Kinder targets Jetton with ethics proposal
Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder today will become the second high profile Republican to target one of his party’s recent leaders with an ethics reform proposal that is a stern rebuke.
Kinder plans a state flyaround starting in Springfield at 10 a.m. to announce his proposal that the Legislature make it illegal for a lawmaker to serve as a campaign consultant or fund-raising consultant for another elected official. Kinder joins Treasurer Sarah Steelman, who is seeking the Republican nomination for governor, in making the very pointed proposal.
The target is Speaker of the House Rod Jetton, whose consulting firm had contracts with several lawmakers, most notably senators Jason Crowell and Luanne Ridgeway, both Republicans.
Kinder said it’s time to put an end to such conflicts of interest. He said he had been working behind the scenes for more than two years to get Jetton to change his consultant arrangement, but that the “tipping point” was the last two weeks of the session, when Jetton clients in the Senate were heavily involved in a filibuster of the “village law” repeal, which Jetton opposed.
“This has been a large pebble in my shoe since i learned of it two and a half years ago,” Kinder told the Post-Dispatch. “I hoped I could counsel certain individuals behind the scenes. In the last legislative session it became clear that wasn’t going to work. This is not acceptable governance.”
Kinder will also announce his ethics reform proposal at 11:45 in Kansas City, 1:30 in Columbia and 3:30 in St. Louis. He will be paying for the flyaround out of his campaign coffers, he said. Kinder is running for re-election. Rep. Sam Page is the presumptive Democratic nominee.
Asked why he’s speaking out now when Jetton’s arrangement had been going on for so long (and after Steelman announced her proposal), he said that he “and others” should have said something earlier, “but I’m saying it now.”
Kinder said, “I dare my friends — Republicans and Democrats — to pass” this proposal.
Kinder said he told Jetton through a text message Monday night of his intent to talk to the speaker about his proposal. The two men plan to speak this morning, Kinder said.
Jetton also signed a consulting contract with fellow House Republican Bob Onder this year. Jetton is offering advice to Onder in his run for the Ninth District Congressional seat. During the legislative session, Onder received heavy floor time in the House to push his immigration and abortion bills that were similar to bills other representatives and senators had also proposed. During the session, both Jetton and Onder denied that their financial arrangement had any effect on legislation before the House.
In the final days of the session, Jetton survived a virtual revolt in the House by members of his caucus who were unhappy at the speaker’s tactics in standing in the way of the village law repeal that had near unanimous support in both chambers.
Well Well Well! It turns out that I was RIGHT! I have been saying on all the P.D. blogs that there was a great disturbance in Jefferson City. Many of you on here poo pooed the idea.
Hate to say I told you so, but………………….
Everyone has known this for a while. I guess the only people who didn’t know about this criminal like activity are the ones who don’t read the newspaper, or drink the Bob Onder, Jason Crowell kool aid.
It’s about time someone called Jetton out on this. He is ruining the Republican Party. Sure Kinder has had staff issues, but he dealt with them immediately. Unlike Jetton, Jetton that used his official position to help his clients. The facts are the facts and Jetton can dispute them all he wants, but the fact is that after Jetton went on the dole for Bob Onder he got all kinds of floor time that he didn’t get before. His clients also helped him pass this silly Village Law that benefited only Jetton’s millionaire buddies. These are the facts.
And Chris Koster coordinated with Jetton and fillibustered to stop the Village Law repeal this year. Shame on them both.
Good point Shecky. The million dollar question is . . . does Koster have Jetton on the dole like Onder, Crowell, Ridgeway, etc.? Also, is former Jetton staffer and now Democratic Candidate Chris Benjamin working with Jetton. Of course it wouldn’t be illegal like some of this stuff appears to be, but it would be interesting to know.
Attention all Braniacs posting here - I know that facts upset you to no end - another good reason for giving them - but the ethics commission had already ruled that Jetton’s consulting agreements are illegal. They did say they didn’t look good but they were not illegal. The postings here are typical spew from those who can’t win on any other level - including Kinder.
What I find interesting is that Kinder is tied in so closely with a real no-gooder campaign guy that he has the guts to pull this stunt. This campaign guy cuts republican throats just because he wants to even to the point of losing senate seats. He works on anti-republican tax increases and steals campaign money from candidates through the double dealing and kick backs he works out with vendors.
Kinder should clean up his own glass house before throwing stones.
And before you Braniacs get to excited and start claiming that a simple typo was a “freudian slip” - the following post above should read:
“Attention all Braniacs posting here - I know that facts upset you to no end - another good reason for giving them - but the ethics commission had already ruled that Jetton’s consulting agreements are NOT illegal.”
Jetton should go into the Lt. Governor’s office and put a “whoopie cushion” on Kinder’s chair.
Yes, Jasonb, you might be the smartest guy ever, but if you’re rearranging furniture on this ship . . . you’re going down too.
I don’t see why the relationship between Jetton and Onder didn’t lead this story.
Onder pays Jetton to consult his campaign, then Jetton gives Onder two flagship pieces of the Republican agenda so he can augment his shallow legislative record.
It’s so painfully obvious!
I wish Jetton would’ve given Onder the anti-cloning bill that would allow for a clone hunting season. We all know how Onder likes hunting those clones.
Maybe he couldve gotten that one passed instead of allowing the boring abortion and immigration bills to flounder.
Funny that the article cites someone other than Michael E. Carter as the leading candidate for Missouri’s Lt. Governor spot on the Democratic ticket.
A quick search of any meaningful press,etc., and polling; quickly reveals that Mike Carter’s communication efforts have done the trick across the state.
Mike Carter is the only one who can bring true ethics to the Missouri’s Lt. Governor’s office because he is the candidate that is the furthest from having been a politician. Carter brings real-world ethics, responsibility, and finance-know-how to the office of Lt. Governor.
Chad A. Carter
chad@vote4carter.com
314-591-0169
Chad Carter quit calling my house you moron. Bugging me will not make me vote for you and I will not go to your stupid web site.
I do not know all of the facts around this case, but I say “Way to go Peter Kinder”. While exposing corruption is a positive thing to do on his own behalf during election year, it also puts the pressure on Jetton to clean up his dealings or face election year consequences. Not to mention the fact that Kinder is working against members of his party, which is not something seen very much in this age of intense and vicious partisanship.
Give it up.
Jetton needs to explain how closely related he has been to Onder’s anti-cloning effort.
This just in . . . Rod Jetton has been hired as chief consultant to Lt. Governor candidate Sam Page. A nameless campaign worker for Sam Page said this move was made to make sure that Page is soundly defeated in November. Asked why, Page said that he didn’t want to take a pay cut.
Why in the **** does it always come after they are out of office. Rod Jetton is a disgrace to Bollinger County and those counties he served!
Now his sect.wants his job….I don’t think so. Anyone that worked with him should be investgated!
I wish to issue an apology - to the fictional character known as Braniac. I apologize to Braniac for suggesting that posters on this topic were even in his league. There is no thought given to the postings - merely political rantings - and not even good ones - to wit Bill Shakespeare referred to as being “full of sound and fury signifying nothing”.
I do wish to acknowledge the concern of one poster about a sinking ship - don’t worry - I’ve been around a lot longer than Jetton, Harris, Koster, Donnelly even Kinder. I’ve seen ships go down before and believe me - Jetton’s isn’t even listing.
YAWN! Republicans are involved in conflicts of interest and questionable ethical practices, what’s new here, eh?
Get rid of the GOP crooks, vote Democratic!
The life, liberty and property you save may be your own!
“The life, liberty and property you save may be your own” until the democrats take it for the “good” of the country.
Did Sam Page officially respond in any way?
No need, he’s irrelevant.
First Steelman, now Kinder. Jetton’s wailing “why is everybody picking on me!”.
The silence from Hulshof is deafening.
Enough already with the Carter for LG baloney! There are only 2 reasons why anyone might have even heard of him:
-He has a potentially illegal plan to influence voters by “promising” to donate part of his LG salary to charity, and
-He has an incredibly annoying plan to flood the state with “robo calls” to your homes, unless you give in to his extortion and sign up on his web site! What a bunch of crap!!
It seems as though it is about time that somebody blew the whistle on Jetton. Both the Republican and the Democrat elected officials had the chance in my opinion. The only thing is that it was more difficult for the Republicans because they feared Jetton retribution. There is no doubt that there was a conflict of interest in the Housse of Representatives. It is just a shame that nobody took the time or effort to investigate and report on the situation.