Gov. Nixon removed Lt. Gov. Kinder from the census committee without notice.

Tensions between Nixon, Kinder show continued partisan divide

By Eva Dou

Published Feb. 5, 2009

Bipartisan cooperation has been one of Gov. Jay Nixon's big talking points as he begins his term, but elected officials say the cooperation is going better in the legislature than in the executive branch.

Senate President Pro Tem Charlie Shields, R-St. Joseph, said the Senate has tried to create a bipartisan atmosphere this year.

Shields created the Progress and Development Committee this session, which he said is chaired by a minority senator for the first time in recent history. Senate Minority Leader Victor Callahan, D-Independence, heads that committee, and the majority of the committee members are Democrats.

"Overall, there is more we agree on than disagree on," Shields said.

A disconnect between Nixon, a Democrat, and Republican Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder has been more apparent.

During a visit to MU on Tuesday, Kinder said Nixon has so far been uncommunicative with him.

Kinder said Nixon had not briefed him on the budget or returned calls from his office to Nixon's office.

"I learned of the governor's budget the same time you did," Kinder said to reporters, following an education meeting at the school.

Nixon spokesman Scott Holste said in an e-mail message that the level of communication between the governor and Kinder has been appropriate.

Kinder said the governor also did not inform him that he was no longer chair of the statewide Census committee, which will be responsible for redrawing the state's congressional districts following the 2010 U.S. Census. He learned of Nixon's decision to transfer jurisdiction of the committee to the Office of Administration through a phone call from the OA shortly before Nixon's State of the State Address.

Former Gov. Matt Blunt, a Republican, created the committee last year and appointed Kinder to be chairman.

Kinder spokesman Gary McElyea said the lieutenant governor's office had already begun the committee planning and organizational work, and the notification of the change took them by surprise.

"We had done quite a bit of work," he said. "We'd scheduled the first meeting. With 30 members on the commission, you can imagine what it takes to get all their schedules to line up."

The shift was due to cost cuts of $200,000, but McElyea said the lieutenant governor's office was prepared to decrease spending by that amount through the use of teleconferencing and other savings.

Missouri is one of 19 states that hold separate elections for governor and lieutenant governor. This occasionally results in the state's top executives hailing from different parties.

"It doesn't necessarily strain the relationships, but rather forces us to work together," McElyea said.

As for Nixon's stress on bipartisanship, McElyea said Kinder's office applauds and respects the governor's decision to spur cooperation.

"We truly hope we can work together across all branches of government," McElyea said.

Kinder said he's offered to help the governor gain support with the Republican-controlled legislature.

"The ball is now in his court," he said.