She received the support of many of the women in her district because she is a fairly articulate backer of reproductive rights and was a Super Delegate to the Democratic National Convention.  She’s endorsing the rabidly pro-life Mike Gibbons.

The criticisms, though, are a little weird. She dings him for cutting Medicaid benefits and approving a big tax credit for developers — things Koster did as a Republican prior to his party switch last year and bills that Gibbons, the senate leader at the time, also supported.

Finally, despite having $13,000 in the bank right now, has given only $3,900 to other House candidates such as $100 for Kirkton and Lavendar.

As she is known to say to others, and is abundantly clear, it’s all about Maria.

Towery acknowledged that the poll showed a closer-than-expected race among black Missourians – Obama took a lower-than-usual 65 percent of the group – and said that if African-Americans ultimately vote for Obama by the huge margin analysts expect, “it will make the race closer.”

Sometimes you don’t like polls because they don’t give you the results you want. Sometimes you don’t like polls because they don’t conform to reality.  This is one of the latter examples.

“Just this past week, we saw what Barack Obama said about judges,” Bond said. “He said, ‘I’m tired of these judges who want to follow what the Founding Fathers said and the Constitution. I want judges who have a heart, have an empathy for the teenage mom, the minority, the gay, the disabled. We want them to show empathy. We want them to show compassion.’”

Everyone’s concentrating on ‘the gay’ which is funny, but really read the rest–how is a having empathy for a teenage mom or a minority or a disabled person somehow bad.

KY3 has the original.

The St. Louis CofCC had another hugely successful annual picnic. This year, the main speaker was a Missouri State Representative!

CofCC CEO Gordon L. Baum has been holding the annual picnic for decades. Before the CofCC existed it was held by the St. Louis Citizens Council.

The Eastern Pennsylvania CofCC chapter also held it’s annual cookout last weekend. This was the fifth annual event.

The Eastern Tennessee CofCC will be holding a cookout next weekend.

Errr…may I suggest the press do some work here and find out who it was?

He’s still at it:

Gov. Matt Blunt appeared remotely this afternoon on Fox News Channel to repeat allegations against community organizing group ACORN. Blunt is among the officials in some states that claim ACORN has purposely been turning in bogus voter registrations.

Big difference–as long time readers may recall, I have been a huge critic of ACORN’s efforts in the past because they didn’t audit the people doing the registrations.  They started doing that-and shockingly, the problems have largely disappeared.  Don’t take must me word for it:

But this year, the group has caused no such problems, according to Republican city elections director Scott Leiendecker. ACORN finished its efforts in St. Louis about three months ago, he said. So far, he said, “Everything’s been on the up and up.”

Now, I haven’t talked to Scott about this in some time, but Scott was very concerned about previous situations.  For him to be relatively satisfied is very telling.

Remember when the young, fresh Secretary of State demonstrated he was a complete boob?

CITY MISLABELED DOZENS AS VOTING FROM VACANT LOTS;
PROPERTY RECORDS APPEAR TO BE IN ERROR, SURVEY FINDS;
JUST 14 BALLOTS ARE FOUND SUSPECT

*BYLINE:* Jo Mannies And Jennifer LaFleur Of The Post-Dispatch 2001, St.
Louis Post-Dispatch Tim O’Neil And Eric Stern Of The Post-Dispatch
Helped Survey Properties For This Story.

*SECTION:* NEWS; Pg. A1

*LENGTH:* 1507 words

Dozens of St. Louis voters are being wrongly accused of casting ballots from
fraudulent addresses in last year’s Nov. 7 election.

They are among thousands of registered voters who, based on city
property records, appear to live on vacant lots.

But a Post-Dispatch survey of every one of those suspect properties
turned up something else: hundreds of bona fide houses and apartment
buildings that seem to be wrongly classified by the city assessor’s
office as vacant lots.

Because of those inaccurate records, many of those properties’ occupants
have been wrongly tagged as registering to vote from fake addresses.

City records indicate that 2,214 residents appear to be registered to vote
from 1,000 vacant lots. State and local elections officials have targeted
79 of them for casting possibly illegal ballots last fall.

The Post-Dispatch count found 432 city residents registered from 296 truly
vacant lots. But most of those residents haven’t voted in years, an
indication they may have moved elsewhere.

Only 14 of those people appear to have voted last November or in a special
state Senate election in January.

None voted in the closely monitored mayoral primary in March.

The secretary of state’s office says such voters have broken no election
laws if they can prove that they legitimately reside elsewhere in the city.

But most of the 79 people on the state’s suspect voter list from last
fall probably shouldn’t be on it.

They’re voters like city Budget Director Frank Jackson, who has a
legitimate address.

His 10-year-old condominium in the 1200 block of Hadley Street is
erroneously listed as a vacant lot on city assessment records.

All told, the Post-Dispatch survey of alleged vacant lots with
registered voters found 704 legitimate addresses citywide that are
wrongly classified. Some are newer homes like Jackson’s.

Others are residences that are 50 years old or more. Some are businesses
or lots that have been turned into side yards by neighbors w
ho have bought the land.

The city’s misclassification of the properties affects the voter status
of the 1,782 occupants because state and local election officials rely
on those property records to help find those who might be casting illegal
votes from fictional addresses. The apparent errors also raise questions
about whether those properties are assessed at the right level.

New city Assessor Samuel Simon, appointed last month, said that his staff
was examining records to determine whether the office concurred or disagreed
with the Post-Dispatch findings. “While 700 out of 138,000 represent 1/2
of 1 percent of the city’s parcels, any errors are unacceptable,” he said.
“As a result, it appears that the property owners in question were undertaxed
rather than overtaxed.”

He added, “When Mayor (Francis) Slay appointed me, he ordered me to improve
the reliability of the city’s assessments and assessment records.”

The city Election Board tried to do a physical survey last winter after it
alleged that 1,000 people might have vacant-lot addresses. Election officials
complained then of faulty city property records.

The board’s final number of suspect registered voters was 161. At most of
those alleged vacant-lot voter sites, the Post-Dispatch found legitimate
addresses.

Jackson first discovered his home’s faulty vacant-lot listing when he went
to vote in the mayoral primary. He’d never been questioned at the polls
before. But because of accusations of misdeeds in November, federal and
state monitors were at the polls.

“The people at the polling place had a notation by my name, and said I
couldn’t vote,” Jackson recalled.

When he learned that he had been targeted as a possible lawbreaker, Jackson
assembled the documentation needed to clear his property and his name. He
also got to vote.

But the correct information apparently wasn’t forwarded to Secretary of
State Matt Blunt’s office, which still includes Jackson on its list of
suspect voters.

A spokesman for Blunt said state election officials have long been concerned
about the vacant-lot voting issue because “it’s a local legend in St. Louis.”

Sheila Greenbaum, the city Election Board’s new Democratic elections
director, said the Post-Dispatch’s survey confirmed her view that the
accusation of rampant vacant-lot voting “is overblown.”

But Blunt replied, “The Post-Dispatch’s discovery that the city board’s
list of vacant lots is inaccurate is shocking. This suggests that the
system is even more in need of reform than we’d previously imagined.”

Blunt said he planned to call for the Legislature to take action when
it goes back into session in January.

Election Board regroups

Questions about the accuracy of the city’s list of possible vacant-lot
voters echo the confusion that continues to plague the city’s Election
Board almost a year after last November’s disaster at the polls.

Hundreds of people, mostly in St. Louis and some in St. Louis County,
claimed they were wrongly turned away from the polls on Election Day
and sought court orders to let them vote. Democratic officials sued to
keep the polls open three extra hours - until 10 p.m. - but a judge ordered
them closed after about 45 minutes. Hundreds of people went to Election
Board headquarters downtown seeking to vote.

Since then, there have been city, state and federal investigations of
the confusion at dozens of polling places.

On Election Night, Sen. Christopher “Kit” Bond, R-Mo., alleged rampant
vote fraud in the city, pounding the podium and shouting, “It’s an outrage!”

Bond and Blunt say they suspect that at least 1,500 residents in St.
Louis and St. Louis County may have been improperly allowed to cast
ballots. The bulk of those votes were allowed under court orders that
Bond and Blunt say shouldn’t have been granted.

Rep. William Lacy Clay Jr., D-St. Louis, is among those who contend that
perhaps thousands of legitimate city voters were turned away on Nov. 7
because they had been erroneously included on a new “inactive voter” list
and could not correct their status before the polls closed.

Gov. Bob Holden replaced the entire four-member board in May. The new
board recently hired new Democratic and Republican elections directors
to oversee the mandated overhaul.

Greenbaum, a lawyer, said she’s committed to improving the city’s elections
operations. The staff is reviewing Blunt’s report that outlined his
concerns that last November’s elections in the city were rife with
administrative problems and voter fraud.

Meanwhile, a federal grand jury here and Justice Department officials
in Washington continue to investigate allegations of election-related
wrongdoing.

A key issue is the city’s bloated voter rolls, which all sides agree
likely include tens of thousands of names that shouldn’t be on them.
That includes duplicate registrations and those of people who are dead
or no longer reside in the city.

The Post-Dispatch found at least 250 city voters with multiple
registrations.

But as Jackson’s predicament shows, correcting those voter lists
means tackling problems elsewhere in city government.

Some fail to report moves

What about the 14 recent city voters who are registered from vacant lots?

Most could not be traced to other addresses or reached for comment.
One man listed as a vacant-lot voter reports a neighboring address -
which does exist - on his drivers license, according to state records.

Three of the alleged vacant-lot voters come from one family. They’re
relatives of Otis Woodard, director of North St. Louis Outreach for Lutheran
Family & Children’s Services. He also is co-host of a morning radio show
on station WEW, 770 AM.

Woodard’s wife, Debbie Woodard, and two of his adult children - Brigitte
and Otis Woodard - are registered to vote from 2023 Bissell Street. The
address is in the midst of a grassy stretch of vacant land that spans much
of the block. The Woodards own most of it.

The elder Woodard said that he’d raised his family in that house, but that
a fire had destroyed it several years ago. Various adult family members
moved elsewhere, he said. Some - including his wife - had failed to revise
their voter registrations to reflect their new addresses,
which he says are still in the city.

“It’s not a case of anybody trying to defraud the city,” Woodard said. He
speculated that since some of his children have moved frequently, they were
waiting until they were settled before changing their voter registration.

“Voter registrations sometime get lost in the shuffle,” Woodard said, adding
that he thinks many of the city’s poor move frequently and just want to know
where their polling place is.

Blunt said he recognized the difficulty some people have in updating their
voter registration.

“Voters have a responsibility to update local election authorities when
their physical address changes,” he said. “But case law makes it difficult
to enforce this.”

He contended that the vacant-lot confusion in St. Louis might help him win
support for his proposed changes in state election laws.

Kinder is bringing in….Dick Cheney! A man I don’t think anyone is even polling for anymore.  Better yet, genius Jeff Roe through Axiom is running robocalls against Sam Page for wanting seat belts on school buses….

That’s what uber genius Jeff Roe has? Perhaps he’s not that much of a genius after all. Then again, it’s better than talking about pedophile chiefs of staff and such.

Worst investment evah!

David Humphreys, Ethelmae Humphreys, and Sarah Humphreys Atkins make their living by donating lots of money to Republicans. In their spare time, they run TAMKO Roofing. Sarah is from Virginia now, the others are from Joplin.

These donations total up to around $986K so far:
- $400K from the Humphreys to Kenny Hulshof
- $350K from the Humphreys to Peter Kinder
- $151,350 from the Humphreys to Michael Gibbons
- $85K from the Humphreys to Brad Lager

Who gets the millionth dollar of Humphreys money since we entered the era of Big Money in Missouri Politics? My bet is on Kinder.

Throwing good money after bad.

Missouri Governor — Few Toe-Holds Remain for Republican Hulshof As He Tries to Keep Statehouse for GOP: In an election for Governor of Missouri today, 10/13/08, to replace retiring one-term Republican Matt Blunt, Democrat Jay Nixon soundly defeats Republican Kenny Hulshof, 56% to 34%, according to a SurveyUSA poll conducted for KMOX-radio in St. Louis and KCTV-TV in Kansas City. Three weeks ago, Nixon led by 17 points. Today he leads by 22. Nixon is above 50% among men, women, young, old, white, black, Democrats, Independents, Moderates, Liberals, the more educated and the less educated, the lower-income and the higher-income, in greater St. Louis and in greater Kansas City. Hulshof leads among Republicans, Conservatives and Pro-Life voters.

In Missouri, John McCain’s Lead Among White Voters Has Evaporated: In an election for President of the United States in battleground Missouri today, 10/13/08, three weeks until votes are counted, Democrat Barack Obama has momentum and a meaningful advantage in SurveyUSA’s latest tracking poll, conducted for KMOX radio in St Louis and KCTV-TV in Kansas City. The contest in Missouri has swung 10-points to Obama since SurveyUSA’s last track point, 3 weeks ago. Then, McCain led by 2. Today, Obama leads, 51% to 43%. Among white voters, McCain had led by 11. Today, tied. There is movement among men, where McCain had led, now trails; among women, where McCain had been tied, now trails; among higher-income voters, where McCain had led, now trails; and among Independents, where McCain had led, now trails. In greater St. Louis, Obama had led by 5, now by 22. In greater Kansas City, Obama had led by 16, now by 31. George W. Bush carried Missouri by 7 points in 2004, and by 3.5 points in 2000. The state has 11 electoral votes, which are critical to any Republican who seeks the White House.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee released a Global Strategy Group poll conducted October 5-7 of 400 likely voters with a 4.9 percent margin of error showing that Judy Baker leads Blaine Luetkemeyer 40-36 percent in an initial head-to-head matchup.

They might as well have nominated Brock–he was at least entertaining.

“Chuck, stand up, let the people see you,” Biden says.

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E-mail:  archpundit@gmail.com

Added bonus, you never know when he’s going to say something crazy (in a good way).

Invest in America’s Future: Our Plan for Security, Opportunity and Prosperity

USAction and USAction Education Fund are promoting a sensible new plan to encourage investment in America’s most precious resource — our people. We must make responsible investments in health care, education, and clean energy to ensure real security for everyone and long-term, sustainable economic growth for our nation. We must also ensure that public initiatives benefit everyone, with an aim to reduce economic disparity in our country and the disabling consequences associated with it.

A faltering economy and sudden spike in basic cost of living expenses, skyrocketing health care costs, tens of millions of Americans uninsured, inequality in the education system with soaring fees for college education, a costly and misguided war, increased economic pressure due to global competition, an unhealthy environment, and energy dependence — these are the most urgent and pressing problems of our time. Invest in America’s Future effectively tackles these issues, turning critical dilemmas into positive rewards for America. Our current economic system relies on “bubble” markets that eventually “burst,” causing recession and fueling further insecurity. The IAF plan will provide durable, lasting economic gains for families, businesses and the nation as a whole by making health care and education more affordable, creating a new clean energy economy, and ultimately strengthening our work force.

Invest in America’s Future [IAF plan] focuses on the changes American families and businesses need:

• Guaranteeing quality, affordable health care for everyone,
• Granting all children access to high quality education from early childhood through college,
• Developing a clean energy economy and independence from oil.

Russ and other endorse it here–take a look–it’s a strong plan and messaging for progressives.

First up:

McClure said she didn’t believe that Evans’ resignation had anything to do with criticism that he awarded the woman who would later become his wife, Charlene M. Staley, a contract with the School Department last year.

In April, the district hired Staley to develop and administer a questionnaire to special-education staff at a cost of $4,200, in addition to compensation for travel, lodging and meals. The contract ran from April 17 until Aug. 1.

In an interview last week, Evans denied that there was any conflict of interest involving his wife, whom he married a month ago, and expressed “outrage” that anyone was making an issue out of the contract.

Evans said that he met Staley in 1992 when he was working at the University of South Florida and she was the university liaison with the Tampa, Fla., school district.

After he became assistant superintendent in Tampa in 1998, Staley became a member of his staff, working first as the charter school director and later working in special education.

At the time, Evans described Staley as a “trusted colleague and friend,” but said they were not romantically involved. He said that a romantic relationship didn’t develop until the summer, after Staley was awarded the contract. By the time that Staley was hired, Evans said that he was already in the process of getting a divorce.

Outrage that anyone might see a conflict.  Not, I understand there might have been an appearance of impropriety and I will learn from that.  Outrage.

Becoats:

Another relatively new face to the school system is Chief of Staff Eric Becoats. Becoats, who joined the schools in 2005-2006, also has somewhat of an interesting employment history. Prior to joining Guilford County Schools, Becoats worked for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS). Becoats left in a hurry from his position as associate superintendent after CMS board members accused him of abusing his privileges by using CMS telephones, computers and an employee for his personal consulting business.

More

On the other hand Kelvin Adams has a good reputation in New Orleans.  This is the problem of deciding to change–you have to have a good idea that change is going to bring you better candidates.  This is the typical applicant pool for a Superintendent search and out of the three finalists we only have one that on the surface looks as good as Bourisaw.