Twenty thousand dollars in the bank and a ton of endorsements can’t help Sam Coleman now.

On Monday, the Secretary of State’s office announced Missouri Ethics Commission voted that Coleman’s name, along with the names of 13 other candidates across the state, would be removed from the ballot for failing to file personal financial disclosure statements by April 15, as state law requires.

Here’s the full list (via the Post-Dispatch):

• Leo Brueggen, of Middletown, one of two Republicans seeking to challenge Rep. Terry Witte, D-Vandalia, in the 10th District.
• Stella Sollars, of Kansas City, the lone Republican candidate in District 44, where Rep. Jenee Lowe, D-Kansas City, is prohibited by term limits from seeking re-election. Three Democrats are competing to succeed her.
• Republican Rodney Williams, of Grandview, the only candidate of any party to have filed to run against Rep. Kate Meiners, D-Kansas City, in District 46.
• Former Rep. Mike Sager, of Lee’s Summit, who was trying to make a comeback as one of two Democrats in a primary to challenge Rep. Will Kraus, R-Raytown, in District 48.
• Democrat Bill Clinton Young, of Kansas City, the only candidate of any party to have filed to challenge Rep. Michael Brown, D-Kansas City, in District 50.
• Sam Coleman, of St. Louis, who had been one of two Democrats seeking to succeed Rep. Rodney Hubbard, D-St. Louis, in District 58. Hubbard is instead running for Senate. That leaves only Democrat James Morris, of St. Louis, in the House race.
• Robyn Hamlin, of St. Louis, the lone Republican who had filed to run against Rep. Tony George, D-Florissant, in District 74. George also faces a Democratic challenger.
• Republican Jim Lumpkin, the only candidate of any party to have filed to run against Rep. Luke Scavuzzo, D-Harrisonville, in District 124.
• Lynn Hunt, a Democratic candidate for Camden County commissioner.
• Rick Ropka, a Libertarian candidate for Christian County commissioner.
• Bob Talley, a Democratic candidate for Johnson County commissioner.
• Ed Butler, a Democratic public administrator candidate in Lafayette County.

Here’s video of Sam Coleman’s “star-studded” campaign kick-off back in October:

Coleman’s removal from the ballot leaves the open House seat (being vacated by state Senate candidate Rodney Hubbard) wide open to the only other candidate in the race, Rev. James Morris.

Morris is no stranger to PubDef readers.

Morris has been a vocal support of the recall against Mayor Francis Slay…

Morris was also a supporter of the legislation that created the Land Assemblage Tax Credit…

With less than a year before the 2009 Mayoral Primary, who do you think is the best candidate to run against Francis Slay as he seeks his third term in office?

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License Collector for the City of St. Louis Mike McMillan admits that he’s “very pleased with how things have gone so far” in the 14 months he’s spent in the office. It’s a place where things are professional, running smoothly and where the office workers up front wear embroidered blazers, typifying the business-ready, professional look McMillan strives for.

McMillian doesn’t see himself as a paragon of panache. Contrary to the custom-made pinstripe suit by-the-way of local haberdasher Tommy Tucker, he’s quite nonchalant about it all, calling it “normal business style.”

“It would be presumptuous of me to assume anything else,” McMillan said.

Every flare is politely and effortlessly explained away. The tie bar?

“It’s the cheapest thing I can do on a daily basis that I enjoy.”

The cuff links?

“Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. They were a Christmas gift from my mother,” McMillan said, calling the blue ones he wore on each cuff “plain.”

Then there was ring with the seal of the city emblazoned on it. Nothing to note there. He just happened to have that, purchased from Vincent’s Jewelry downtown before they moved out of the city.

While McMillan is stylishly humble, it’s not surprising he would rank high on Revenue Collector Gregg Daly’s list of well dressed politicos. McMillan returned the compliment to Daly, listing him as well as former Mayor Freeman Bosley, Jr. and State Rep. Rodney Hubbard as others with styles he admired. But he reserved the most compliments for former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown.

“He had an exceptional style … He’s at the top of any political fashion discussion,” McMillan said.

As for the blazers his office workers wear, McMillan said he had the idea before he became license collector. He wanted to demonstrate that his staff had the right appearance and the work ethic to back it up.

Paraphrasing Black Enterprise Magazine founder Earl G. Graves, Sr. McMillan said, “There is no business casual in the office because there is nothing casual about business.”

Photos by Danielle Belton