JUDGE APPOINTS ATTORNEYS TO TAKEOVER E-MAIL CASE

Cole County Circuit Judge Richard Callahan on July 22 appointed a bipartisan duo of lawyers to take over a lawsuit that seeks to compel Gov. Matt Blunt to turn over e-mails being sought by investigators looking into whether the governor and top administration officials violated Missouri’s open records law. Callahan appointed Joe Maxwell and Louis Leonatti, both of Mexico, Mo., as “special assistant attorneys general” after earlier ruling that a team of independent investigators picked by Attorney General Jay Nixon to look into the matter had no legal standing to demand the records.

Maxwell, a Democrat, is a former lieutenant governor and state lawmaker. Leonatti, a Republican, was nominated for the federal bench by President George Bush in 1992 but never confirmed for the post by the U.S. Senate. Callahan gave Maxwell and Leonatti until Aug. 26 to decide whether to continue pursuing the lawsuit.

GOVERNOR VETOES STUDENT CURATOR BILL

Gov. Matt Blunt on July 9 vetoed a bill that could have given the student member of the University of Missouri Board of Curators full voting rights starting in 2011. The General Assembly passed the bill in May with overwhelming support, culminating years of efforts by lawmakers to secure voting power for the student curator. The voting members of the Board of Curators opposed the bill and praised Blunt for vetoing it.

The board consists of nine voting members – currently one from each of Missouri’s congressional districts – and one nonvoting student member. However, Missouri is expected to lose a congressional seat in January 2013 based on the 2010 U.S. Census. SB 873 sponsored state Sen. Chuck Graham, D-Columbia, would have given the ninth voting spot to the student curator starting in January 2011.

The bill passed 31-2 in the Senate and 100-47 in the House of Representatives. The number of supporters in the Senate would be sufficient to override the governor’s veto. The number of “yes” votes in the House fell nine short of the necessary two-thirds majority, although with 14 members absent from the final vote the mathematical possibility of reaching the 109 votes needed does exist. However, given that lawmakers of the governor’s party traditionally don’t support veto overrides except on hot-button issues, it unlikely an override will occur when the legislature convenes its annual veto session in September.

GOVERNOR SIGNS $22.4 BILLION BUDGET INTO LAW

Gov. Matt Blunt has signed into law the $22.4 billion state operating budget for the 2009 fiscal year, which began July 1. This year’s budget increases overall spending by nearly $1 billion over the previous year. Blunt signed 12 of the 13 bills that make up the budget on June 27 before signing the last measure on June 30.

The budget includes a $121.3 million increase in direct state aid to local school, which falls in the normal range of increases public education receives each year. It also includes a $43 million increase for public colleges and universities, but the boost fails to restore total funding to these institutions to the FY 2002 level, which was the high-water mark for higher education funding. The budget did not restore the cuts to health care the governor and Republican-controlled General Assembly instituted in 2005.

Initial estimates show the state ended FY 2008 with a $50 million surplus. Revenue collections for the year grew by 3.7 percent, slightly higher than the 3.1 percent growth the budget was based on.

BLUNT OR AIDES ALLEGEDLY SOUGHT TO DESTROY RECORDS

An independent investigator filed a lawsuit on May 5 alleging that Gov. Matt Blunt or top officials in his administration ordered the destruction of backup tapes containing potentially damaging e-mails sent by members of his staff. The destruction was thwarted when two information technology supervisors with the Office of Administration refused to comply because the e-mails were subject to pending open records requests by various media outlets, according to the lawsuit.

Mel Fisher, the former Missouri State Highway Patrol superintendent heading the investigation, filed the suit in response to months of stonewalling by the Blunt administration, which has refused to cooperate with the investigation or produce requested records. The suit asks the court to take custody of the records so that it may review them.

The e-mail controversy began in September when reporters began looking into potentially improper political activities by Blunt’s then-Chief of Staff Ed Martin. Scott Eckersley, an attorney in Blunt’s office, later was fired for advising the governor that Martin and others were breaking state open record and record retention laws. The administration then orchestrated a failed smear campaign to discredit Eckersley, which prompted him to file a pending defamation and wrongful termination suit against the governor. Attorney General Jay Nixon appointed the independent team of investigators in November to look into allegations of criminal activity related to the e-mail controversy by administration officials.

BLUNT CLAIMS ‘ABSOLUTE PRIVELEGE’ FROM LAWSUIT

Gov. Matt Blunt is asserting his office provides him an “absolute privilege” against liability in a pending defamation and wrongful termination lawsuit filed against him by a former employee, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported on April 15. In court documents related to the case, Blunt claims the privilege applies even if he made “intentionally false statements” about the employee.

Scott Eckersley, the governor’s former deputy counsel, is suing the governor and several top current or former administrator officials over Eckersley’s dismissal last fall. Eckersley says he was fired for pointing out the administration’s repeated violations of state open records and retention laws. Following the firing, key administration officials launched a smear campaign to discredit Eckersley. The Blunt administration’s claims about Eckersley quickly were debunked in news reports.

ETHICS NOMINEE LINKED TO BLUNT FAMILY WITHDRAWS

Jefferson City attorney Michael Shmid, whom Gov. Matt Blunt appointed to a Democratic seat on the Missouri Ethics Commission, has asked that his appointment be withdrawn after the state Democratic Party questioned his party affiliation. The law requires the six-member commission to have equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans.

Shmid is an associate in the Schreimann, Rackers, Franka and Blunt law firm. Andy Blunt, the Republican governor’s brother, is a partner in the firm. The governor neglected to mention Schmid’s connection to the Blunt family when he announced the appointment on April 9.

BLUNT NAMES EMPLOYEE OF BROTHER TO ETHICS PANEL

Gov. Matt Blunt on April 9 appointed to the Missouri Ethics Commission an associate attorney of the law firm in which Andy Blunt, the governor’s brother, is a partner. If confirmed by the Senate, Michael Schmid, a lawyer with the Jefferson City firm of Schreimann, Rackers, Franka and Blunt, will hold a Democratic slot on the commission. The news release from the governor’s office announcing Schmid’s appointment neglected to mention the Blunt family connection.

Democrats and Republicans are required by law to hold equal numbers of seats on the six-member commission. Under the law, congressional district committees of the political party for which there is a vacancy nominate candidates for the commission. Democratic Party spokesman Jack Cardetti told The Associated Press said Schmid wasn’t nominated by the party. However, the two Democrats who were nominated withdrew due to professional conflicts. As a result, Blunt was free under the law to appoint a nominee of his own choosing.

Cardetti questioned Schimd’s Democratic credentials. Schmid donated $250 to Democratic Attorney General Jay Nixon’s gubernatorial campaign on April 1 and told the AP he made the donation, in part, to establish Democratic credentials in advance of his anticipated appointment.

BLUNT WANTS INVESTIGATORS TO PAY FOR RECORDS

Gov. Matt Blunt is demanding that the special investigative team that is looking into possible wrongdoing by his administration pay $540,000 for records they have requested. Attorney General Jay Nixon appointed the independent team to determine if administration officials broke any laws related to the firing of Blunt’s former deputy counsel.

The investigative team was supposed to finish its inquiry in January, but its deadline was extended until April due to the lack of cooperation by Blunt’s office. Citing continued resistance from the administration, investigators on March 11 asked for and received a second extension. The investigation is now scheduled to be completed by June 6.

BLUNT SHOCKS STATE BY BAILING ON RE-ELECTION

With about a month until candidate filing opens and nine months until the November general elections, Republicans are left without a candidate for governor. In the wake of the announcement, several prominent Republicans are considering running, including Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, House Speaker Rod Jetton, State Treasurer Sarah Steelman, Senate Majority Leader Charlie Shields and U.S. Reps. Kenny Hulshof and Jo Ann Emerson.

Blunt becomes the first Missouri governor to pass on seeking re-election since the 1960s, when the state constitution was changed to allow incumbent governors to seek a second consecutive term.

Gov. Blunt Will Not Seek Second Term

Gov. Matt Blunt today released a television address to Missourians announcing that having achieved virtually everything he set out to accomplish when he ran for governor he will not seek a second term.
In his address, Gov. Blunt cites among his accomplishments turning an inherited $1.1 billion deficit into three straight surpluses without a tax increase, cutting taxes, ending the education cuts of the past and providing budgets that will deliver $1.2 billion to universities, classrooms and students, rescuing the broken Medicaid system and transforming it into a network of care for vulnerable Missourians and helping turn record job-loss into nearly 90,000 new jobs.
The governor called a news conference tomorrow morning at 9:30 am where he is expected to discuss his announcement.
A video file of the governor’s television address is attached and is also available at http://youtube.com/GovernorMattBlunt.
The following is a transcript of Gov. Blunt’s television address:
"Fellow Missourians. Let me speak directly with you. In 2004 I promised leadership, vision and change. It was more than a slogan, it defined a mission. You elected me to chart a new course.
And together we are creating a future of greater opportunity for all Missourians.
We inherited a budget that was $1.1 billion dollars in the red and turned it into three straight surpluses without increasing taxes. In fact, we cut taxes.
In contrast to the old education withholdings and cuts, my budgets will have delivered 1.2 billion new dollars to our universities, classrooms and students.
A broke and broken Medicaid system is being transformed into a network of care offering vulnerable Missourians healthier lives at a cost taxpayers can afford.
We have turned record job-loss into nearly 90,000 new jobs.
Hundreds of millions of dollars in waste has been eliminated and we reduced the size of government.
What we set-out to achieve four years ago has been accomplished.
Once when asked if he were running for re-election another governor responded, “Yes, I like being governor.” When I read that I thought at the time that I never wanted to run for any office just to hold it. I did not run for governor to have a title, but to bring change to state government.
The habit of politicians is to remain in office and the desire to prove oneself in the next election is strong. After a great deal of thought and prayer, and with the knowledge that we have achieved virtually everything I set out to accomplish, and more, I will not seek a second term in the upcoming election. Because I feel we have changed what I wanted to change in the first term there is not the same sense of mission for a second.
At the end of my term, I will have served twenty years in public service, ten years in the United States Navy followed by ten years in state government. Melanie and our son William Branch mean the world to me. I have spent more time away from them than I would like. We are ready for the next chapter in our lives and I am looking forward to spending more time with them.
Some will wrongly think that this is a retirement from the effort to improve the lives of Missourians. But they will have failed to understand that the greatest and wisest leadership of our state is not housed within the ornate offices of the Capitol. It springs from our citizens, communities, churches and institutions of private life.
There are new and important initiatives we can achieve this year.
Their success will help keep the change working for Missouri families.
I will focus on these initiatives.
To serve as your governor is a great privilege. I will continue to work every day to be worthy of the faith and confidence you have placed in me.
Thank you for listening, and may God continue to bless our great state.

GOVERNOR SPENDING $2 MILLION ON E-MAIL ARCHIVE

Amid the continuing scandal over his administration’s deletion of potentially embarrassing e-mails, Gov. Matt Blunt is unilaterally moving ahead with a $2 million plan to permanently archive all e-mails sent or received by most executive branch agencies, The Associated Press reported on Jan. 16.

Blunt has faced criticism over the e-mail issue since the summer. Scott Eckersley, Blunt’s former deputy counsel, claims he was fired for advising the administration that its e-mail deletion practices violated state law. In a wrongful termination and defamation suit recently filed against the governor and four current or former members of his staff, Eckersley said the governor’s office ordered high-ranking administration officials to routinely destroyed sensitive e-mails after The Kansas Star used the state’s Sunshine Law to obtain e-mails that exposed the administration’s efforts to pressure the State Highway Patrol to criticize Attorney General Jay Nixon for not pursuing criminal charges relating to the Taum Sauk reservoir collapse. The patrol’s own investigation had already concluded no charges were warranted.

Rather than seeking money from the General Assembly through the normal budget process, Blunt is using reserve funds to establish the e-mail archive. An estimated $500,000 a year will be needed to maintain the archive, funding that will require legislative approval starting with next year’s budget process.

According to the AP, the state computer system administered by the Office of Administration handles approximately 1.5 million e-mails daily. The OA system includes the governor’s and lieutenant governor’s office and most state agencies. The transportation, conservation and natural resources departments maintain separate e-mail systems, as do the Highway Patrol, the judiciary, the legislature and other statewide elected officials. Those systems aren’t subject to the governor’s archiving plan.

BLUNT RETURNS ONLY HALF OF HIS OVER-LIMIT DONATIONS

Because of a Missouri Supreme Court ruling reinstating the state’s campaign contribution limits, Gov. Matt Blunt was slated to return $4.46 million in over-limit donations. According to his latest campaign finance disclosure report, however, the governor has only returned about $2.2 million to contributors.

John Hancock, the governor’s campaign spokesman, told The Associated Press that the unreturned money is tied up in investments that carry penalties for early withdrawals. The Missouri Ethics Commission gave candidates until Nov. 26 to declare whether they would return over-limit donations or seek a hardship exemption to keep the money. Blunt had said he wouldn’t seek a hardship. The commission set no deadline by which money must be returned or announced penalties for candidates who fail to honor reimbursement pledges.

FORMER STAFFER SUES GOVERNOR IN E-MAIL SCANDAL

Gov. Matt Blunt’s former deputy counsel sued the governor and four current and former high-ranking members of the governor’s staff for defamation and wrongful termination relating to allegedly illegal destruction of official documents by the administration. Scott Eckersley filed the suit, which seeks unspecified damages, on Jan. 9 in Jackson County Circuit Court.

Eckersley claims he was fired in September after advising his superiors that members of the governor’s staff were routinely violating Missouri’s open records and records retention laws. After the allegations because public last year, members of the Blunt administration orchestrated a smear campaign in an attempt to discredit Eckersley, but quickly back off most of the claims after media outlets questioned their veracity.

In addition to Blunt, the others named in the lawsuit are Ed Martin, the governor’s former chief of staff; Henry Herschel, the governor’s former chief counsel; Rich Chrismer, Blunt’s top spokesman; and Rich AuBuchon, chief counsel for the Office of Administration. Both Martin and Herschel resigned due to the growing scandal late last year.

GOVERNOR NAMES TWO TO COURT OF APPEALS

Without the controversy that accompanied his recent appointment to the Supreme Court, Gov. Matt Blunt on Oct. 10 announced his choices for two of the five current vacancies on the Missouri Court of Appeals. Blunt picked Clay County Circuit Judge James Welsh for a spot on the court’s Kansas City-based Western District and selected former St. Louis County Councilman Kurt Odenwald for an opening on the Eastern District bench in St. Louis.

The governor must make appointments to the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals from lists of finalists submitted by the Appellate Judicial Commission. In filling a Supreme Court vacancy recently, Blunt demanded that the three finalists fill out detailed 111-question surveys, which he then made public.

Critics of the governor’s handling of the appointment process said the surveys, which required extensive requests for documentations, were designed to harass and embarrass the finalists. The Court of Appeals candidates were not subjected to the same treatment.

Two vacancies remain on the Western District, with another spot currently open on the Southern District in Springfield. The judicial commission has yet to announce finalists for those posts.

GOVERNOR NAMES TWO TO COURT OF APPEALS

Without the controversy that accompanied his recent appointment to the Supreme Court, Gov. Matt Blunt on Oct. 10 announced his choices for two of the five current vacancies on the Missouri Court of Appeals. Blunt picked Clay County Circuit Judge James Welsh for a spot on the court’s Kansas City-based Western District and selected former St. Louis County Councilman Kurt Odenwald for an opening on the Eastern District bench in St. Louis.

The governor must make appointments to the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals from lists of finalists submitted by the Appellate Judicial Commission. In filling a Supreme Court vacancy recently, Blunt demanded that the three finalists fill out detailed 111-question surveys, which he then made public.

Critics of the governor’s handling of the appointment process said the surveys, which required extensive requests for documentations, were designed to harass and embarrass the finalists. The Court of Appeals candidates were not subjected to the same treatment.

Two vacancies remain on the Western District, with another spot currently open on the Southern District in Springfield. The judicial commission has yet to announce finalists for those posts.

GOVERNOR’S HEALTH CARE PROPOSAL FACES CRITICISM

Gov. Matt Blunt’s new proposal for expanding health insurance coverage to more Missourians drew immediate criticism from both Republicans and Democrats over the plan’s projected cost and whether it could realistically deliver on the governor’s promises.

Blunt’s Insure Missouri plan would assist working Missourians who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid in obtaining private health insurance. However, it would do nothing for the tens of thousands of children, senior citizens and disabled people who lost their health care coverage under the governor’s 2005 Medicaid cuts.

After years of saying it would be too costly to restore coverage to the 180,000 Missourians who lost it due to the 2005 cuts, Blunt now claims his plan would cover 200,000 Missourians at a cost of just $46 million in state revenue a year by 2010. Critics dispute that cost as improbably low to cover that many people.

Republican state Reps. Doug Ervin of Kearney and Rob Schaaf of St. Joseph, who both sponsored major health care legislation that passed earlier this year, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Blunt would have a hard time winning approval for his plan in the GOP-controlled General Assembly since it would create a large new state program.

HISPANIC GROUPS WANT BLUNT’S CHIEF OF STAFF SACKED

Some Missouri-based Hispanic groups have asked Gov. Matt Blunt to fire chief of staff Ed Martin following comments Martin recently made at a Missouri Housing Development Commission that the groups deem offensive. Blunt, however, said Martin will keep his job.

At an Aug. 17 commission meeting, Martin chastised an attorney for a developer accused of hiring illegal workers after the attorney attempted blame the situation on the lack of an electronic means of verifying the workers’ immigration status. According to the meeting transcript, Martin said: “Make your point for your client, don’t start in with what’s available. I’ll tell you what’s available, is every frigging developer can figure out who is illegal, and when he says – like he told them – there’s a bunch of Mexicans out there, I guess some of them are probably not legal.”

A spokeswoman for Blunt said Martin was paraphrasing what the developer said and that the statement didn’t reflect Martin’s personal views. However, the context of the transcript doesn’t appear to support that explanation.

GOVERNOR SIGNS SPECIAL SESSION BILLS

Gov. Matt Blunt on Sept. 4 signed an economic development bill the Missouri General Assembly passed in a two-week special legislative session that ended the previous week. The bill will provide $66 million a year in tax breaks to developers and other businesses and also repeals state and local laws prohibiting ticket scalping.

On Sept. 5, Blunt signed the session’s other bill, which allows the Missouri Department of Transportation to finalize a contract to repair 800 of the state’s worst bridges over the next five years.

STATE GETS EMINENT DOMAIN OMBUDSMAN

Gov. Matt Blunt on Aug. 23 appointed Paul Anthony Martin to the newly created position of eminent domain ombudsman. Martin most recently was a prosecutor in the U.S. Office of Special Counsel and previously worked for former U.S. Sen. Jim Talent, R-Mo.

The Missouri General Assembly created the ombudsman post, which pays $60,000 a year, as part of eminent domain reform legislation it passed in 2006. The ombudsman is charged with advocating for private property rights and assisting Missourians in eminent domain disputes with local governments. The ombudsman can be contacted at (314) 340-4877.

KANSAS THREATS PROMPT BLUNT TO REVERSE ON TAX

In the face of threatened retaliation by Kansas lawmakers and Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt says he favors repealing a recently enacted tax increase on Kansans and other out-of-state residents who work in Missouri, according to The Associated Press. When Blunt signed the tax hike into law in July, he said he was only concerned about other parts of the bill lowering taxes for some Missourians, not the impact the measure might have on non-Missourians.

A provision of HB 444 eliminated a provision in state law that allowed non-Missouri residents who work in Missouri to deduct home-state property taxes from their Missouri income taxes. As a result, some Kansas lawmakers suggested eliminating a similar deduction enjoyed by Missourians who work in Kansas. In an Aug. 9 letter to Sebelius, Blunt said he supports restoring the exemption during the 2008 legislative session.