Great. Just great. Still don’t know which St. Louis business organization nominated political consultent Darry Gray, St. Louis, to Missouri Workforce Development Board. I have been informed by Governor Mike Kehoe’s Office that they have no such nominating letter.
Per the Board’s By-Laws, “1) Business representatives are appointed from among individuals who are nominated by local business organizations and business trade associations.”
Gray, better known as a member of the clergy, has a political consulting business called Gray and Gray Associates. Sonya Gray, his wife, Personnel Director for City of St. Louis, was a part of the business until October 2024. I wrote about their business here.
I first Sunshined the Board for the nominating letter(s) and was told they have no record.
Then, I Sunshined the Governor’s Office for the record(s). The Governor’s Office surely knows where board and commission records of Mike Parson, the previous Governor who appointed Gray last year, are located. Right? I wrote about the Governor’s Office initial response here.
Not ready to conclude Governor Parson appointed Darryl Gray to the Board without following the By-Laws, so will Sunshine the Boards and Commissions Director, though neither Workforce Development Board or Governor’s Office suggested that I do that.
Why is it that nearly everyone who handles Sunshine requests does so in the least helpful way possible?
Lots of newly baptized environmental activists in the dark red, conservative Southwest Missouri communities of Pomme de Terre Lake, cattle ranching and water tourism country.
I’m still trying to sort out a month’s worth of news stories, flyers, meeting recollections, a petition drive* and letter writing campaigns, rumors of trucks seeking additional farmland to dump slaughterhouse waste on and legal bribes called gifts to public institutions, reviewing campaign finance and lobbyist records, and checking out three or more groups of concerned residents, property owners, businesses.
To my knowledge, no one involved in any of these organizing efforts has any experience in organizing for change, or organizing to stop something, or protesting. There’s no public relations professional assistance. I enjoy a good “graphic arts is my passion” meme as much as the next person, but what’s going on here is something extra super grassroots, people taking on the system and powerful entities for the first time. It’s all from the heart and gut. That can be messy.
We got back from 29 days on the road to find a dozen printed and handmade signs along our stretch of road at the Lake. We missed at least one big meeting, with Missouri Department of Natural Resources present, and other smaller ones.
DNR, and maybe some local officials (none to date have publicly sided with residents against the permit application), will be at the next big meeting- 1 pm Sunday, October 1, at the pavilion at east end of Army Corps of Engineers Pomme de Terre Dam, 23697 County Road 218, Hermitage, Missouri.
I’ll write more about all this in a couple of days.
*I have not signed the petitionbecause of disparaging comments on the petition page regarding employees of the facility.
In addition to the $10 a day per diem*, Constitutional Convention delegates could set salaries and benefits for themselves. There’s nothing that says they cannot.
Don’t forget to factor in hiring special counsel for lawsuits and consultants.
How much will a Constitutional Convention cost? A LOT,millions and millions and millions of dollars.
Do lobbyist, campaign finance, and conflict of interest laws apply to Constitutional Convention delegates?
Thinking about lobbyists rewriting the Missouri Constitution free of any regulation or transparency should scare you plenty. In Missouri, lobbyist registration and reports are required for lobbying the legislative branch, but that’s defined as Missouri House and Missouri Senate. There’s no requirement relating to lobbying Constitutional Convention delegates.
Are candidates for delegate and delegate at large subject to campaign finance laws? What about conflict of interest laws? It depends on definitions, such as definition of public official and public office. The Missouri Attorney General would have some say over it. That would be Eric Schmitt, one of the worst lawyers ever, the guy who looks to be turning loser frivolous lawsuits into a successful campaign for U.S. Senate, or his replacement appointed by Governor Mike Parson to fill vacancy.
It’s highly likely Christofascists will be in the majority at the Constitutional Convention
In the best case scenario, 34 Democrats and 34 Republicans would be elected by senatorial district and at least 8 of the 15 delegates at large elected statewide would be Democrats. That’s wishful thinking.
Delegate vacancies are going to happen and those vacancies will be filled by Governor Parson. The Constitution requires the political party of the delegate resigning to be matched in replacement. But, come on, we know how this will go. Any delicate balance of power would eventually dissolve in favor of Republicans.
A Constitution Party delegate could get elected instead of a Democrat in a heavily Republican senatorial district with a little coordination between Constitution Party and Republican Party.
Regardless of campaign finance laws, Rex Sinquefield, David Humphreys, and right wing PACs will run slates for the statewide delegate at large seats. Who are the big money Democrats in Missouri that are going to match that? There aren’t any.
District delegate nomination will be for political party insiders
Each senatorial district party committee gets one nominee. At the delegate election, each voter may pick one political party ballot and vote for their party’s nominee. The delegate candidates with the two highest votes become delegates. No Independent candidates or Write Ins.
Who do you know that can afford to run for a Constitutional Convention delegate position without knowing if there’s a salary that goes with it, how many days a week is required, or how long service will last?
The Governor can set the delegate election for the lowest possible turnout
Constitutional Convention delegates will be chosen in a special election held between February and May of 2023 (three to six months after November 8th election). According to the Secretary of State, there are three elections in that period. February 7th may be used for bond issues and only bond issues. March 7th may be used for municipal elections in only charter cities. April 4th is a general municipal elections day.
Governor Parson gets to pick the day of the election and it doesn’t have to be one of the already scheduled election days. With the delegates at large elected statewide in mind, do you think Parson would pick an election with a heavier turnout in St. Louis City and Kansas City than rest of the State? Of course not.
Young people will have no voice at a Constitutional Convention
Delegates to the Convention must meet the same qualifications as state senators: 30 years of age, state voters for at least 3 years, resident of the senatorial district for at least 1 year.
They will vote for the word “Constitutional”
It’s true that the every twenty years Constitutional Convention ballot question has a history of failing at the polls. But that was before January 6th 2021 and a defeated President claiming victory to this day. It was before the bizarre anti-science response to COVID. It was before Missouri elected officials decided racing to the bottom was a virtue and their voters applauded them. I hope that I’m wrong, but I think people are going to vote for the word “Constitutional” on November 8th and not care about the details.
The Great State of St. Louis 