JEFFERSON CITY - Jared Craighead, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party, today issued seven questions that Jay Nixon’s deputy transition director Wayne Goode should answer today in his report on state budget spending. One can only imagine the bleak picture that will be painted of the very challenging budget situation Governor-elect Nixon will have in FY 2010, laying the foundation for Governor-elect Nixon to break many of the campaign promises that he made with full knowledge of the budget situation. Below are the questions that should be asked:

1. Nothing fundamental has changed in Missouri’s budget since October. The Office of Administration reported publicly that general revenue collections declined in August, September and October. On October 3, 2008, one month before the election, OA reported that "The decline in general revenues over the last quarter is cause for concern but unsurprising given recent developments in the national economy." Since nothing fundamental has changed since before the election, was Governor-elect Nixon simply ignorant of these public numbers or did he make promises in his campaign that he never intended to keep?
2. Governor Blunt’s fiscally responsible budgets created three surpluses in a row including an $833 million cash balance to begin this fiscal year which The Associated Press reported was the largest surplus in at least 20 years. Was Governor Blunt’s surplus planning responsible or irresponsible and would Missouri’s budget be in better or worse shape if Governor Blunt had not left such a large cash balance?
3. Governor Blunt recently announced that Missouri’s Rainy Day Fund is at a record $555.3 million. In four years, Governor Blunt never once suggested the state use this fund to close a budget gap, stating his belief that it should be reserved for natural disaster emergencies such as a catastrophic earthquake. Would Governor-elect Nixon ever consider using this fund merely to fund on-going costs of government?
4. Mr. Goode, you said you have examined the budget, what specific programs will you recommend that Governor-elect Nixon eliminate? Please, be specific Mr. Goode. What programs are on your elimination list?
5. Governor-elect Nixon selected a registered lobbyist, Kelvin Simmons, as his commissioner of administration to oversee the budget and planning office. We are told Mr. Simmons is ending his lobbying affairs, but both Mr. Nixon and Mr. Simmons have refused to comment on the matter and any potential conflict of interest that might exist. Perhaps you would care to comment?
6. During the campaign Jay Nixon claimed he would "hold the line on taxes." Is your conference call with the press merely a preparatory step for a tax increase that Jay Nixon will propose in January? Will Jay Nixon raise taxes?
7. Will Jay Nixon keep his many funding promises to Missouri voters in the budget he proposes in January? Again, nothing is substantially different today compared with the weeks leading up to the election and Jay Nixon was proposing hundreds of millions of dollars in new government spending less than a week before the election.