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DEF is a non-partisan, independent political blog based in the
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STILL BLUNTED -- Missouri Congressman Roy Blunt, father of Gov. Matt Blunt, fended off opposition to his House leadership post today. By a vote of 137-57, Papa Blunt beat out Arizonan John Shadegg to be minority whip when the new Congress convenes in January.
AND THE OSCAR GOES TO... Director Frank Popper and State Senator-elect Jeff Smith have to be worried silly with excitement about the recent announcement of the Academy's short list. I mean, will this actually beMartin Scorsese's year?
THE TROOPS TURN THEIR BACKS ON AMERICA -- Where has the patriotism that followed September 11, 2001 gone? We can remember when Americans dared not question the leadership of our country's elected officials! But leave it to some battle-scarred war veterans to go and disrespect our local political warrior.
At last weekend's scantly-attended Veteran's Day parade, eight veterans literally turned their backs on Mayor Francis Slay when he rose to speak. They told a Post-Dispatch reporter they were angry about the departure of the Soldiers Memorial's longtime superintendent, Ralph Wiechert.
According to the Post, Wiechert, who was in the audience, said he had had "no support" from City Hall for repairs at the Memorial.
Well, I guess next they'll be asking Congress not to cut their health benefits! Don't they realize we're at war? It's about sacrifice, people.
The Post-Dispatch picked up on our story about a recent comment made by a PR person at the Convention and Visitors Commission.
Attempting to debunk the city's recent designation as the "most dangerous" in the U.S., [Mary] Hendron said she was explaining that the city's crime figures were skewed by some areas.
"It's a bad part of town, but every city has a bad part of town," Hendron told the industry publication. "Frankly, the only reason anyone would go there would be to purchase crack cocaine."
The comments were the last line in a story about the commission's reaction to the crime ranking. It ran last week in Venues Today's weekly electronic newsletter — sent to 3,000 subscribers in the sports and entertainment industry — and reported locally on a blog, Pub Def.
U.S. Senator Kit Bond today announced almost $500,000 in federal funds for a new education and arts community center in north St. Louis.
"This new center will provide community outreach to some of the neediest neighborhoods in the St. Louis area," Bond said in a press release today.
"This community is committed to providing children and families in the city a chance to succeed and I am proud to be a part of this important effort."
As chairman of the Senate Transportation-Treasury-HUD Appropriations Subcommittee, Bond secured $495,000 in federal funds for the Mark Twain Community Alliance which will be used to renovate a building that will become the Redevelopment, Arts, Culture and Educational Center in St. Louis.
The center will help residents living in the most disadvantaged zip codes in St. Louis City and County (63115, 63113, 63120). Children in these zip codes are exposed to numerous risk factors such as poverty, single parent households, teen pregnancy and violence. Drop-out rates in the area are also among the highest in the city.
Ald. Charles Quincy Troupe is quoted praising Bond's record.
"He extended himself to include the black community in a way that no other governor, before him or after him, did."
"As the senior U.S. Senator and statesman, he continues to exercise inclusion whether it is biodiesel in southeast Missouri or the development of a youth and family center in north St. Louis," said Troupe.
Clay, Scheck to Discuss Wrongful Convictions at Wash U. Tomorrow
By Antonio D. French
Congressman Lacy Clay and renowned defense attorney Barry Scheck (known best as the DNA guy from O.J. Simpson's "dream team") will be on the campus of Washington University tomorrow addressing some of the issues surrounding innocent men and women being wrongly convicted in U.S. courts.
Clay is scheduled to give the morning keynote speech (9:00 a.m.) at the Sixth Annual Access to Equal Justice Conference, which starts tomorrow at the Wash U. School of Law.
The school's Clinical Education Program and Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, along with the St. Louis University School of Law, will present "Convicted, Executed, But Not Guilty? Examining the Risks of Wrongful Executions and the Role of Prosecutors, Defense Attorneys, Academia and the Press," from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in Anheuser-Busch Hall.
The conference is free and open to faculty, students, staff, and the public, but organizers say attendees must have registered by Monday to receive materials and attend the lunch. Click here for more info.
Scheck and Roscoe C. Howard, Jr., a former U.S. Attorney and former professor of law at the University of Kansas, are the afternoon keynote speakers (1:00 p.m.).
Missouri Chamber of Commerce's Legislative Action Seminar Today
By Antonio D. French
Have YouTube, Blogs, and electronic information changed how campaigns are won and lost? That's the question fellow blogger John Combest and I will be discussing today at the Missouri Chamber of Commerce's Legislative Action Seminar at the Chase Park Plaza. Roy Temple, of FiredUpMissouri.com, may also join us.
Our panel is scheduled to begin at 11:00.
Other discussions will include a look at the state's new campaign finance regulations and lobbying laws (featuring Joe Carroll and Liz Ziegler from the Missouri Ethics Commission) and Missouri's political landscape "as viewed by the pen and the pad" (featuring Jo Mannies, Post-Dispatch; and Dave Drebes, Arch City Chronicle).
Committeeman Patrick Cacchione kicked off his campaign to become the next alderman of the 6th Ward with a well-attended party and fundraiser at Sqwires last night.
"Here in the 6th Ward, we are a microcosm of the city with rich and poor, blacks and whites, new immigrants and long-time residents and we have business and residential," Cacchione told the crowd.
"We embrace and celebrate our diversity and if anyone thinks they can use our diversity to divide us they better think twice. This election is not about where you are from but where we are going together."
Cacchione is expected to face former Congressional aide Kacie Starr Triplett, Tower Grove East resident Christian Saller, and possibly others in the March 2007 primary.
A story in today's New York Times calls attention to the shift on K Street following last week's elections. Quoted in the story is Steve Elmendorf, a longtime aide to former St. Louis Congressman Richard Gephardt and a lobbyist with St. Louis-based Bryan Cave.
Elmendorf said Democrats in the House and the Senate would operate differently.
"The Republicans' view of lobbying is we give people money, we buy them lunch and then go up and tell them what to do," said Mr. Elmendorf, whose client roster included Shell Oil and Ford before the election and has grown since then. "We go in and make public policy arguments. The business community is going to have to reorient their view."
SHE SAID WHAT? -- Following the our city's dubious distinction once again as the "Most Dangerous City in America", comes an interesting quote from one of St. Louis' paid cheerleaders.
Mary Hendrod, of the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission, was quoted in Venues Today, an industry trade magazine, in their "Quote of the Week" section.
"It's a bad part of town, but every city has a bad part of town... Frankly the only reason anyone would go there would be to purchase crack cocaine," she said, reportedly referring to "a bad neighborhood of St. Louis."
Hendrod told PUB DEF this morning that the quote was taken out of context and was meant to be off the record.
AND THEN THERE WERE THREE -- Looks like Tower Grove Easter Christian Saller is joining Kacie Starr Triplett and Committeeman Patrick Cacchione in the race to succeed 6th Ward Alderman (and Aldermanic Presidential candidate) Lewis Reed. The Arch City Chroniclereports Saller, 43, made the announcement at a southside neighborhood meeting last night. We're also hearing there will be even more candidates joining the race before it's all over. Expect a crowded field.
FAIR-WEATHER FRIENDS? -- We emailed outgoing Republican State Rep. Sherman Parker this week to ask if we should read anything into his presence at Claire McCaskill's victory party last week. He did not reply.
But two other African-American Republicans called us over the weekend to let us know what they thought about former Congressional candidates Parker and Leslie Farr (who recently said he was re-joining the Democratic Party) partying with the blue team while the reds shed tears into their champagne glasses last Tuesday.
"Traitors" is about the least offensive word used that we can write here.
"After all Jim [Talent] did for Sherman?" one said, referring to Talent's early endorsement in the contentious 2002 primary fight that eventually led to Parker becoming the first African-American elected to the state legislature from St. Charles.
"They should know the lines are too long for them to ever get anything out of the Democrats," said the GOPer.
U.S. Senator-elect Claire McCaskill will serve on five Senate committees, including the Senate Armed Services Committee, according to the Associated Press.
From the AP: The newly elected Missouri Democrat also will have a seat on the Senate committees on commerce; homeland security and government affairs; aging; and Indian affairs...
Spokeswoman Adrianne Marsh said McCaskill would use her position on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee to establish a "Truman Committee" to look into wartime spending.
Last Tuesday's elections have made our celebrity junior senator to the east even more relevant.
Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) today announced that next year he will serve on four influential committees: the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
"Keeping the American people safe should always be our top priority, and I pledge to work to secure our nation's chemical plants and to implement the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission as a member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs," said Obama.
"I also hope to continue working with Democrats and Republicans like Senator Tom Coburn to stop wasteful no-bid contracting abuse, and to pass meaningful ethics reforms as quickly as possible. As a member of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, I hope to address the growing health care crisis in our country and focus on legislation that will help working families adjust to the ever-changing global economy.
“I look forward to working with Senator [Dick] Durbin, whose influence will greatly increase as the Majority Whip, to help improve the lives of our constituents.”
No word yet on Senator-elect McCaskill's committee assignments.
With even less fanfare than the first time, 6th Ward Ald. Lewis Reed again announced yesterday he is running for Aldermanic President -- this time in a hastily produced press release.
"It’s time to make a change as to who is should be [sic] seated in the next four years in the Aldermanic President’s chair," Reed is quoted in the press release prepared by local PR man Gentry Trotter, who's identified as Reed's new director of communications.
"The economic growth of our city indicates that a successful team approach works better in the re-building of one St. Louis. The next Aldermanic President must represent all of the people and all of the interests which will help lay a deep structural foundation that we and our kids can build on."
License Collector-elect Mike McMillan and 6th Ward Committeewoman Bev Buchheit are co-chairing Reed's committee. And fellow aldermen Dionne Flowers and Jennifer Florida are listed as supporters.
Reed is running against incumbent Jim Shrewsbury in the March 6, 2007 primary.
Okay, this message goes out to our more techno-knowledgeable readers. We're looking for a new host for our websites. Any recommendations? (And don't say Sectorlink. We hate them now.)
Bowman Says Caucus Split Over Vouchers, Nadal Points to Bowman's Ego
By Antonio D. French
Filed
Monday, November 13, 2006 at 4:48 PM
PUB DEF EXCLUSIVE
State Rep. John Bowman told PUB DEF today that under his leadership the Missouri Legislative Black Caucus (MLBC) will continue on the road to becoming an influential player in the State Capitol, despite several members leaving the organization and forming a new caucus last week.
He disputed reports that there are now more African-American House members in the newly formed spin-off organization than are left in the MLBC. "That's inaccurate," said Bowman.
PUB DEF was the first to report last week that what was expected to be a normal fight for caucus chairmanship between Bowman and State Rep. Rodney Hubbard ended in several House members accusing Bowman of cheating and using strong-arm tactics to silence his colleagues.
Within hours of Thursday's meeting, a new organization called the Urban Progressive Caucus (UPC) was being formed, with at least nine state representatives defecting from the MLBC.
Bowman said the state's three African-American senators (Maida Coleman, Rita Days and Yvonne Wilson) are still in the MLBC, as are the caucus' "most effective legislators".
Bowman said those state reps that are criticizing his leadership "never came to meetings" and "never put any work in" to build the organization.
Bowman said he did what he had to do to prevent the caucus from being led by those focused on a single issue -- school vouchers. Hubbard and his close ally, State Rep. Ted Hoskins, have been vocal supporters of a form of vouchers (or "school choice"). Both are now members of the new UPC.
But State Rep. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, also a defecting black caucus member, has been a vocal critic of vouchers, even helping to oust Hoskins from the chairmanship back in April in large part over his strong support of the issue.
In the past, she and Hubbard have been seen as bitter political enemies. But last week the two put their differences aside.
"For Rodney and I to come together would not have happened unless for these extraordinary conditions," Nadal told PUB DEF.
"This has nothing to do with school vouchers. It has everything to do with [Bowman's] failed leadership and ego," she said.
When asked how Nadal's involvement fits into his description of a single-issue agenda causing this fight, Bowman said, "I can't explain what Maria does from minute-to-minute."
"I refuse to even try to understand her anymore," said Bowman.
Nadal points to herself and at least five other members of the new caucus that are anti-vouchers -- State Reps. Jamilah Nasheed (St. Louis City), Connie Johnson (St. Louis City), Martin Rucker (St. Joseph), Michael Brown (Kansas City), and Leonard Hughes (Kansas City).
Hughes agreed that what happened had nothing to do with vouchers.
"It's about a breath of fresh air in the new millennium," said Hughes.
"I don't think John Bowman is a bad leader. I just think it was a bad situation for everybody."
Several arrests were made after as many as 25 simultaneous fights broke out at the St. Louis Galleria mall yesterday. According to KSDK Channel 5, the new Metrolink expansion is partly to blame for the violence.
"More people, easier access to the mall from all areas of the City and County," Richmond Heights police Sgt. Marty Votaw told Channel 5. "Whenever you make easier access and you get larger crowds, you're going to have more crime."
KSDK reporter Erin O'Neill said, while Sunday's fights were an isolated incident, Richmond Heights police "have noticed an increase in other crimes such as car break-ins since the opening of the Metrolink extension."
In related news... Last week, KMOV Channel 4 did a two-part not-to-be-missed investigative report on the most dangerous places to park your car downtown.
Some St. Louis City public school officials are tossing around the idea of establishing school board committees to focus on specific areas, such as facilities or finance. One board member says he wants to see parents involved in those committees.
"Last I heard, nothing had been formalized yet for presentation to the board," said board member Peter Downs. "As the discussion moves forward, however, I would like to advocate for parent involvement on any such committees."
Downs asks any parents interested in working on a committee to contact him.
"If you are a parent interested in working on a committee to help the district move ahead in such areas as facilities, finance, or instruction, or you know of a parent who is interested in serving in that way, please let me know," said Downs.
UPDATE: The school board will meet tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. for their monthly administration meeting. At next week's regular meeting, Superintendent Diana Bourisaw's report to the board will include her office's evaluation of controversial contractor Sodexho.
And keep up with news on St. Louis Public Schools at our sister site, www.STLSchools.org, where we're always looking for new contributors -- especially ones with video cameras.
Sixth Ward Committeeman Patrick Cacchione will be launching his campaign for alderman this week with a kick-off party and fundraiser.
Cacchione is looking to replace Ald. Lewis Reed who is running for Aldermanic President. The only other candidate to so far announce a run to replace Reed is Kacie Starr Triplett, a former aide to Congressman Russ Carnahan.
Cacchione's kick-off party will be Wednesday from 5-7 p.m. at Sqwires Annex, 1415 South 18th Street.
A couple of weeks ago, in our open letter to the St. Louis American -- written in response to yet another unprovoked jab in their Political Eye column -- we asked a question in a comment.
In the absence of any kind of real reporting (have you broken a single story this year?) you've turned a once-great newspaper into a gossip rag, something people pick up just to see which local African-American you spit at this week.
The question was, have they broken any stories this year? We don't read the paper regularly so it was an honest question. So this week we picked up a copy of the American (why not, it's free). And we got our answer.
In the last seven days, PubDef.net was the first or only news outlet to report 14 different stories. As far as we can tell, the American didn't break a single piece of news.
Amazingly, in just one sentence the still-anonymous character assassin at the American makes two factual inaccuracies:
By the way, at least one of Talent’s quasi-supporters in the local "independent" media went nowhere near his candidate’s party at the Frontenac Hilton, spending the evening cheering results at McCaskill’s party downtown. Funny how that worked out.
It's sad. So long a champion of biased and opinion-laced reporting, the American no longer even recognizes what non-partisan reporting looks like.
And they're blind too. Here's our video from the Talent watch party, in which we interviewed radio commentator Jamie Allman and flashed shots of Talent, Sen. Kit Bond, and even consultant Tim Person, another frequent target of the American's venom.
So why does the St. Louis American continue to take shots at this little website? Look at the scoreboard.
Missouri Chamber of Commerce's Legislative Action Seminar This Week
By Antonio D. French
The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry will be holding their Legislative Action Seminar on Thursday at the Chase Park Plaza. There will be several panel discussions on economic development, politics and technology featuring state and local government and media people. Click here for a full schedule.
We'd like to call your attention to the 11:00 discussion on technology's impact on the political process: "Have YouTube, Blogs, and electronic information changed how campaigns are won and lost?" This panel will include Antonio French (www.pubdef.net), John Combest (www.johncombest.com), and Roy Temple (www.firedupmissouri.com).
Other discussions will look at the state's new campaign finance regulations and lobbying laws (featuring Joe Carroll and Liz Ziegler from the Missouri Ethics Commission) and Missouri's political landscape "as viewed by the pen and the pad" (featuring Jo Mannies, Post-Dispatch; and Dave Drebes, Arch City Chronicle).
I'm scheduled to be a guest this morning on The Freeman Bosley, Jr. Show around 9:00 a.m. on 100.3 The Beat - KATZ FM. We'll be talking about the results from Tuesday's elections.
