“On Tuesday, Jay Nixon rewarded yet another of his campaign contributors with a lucrative fee office. This time, Nixon overlooked five other bidders including the Liberty School District Foundation, awarding the Liberty fee office instead to longtime donor James Ryan Williams. Williams also reportedly runs the Lee’s Summit office with Democrat power-player James Montee, ex-husband of Auditor Susan Montee. Combined, the Liberty and Lee’s Summit offices generate revenue in excess of $1 million each year.

“Williams is the latest in a growing list of Democratic insiders and Nixon contributors who have benefited from Jay’s broken promise to end pay-to-play. His action is especially brazen considering the recent bipartisan outrage over the politics that continue to control the fee office bidding process. As a member of Nixon’s own party pointed out: ‘It’s all politics. Don’t let anybody fool you.’”

“Not content in rewarding his campaign contributors with lucrative fee offices, Jay Nixon continues appointing moneyed insiders with plum government positions. The latest example, Nixon’s appointment of prolific Democratic fundraiser John Temporiti to the Missouri Housing Development Commission, comes a week after bipartisan criticism over Nixon’s failure to end political patronage for license offices.

“Temporiti , the past Chairman of the Missouri Democratic Party, former lobbyist, and current treasurer of Charley Dooley’s campaign committee, has solicited extraordinary amounts of money from the same politically influential developers he will work with every day at the MHDC. Nixon’s appointment of Temporiti proves his lack of commitment to cleaning up the MHDC, an agency so rife with conflicts of interest and cozy relationships that it has been the target of an FBI investigation.

“The Missouri Republican Party calls on Nixon to end the pay-to-play system that he has used to fill so many plum government positions by withdrawing Temporiti’s appointment and selecting someone without so many potential conflicts of interest.”

Salva’s candid disclosure comes after several high-profile Democrats have been rewarded with fee offices, including James Montee in Lee’s Summit (which earned Nixon a rebuke from the St. Joseph News-Press), Ken Kielty in St Charles, and Paul Wrabec in Sugar Creek.

“Jay Nixon can say whatever he wants, but he has clearly broken his campaign promise to end political patronage. The problem is so apparent that editorial boards and even his fellow Democrats have begun criticizing him for continuing to dole out lucrative fee offices to his friends and donors,” said Lloyd Smith, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party. “We are glad that others, including Democrat office holders, have seen through Nixon’s ‘transparency’ charade and joined in the growing bipartisan chorus of condemnation for his shameless actions.”

To date, license office recipients are linked to $80,662 in campaign contributions to Nixon. This number includes donations from immediate family members and businesses. Absent is James Montee, an influential Democrat who has not donated directly to Nixon, but who is responsible for more than $100,000 in donations to various Democratic campaigns.

Four of the ten most lucrative offices have been awarded so far—Columbia, Lee’s Summit, Springfield-South Fremont, and St. Charles—and each one has gone to a donor linked to five figure contributions to Nixon or Democratic campaigns.

For the second week in a row, Gov. Jay Nixon has rewarded a major campaign contributor with a lucrative fee office—and for the second week in row, he has attempted to bury the story by announcing it on a Friday afternoon. This time, Ken Kielty, who is linked to $18,435 in donations to Nixon during the 2008 cycle, was awarded the St. Charles fee office.

“Burying stories by sending out press releases on a Friday afternoon is the oldest trick in the book,” said Lloyd Smith, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party. “For the second consecutive week, Jay Nixon attempted to avoid criticism by announcing as late as possible on a Friday that he had rewarded a major campaign contributor with a license office. Nixon clearly knows that his actions fly in the face of his pledge to clean up the process, but instead of actually fixing the problem, he is simply trying to hide it.”

In January, the St Louis Post-Dispatch published an article regarding Nixon’s promise of “transparency” while doling out fee offices. The article singled out Kielty as possible evidence that “the bidding process will be rigged to simply benefit Democratic supporters of Nixon.”

“The Post-Dispatch conceded that the selection of Ken Kielty would suggest that Nixon’s process is a sham—a ‘smoke screen’ as they called it,” said Smith. “Unfortunately, Kielty is only the latest in a long line of influential Democrat contributors who have been rewarded with lucrative fee offices.”

To date, license offices have been awarded to donors linked to more than $80,000 in contributions to Nixon alone. That number is significantly higher when donations of other prominent Democrats are taken into account.

# # #

“This is yet another example of Jay Nixon saying one thing and doing another,” said Lloyd Smith, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party. “Nixon’s pledge to bid out the license offices has turned out to be nothing more than a cheap magician’s trick: a sleight-of-hand to disguise politics-as-usual as official procedure. The process may be different, but the outcome is the same—Nixon continues to reward his wealthy donors with plum positions and lucrative fee offices.”

To date, license office recipients are linked to more than $60,000 in campaign donations to Nixon during the 2008 cycle. The total is much higher when you include donations to other Democrat causes.

Nixon’s selection of another Democrat insider drew the attention of the St. Joseph News-Press, which recently criticized him for his failure to remove politics from the selection process: “And to say that appearances do not count in this process is to miss much of the point about patronage. Detractors — virtually all of them Republicans — have ample ammunition in criticizing the selection of St. Joseph attorney James Montee to run the Lee’s Summit office with a partner.”

# # #

“As they say: actions speak louder than words. Nixon claims he ended the political patronage system, but he has awarded one of the state’s most lucrative fee offices to one of the most prominent and well-connected donors in the state,” said Lloyd Smith, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party. “As Congressman Willard Duncan Vandiver famously said, ‘frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me.’ Nixon’s frothy eloquence about ending pay-to-play is not convincing, and all he has shown is a propensity reward prominent Democratic supporters with plum government positions and fee offices.”

Over the past four years, Montee and his law firm have donated nearly $100,000 to the Democratic Party and its candidates, including Claire McCaskill, Robin Carnahan, Barack Obama, and the Missouri Democratic Party. He was also liable for a $500,000 loan to his then-wife’s campaign for Auditor. The 27th District Legislative Committee, which is based in one of Montee’s law offices, donated $13,475 to Nixon in 2008.

In addition to his profligate political contributions, James Montee has a history of activism on behalf of the Democratic Party. He was a delegate to the 2004 and 2008 Democrat National Conventions, a former member of the Democratic State Committee, and his law offices have housed various Democratic headquarters, among others.

Before Tuesday’s announcement, the Missouri Republican Party identified more than $40,000 in contributions to Nixon’s gubernatorial campaign linked to fee office recipients.

“Montee is the latest in a line of loyal Democrats who have been awarded license offices,” said Smith. “Nixon has sent a clear message: money is more important than merit when doling out fee offices to his supporters—his actions speak louder than words.”

# # #

“It is stunning how quickly Jay Nixon disregarded his campaign promises, instead appointing his moneyed friends to the highest levels of state government,” said David Cole, Chairman of the Missouri Republican Party. “Despite his pledge to clean up Jefferson City, it seems that money is the most important factor in Governor Nixon’s staffing decisions.”

The most egregious example of pay-to-play is the hiring of Jeff Mazur. Mazur, the former “Council Administrator” for AFSCME Council 72, was appointed a “Senior Advisor” in the Office of Administration after his union contributed $2.8 million to Nixon, the Missouri Democratic Party and Democratic Governors Association during the 2008 cycle.

Other notables included mutual fund manager Greg Wendt and developer Steven Stogel, Nixon’s picks to co-chair his Economic Stimulus Coordination Council, who combined donated more than $200,000 to Nixon, the MDP, and the DGA. These donation tallies include Stogel’s various business entities and one of Wendt’s family members. Aggregately, Nixon’s picks to the 26-member economic stimulus panel headed by Stogel and Wendt have donated more than $375,000 to committees that assisted in Nixon’s election.

More quick hits:

• Don Downing, University of Missouri curator: more than $103,000 from Downing and his employer.
• Lloyd Carmichael, Highways and Transportation Commission: more than $41,000 from the Carmichael family and their employers.

“Nixon has appointed donors to nearly every area of state government,” said Cole. “Now, his contributors will oversee our university system, our economic development, and our highways and transportation. Pay-to-Play Jay should stop rewarding contributors with appointments and start looking out for the best interest of Missourians.”

http://www.columbiatribune.com/2008/Nov/20081119News012.asp.

Notably and consistent with past practice, Nixon’s office declined comment, while Kelvin Simmons, the appointee in question, quietly terminated his lobbying registration for Swope Community Builders the very day the MRP pointed it out. Not surprisingly, the reporter’s attempts to reach Simmons for comment were “not successful.”

In summation, here is the standard operating procedure we have seen time and again from Nixon that will apparently continue when he takes over the governor’s office:

1. Information is brought to light that reflects poorly on Nixon and/or his office
2. Nixon declines comment (e.g., http://www.mogop.org/wp/2006/12/141/ , http://www.kmov.com/education/stories/kmov_localnews_080123_schooltakeover.4f877329.html , http://www.redorbit.com/news/education/540524/ruling_upsets_legal_battles_a_judges_decision_could_force_lawmakers/index.html ,
3. The media writes a story reporting the fact that comment was declined
4. The media gives Nixon a free pass and does its best to forget the story

The problem in this instance is that in Ganey’s story, Nixon’s campaign and not his office, transition team or the lobbyist appointee is explaining the situation. Rather, a campaign spokesman alleges, “Simmons was not aware of the tax credit application, had no role in its development and instead worked on Swope’s health-care issues.”

According to Nixon’s campaign, Simmons wasn’t aware of the MHDC tax credit application, yet he is the former CEO of the company that submitted the application, and he was working as a registered state lobbyist for that very company until the MRP threw a red flag. Moreover, Simmons’ intimate knowledge of the company’s pursuit of MHDC financing was highlighted in a December 15, 2006 Kansas City Business Journal article as follows:

“The East Village’s plans also call for about 1,200 housing units to be built by Swope Community Builders, a Kansas City community development corporation that focuses on the East Side, and Sherman Associates Inc., a Minneapolis-based urban housing specialist.

Kelvin Simmons, former CEO of Swope Community Builders, said the Missouri Housing Development Commission, which is scheduled to make financing awards at its Friday meeting, won’t give money to the housing portion of the East Village development because certain procedural matters haven’t been fulfilled.

The East Village’s housing component needs that money to proceed, Simmons said .

Simmons works as a consultant for Swope Community Builders through his new company, A.M. Development LLC.”

The full story can be read below. Also see: http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/stories/2005/10/17/story1.html , http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/stories/2006/04/10/story5.html, http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/stories/2006/02/27/story5.html,

“Not aware” and “had no role” in developing the proposal … someone needs to correct the record. “Governor-elect Nixon and Kelvin Simmons should not sit by idly while campaign operatives do damage control by purposely misleading the media,” said Tina Hervey, communications director. “‘No comment’ should not be an acceptable answer when the onset of self-dealing has already manifested itself in Governor-elect Nixon’s administration.”

Kansas City Business Journal (Kansas & Missouri)
December 15, 2006 Friday

KC Council signs off on Dunn HQ

The Kansas City Council on Thursday unanimously approved a plan for JE Dunn Construction Co. Inc. to build a $30 million headquarters that will anchor the proposed East Village redevelopment just east of City Hall.

Before construction begins, the city must assemble property on the block southeast of 10th and Locust streets. If owners won’t sell, the city could use eminent domain. The 190,000-square-foot headquarters will take 18 months to 20 months to build.

Tax increment financing, approved by the city and state, will divert taxes generated by the headquarters to pay for a $19 million, city-owned parking garage. An additional $12 million will be used to raze the now-vacant Cherry Street Inn, 921 Cherry St., and clear other blighted property.

An agreement the city announced in October had been threatened by disputes about employment guarantees and who will pay for an environmental remediation of the block southeast of 10th and Locust streets, where the headquarters is planned.

JE Dunn, whose headquarters employed more than 900 people at the end of 2005, ranks No. 1 on the Kansas City Business Journal’s list of the Top Area Commercial Contractors. But company officials said they couldn’t guarantee future employment because their business is too cyclical.

This refusal had threatened $33 million in state financing approved in August.

The East Village’s plans also call for about 1,200 housing units to be built by Swope Community Builders, a Kansas City community development corporation that focuses on the East Side, and Sherman Associates Inc., a Minneapolis-based urban housing specialist.

Kelvin Simmons, former CEO of Swope Community Builders, said the Missouri Housing Development Commission, which is scheduled to make financing awards at its Friday meeting, won’t give money to the housing portion of the East Village development because certain procedural matters haven’t been fulfilled.

The East Village’s housing component needs that money to proceed, Simmons said.

Simmons works as a consultant for Swope Community Builders through his new company, A.M. Development LLC.

Kelvin Simmons is a registered lobbyist for SWOPE Community Builders who currently has a $1.4 million tax credit application pending before the Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC) to which Nixon is a voting member. The Kansas City Business Journal did a story on SWOPE a few weeks ago http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/stories/2008/11/03/story6.html?b=1225688400%5E1725505&brthrs=1. They also did a story in 2005 when Simmons became the CEO of SWOPE http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/stories/2005/11/21/focus10.html.

“It will be interesting to see how successful Simmons is at lobbying his new boss, who during the campaign expressed disdain for ‘special interest lobbyists,’ on behalf of his former employer,” said Tina Hervey, communications director. “Jay Nixon talked a great deal during the campaign about change but his first pick for a cabinet position in his administration was a lobbyist whose client has $1.4 million on the line.”

We hope that the media does a better job of reporting factually on these types of relationships when additional cabinet heads are named.