TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION

On March 19, Blunt appointed Rudolph Farber, a Neosho Republican and bank executive, to the Missouri State Highways and Transportation Commission. According to Missouri Ethics Commission reports, Farber has contributed $11,375 to Republican candidates since 2003, including $3,600 to Blunt. Others in Farber’s household contributed additional amounts to Republicans during that period. Farber replaces Marge Schramm of Kirkwood in suburban St. Louis, whose term ended March 1. His appointment leaves both of Missouri’s major urban centers without representation – at least temporarily -- on the six-member panel that oversees the Department of Transportation. The Kansas City area has been without a representative since 2005. The term of Commissioner Bill McKenna, a Crystal City Democrat, also ended on March 1, but the governor has yet to name his replacement.