Lure of Senate seat reels in Trout
James Trout, the Webster Groves Democrat who touched off last year’s court battle to successfully reinstate donation limits, has a new target: the 15th District state Senate seat.
Trout filed Wednesday, creating a contest with Steve Eagleton, the Kirkwood lawyer who filed last week.
Trout’s candidacy could be seen, by some, as a Democratic insurance policy, in case Eagleton reconsiders. (Or, according to some blog posts, is deemed to not meet the state’s residency or voter-registration rules for candidates. Those close to Eagleton say the accusation is not true, and that he has met the requirements.)
So far, Glendale Alderman Eric Schmitt is the only Republican to file for the post to be vacated when state Sen. Michael Gibbons, R-Kirkwood, leaves next year because of term limits. Gibbons is running for Missouri attorney general.
Meanwhile, the 91st District state House seat that Trout had sought in 2006 now has four contenders (2 Rs, 2 Ds) for the seat to be vacated by veteran Republican Kathlyn Fares, also because of term limits.
Those candidates are:
–Webster Groves Republicans Joan McGivney and Randy Jotte (she’s a former School Board member, and he currently sits on the City Council);
– Democrats Jeanne Kirkton (now on the Webster City Council) and Katherine Bruckner of Shrewsbury.
Kirkton unsuccessfully challenged Gibbons in 2004.
(By the way, a hat tip to Jason Rosenbaum at the Columbia Tribune for first spotting Trout’s filing.)
How could Eagleton not meet the eligibility requirements when he has established residency since 2003. Anybody who knows how to navigate and do research on the Internet can see for themselves—on Delmar.
Why don’t you as a reporter, just ask the man if he has met the requirements. Instead of all the conjecturing about this misinformation, just ask him or his public relations person.
“Why don’t you as a reporter, just ask the man if he has met the requirements. Instead of all the conjecturing about this misinformation, just ask him or his public relations person.”
That’s a pretty fair point above. I realize this is a blog, Jo - but the Political Fix is a division of the Post-Dispatch and should be held to a similar standard. Would you ever have gotten the first set of parentheses past your editor?
Heck - you could have at least hyperlinked to the the the blog posts in question. Right now, I have no idea what posts you are citing. The response of “those close to Eagleton” is similarly unilluminating. That aside adds only confusion - which is the exact opposite of some basic journalistic goals, right?
Give the guy a call, ask him the question and let him answer it. Then add his response (or lack thereof) under a header reading **UPDATED**. Six days out from the end of filing, I for one, wouldn’t mind reading an answer to this question.
1. Ask Steve Eagleton how many times he has ever voted in a St Louis County Missouri election and how many times he has ever voted in a Fulton County Georgia election.
2. Ask Stephen A Eagleton about Eagle Realty LLC and Dovetail all located in Georgia;
3. then ask him in which state he holds his “Qualifying Broker” License that he just renewed in Feb 2008.
4. And be sure to ask Steve Eagleton about Fort Higley in Tennessesse, the historical Civil War Battleground that Steve Eagleton of Atlanta Georgia wanted to build condos on.
5. Ask Steve Eagleton if he is licensed to practice law in any state and if not, why does he claim to be an attorney/lawyer in all of his press pieces?
6. Ask Steve Eagleton if moved into the Senate District 15th less than 5 months ago
Better yet, let’s all ask Eagleton to “Go Fish” smewhere else.
Has anyone asked that chump if he is in fact an attorney? And has he lived in MO for the prior 3 years? We want to know gosh darn it.
I called the Georgia Bar Assn and they do not show that he is licensed there so what’s the deal?
Tomorrow, I’m calling the MO Bar to get to the bottom of this canard.
Then, I’ll proceed to call the Election Board and Ethics Committee to verify further.
Guess nobody else cares or desires to know.
Yes, a non-practicing lawyer would be a better reference to him….or former lawyer.
This all sounds and smells “fishy” to me.
“Former” as in a 12 step program? no that’s “recovering.” Unlicensed lawyers aren’t former or non-practicing lawyers, they are law school grads who don’t take or pass the bar exam. Isn’t it illegal to practice law without being licensed?
Well, yeah it would be illegal to practice law w/o being licensed….whoever said Eagleton was just a law school grad who didn’t take/pass the exam????
Whoever said Eagleton was UNlicensed????
I don’t know if any of these things about Eagleton are true or not, but the very fact that his credentials are being questioned this early in the campaign make me wonder.
Even if he is an upstanding citizen and he has been a voter in Missouri for the required three years, he just moved to Missouri and he moved to the district less than a half a year ago.
I don’t care what party you’re with, there’s no way you can understand much less represent the values and concerns of the people in your district if you haven’t had time to get to know the community.
I could never vote for someone who doesn’t understand the voters and I hope everyone else learns this about him before they vote.
Steve, I completely agree with your comments about Eagleton. Furthermore I know that Eric Schmitt’s credentials would never come into question. He was actually born and raised in St. Louis and he’s been an upstanding resident of Glendale for way longer than the required one year that Eagleton barely passes and a successful City Alderman at that.
Unlike Eagleton who doesn’t even hold a license, Eric Schmitt practices law in St. Louis. Schmitt also doesn’t have any shady real estate dealings like Eagleton. In addition Schmitt is involved in all sorts of local organizations like Habitat for Humanity of St. Louis, the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance and the St. Louis County Bar Association.
You ask me, I’d say that Schmitt is the only candidate for the 15th district that’s qualified for the office. He has some great ideas and a proven track record of working for the community. I haven’t found a single Eagleton supporter and everyone I’ve talked to is voting for Schmitt. He’s the only candidate that deserves to win, and it looks like he’s the strongest candidate going forward.
Can anybody confirm if Lloyd Smith is running against Jason Crowell????
“UPDATED”
1. I did some research on Eagleton and this is what I found. Yes, he is a “Qualified Broker” and he is qualified in several states. He has taken the MO exam and passed. Also, I heard he is currently working on the historical LEMP Brewery Project.
2. Indeed, he was involved with the Civil War Battlefield in Tennessesse and after many hours or research I found that he actually recommended preserving the Battlefield while still developing the area into a village for 65 an older. The property is still under contract. You can look this infor up by the council meetings that were posted.
3. Furthermore, I believe that this Eagleton guy is older and has more experience. Schmitt has only been out of school for ten years. I couldn’t find where he was a state rep. or senator prior to his filing.
4. I know that Eagleton and his family have lived here for many years and when I called the board of election I was told that he was a qualified voter since 1985. I wasn’t so sure about that!
So, I looked further. He did have a MO driver’s license and was a registered voter for over the three years prior to Nov. 2008.
5. Lastly, it seems that both of these candidates are “green”. I know Ihave seen Eagleton’s name, but that isn’t good enough form me. I called him.
6. Steve stated, he was recently married and his wife is from GA. She is a teacher who is certified in GA and MO. It’s under her maiden name Shaw (checked it with MO ). He also told me that he started Eagle Realty after he attended St. Louis Law School. I wanted to know why his business and broker license was still listed in Ga. He stated that he has to maintain several licenses to lawfully handle real estate transactions. He tries to keep all of his license updated so he can make tranactions in different states.
7. By the way! Eagleton has held season tickets for the Cardinals and Blues for several years. I think everyone is confused about Eagleton’s location because he moved into Kirkwood before Nov. 2007. I hear that there will not be a problem validating him as a candidate this May.
Also, I asked Eagleton what he thought about going fishing somewhere else. He said he is in it to win. He has a large following and some key endorsements that will be posted soon.
How old is Schmitt anyway?? Does he meet the age limit of 30???
I pulling for Eagleton right now! I was thought his Uncle did a wonderful job and I’m willing to give this guy a chance. He did respond to my questions.