent, Singapore's benchmark index increased 4.1 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 5.7 percent. The American market experienced an increase as well, the BBC reports: the Dow Jones Industrial Average went up 305.5 points, closing at 9,625.3 on Election Day.
While the election has long since been declared for Obama, Missouri is one of three states still considered "too close to call," along with Montana and North Carolina. John McCain is still up by 17,750 votes, or .6 percent, with 3,466 of 3,533 precincts reporting.
183 posts in Politics Watch. Showing 1 of 19.
« Older |