Grisamore (47th) has a Tough Quarter

According to Blue Blog, Grisamore is having a tough quarter.

Here's the link to the MEC filing. Ron Richard (who the Republicans want to be speaker in 2008) gave Grisamore $1,000 (which is $775 more than the cap allowed by the law). KC Blue Blog makes the following pointed analysis:

The Republican from Lee's Summit reported raising $3850 and spent $1524.67 on rent and lodging leaving him with a report of just over $2600 cash on hand.

Here's where it gets worse:

Over $2500 of the money raised is over the $325 contribution limit and with so few checks sent in the first place it is almost definitely not a burden. Therefore, Grisamore must return the excess money leaving him with only $100 bucks in the bank and $8500 in debt.

That has to make Rep. Yates who is relying on that district to stay Republican significantly queasy. Maybe Rep. Pratt will rub his tummy for him.

Pratt & Yates are both ramping up for a run for Matt Bartle's senate seat, so they really don't want to blow their cash on Grisamore's seat. Bob Johnson may make a run for Grisamore's seat, with the support of Rev. Tom Haley (who barely lost this seat in 2006).

The 47th is going to be a good one to watch.

Grisamore (47th) has an Ethics Problem

Rep. Jeff Grisamore (R) has an ethics problem.

We all know about conflicts of interest; our mommas taught us to avoid them. You can't be in charge of the cookie jar and be dipping into it. That is, however, exactly what Jeff Grisamore is doing. According to KC Blue Blog and the St. Louis Post Dispatch, when Blunt announced that he was going to start giving state monies to churches to do the state's social services, Rep. Grisamore was at Blunt's side. Frequent readers of this blog will know I am not ashamed of my religion, but sure don't want my politics and religion mixed.

Grisamore makes $120,000 a year as president of the Alliance for Orphans and Widows (sounds like a really good cause). If you go to their website, don't expect much, its under construction. The conflict of interest arises when Grisamore sponsored legislation so the faith based organizations could get payed to do the state's social services work. The Bill is HB 888 and establishes the Faith-Based Organization Liaison Act.

Now, the ethics problems arise. Go to Jeff's political website and his address is listed as 305 S.W. Market Street. Go to the web site of the Alliance for Orphans and Widows and its address is, you guessed it, 305 S.W. Market Street. It gets even better, the two organizations share a phone number, too. 816-225-5695. At this point, it kinda gets sad. Representative Grisamore pays for the phone number out of campaign funds, according to his most recent MEC filing.

Don't mix politics and religion. Rep. Grisamore, please give one up (preferably, not God). Either it is a political office or a non-profit office (the website says they are in critical need of tax deductible contributions). It can't be both for you to keep your 501(c)3) status.

Grisamore (47th) Weak on Public Education

Rep. Jeff Grisamore (47th) is weak on public education. He can co-sponsor a resolution calling for early childhood education, but falls short after that.

Rep. Grisamore represents much of Lee's Summit. I have many friends in Eastern Jackson County and they love their public schools. The Republicans in Jefferson City sure aren't helping out Lee's Summit's schools. Grisamore told the Missouri State Teachers Association he wanted to find sustainable funding for public schools. What has he done - nothing!! The Federal Government has said Missouri Schools are failing under No Child Left Behind. The Lee's Summit Journal has written about the difficulty in Lee's Summit schools complying with MAP tests and No Child Left Behind. The Lee's Summit School District's own web site discusses the confusion regarding the district receiving a less than desirable rating under No Child Left Behind.

The funding of public schools in Missouri and Lee's Summit is so dire that a new bond issuance was sought in Lee's Summit and this Q & A appears on the Lee's Summit web site.

Q: What percentage of the R-7 budget is funded by the state? How has this declined?

A: The impact of state losses on our local schools is apparent when examining the R-7 budget’s declining percentage of state funds. The Missouri Foundation Formula goal is to fund 50 percent of local school district operating budgets, although Lee’s Summit R-7 has never received close to 50 percent of its funding from the state. During the 1998-99 school year, state funding made up 35 percent of the R-7 operating budget. By the 2004-05 school year, state funding of R-7 schools dropped to 31 percent. Other categories of state aid appropriations have also been reduced significantly, impacting total state funding included in the R-7 budget. Across the state, the average percent of public school district revenue coming from state funding is almost 35 percent.

Grisamore has done little in Jefferson City, including ignoring his important work on the Environmental Committee and ignoring the Catholic church's call to restore Medicaid cuts to the poor and the sick children of our state. What has Grisamore done to improve funding from Missouri for Lee's Summit schools - nothing. He is a member of the majority party, so there is no excuses. Maybe we need a different party in the majority. Former Representative Bob Johnson continues to flirt with running for this seat. Run, Bob, Run.

Grisamore (47th) Bucks Missouri Catholic Conference, votes against restoring Medicaid cuts

I have a great fondness for the social justice Catholics. The Missouri Catholic Conference (MCC) and I may disagree on stem cell, but we agree on many things. St. Peters in Brookside actively campaigned to get Medicaid cuts restored - you know the sheep and the goats analogy - care for the sick and the poor. If you take care of sheep, then you are in. Otherwise, you are with the goats. Matthew 25:31

This is the official position of the MCC on HB 444 - "The MCC advocates that the millions lost by providing this tax cut instead be used to restore vital state services such as Medicaid health coverage." The MCC then lists Rep. Jeff Grisamore (R) as being against HB 444. Why would Grisamore buck the Missouri Catholics when all they are wanting to do is in a strong financial year restore health care to the poor? Full disclosure - not every Democrat voted for HB 444, but not a SINGLE Republican voted for it.

"I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."

Bob Johnson to Run in 47th

The rumors continue to swirl that former state representative Bob Johnson will join Senator Chris Koster in dumping the Republican Party. Bob Johnson was a Republican state representative that ran against Sen. Matt Bartle.

Now we hear that Bob Johnson is considering running against Rep. Grisamore (R) to be the state representative in Lee's Summit (47th). Rev. Tom Haley (D) has confirmed that he is not running again. Bob Johnson enjoys very, very strong support of the labor community. We all know that when labor gets on your side, they are really on your side.

Grisamore has built a strong record of ignoring the environment, not running an effective campaign, having questionable relationships with highly controversial political freaks, and being nothing more than a party hack in Jefferson City. Bob Johnson has built a strong record of being a leader, standing by his convictions and working with Democrats to help his district.

Bob Johnson - you will be welcomed to the Democratic party. Come on in, the water is just fine. You run and win, you might be in the majority!!