JEFFERSON CITY — The fee office bash-fest continues.

As first reported by our friends over at PrimeBuzz, Gov. Jay Nixon has awarded a fee office to longtime Democratic stalwart and donor James Montee, ex-husband of auditor Susan Montee.

Both the previous fee office operator and the Missouri Republican Party are blasting the decision.

Says the GOP on Montee winning a bid:

“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 to reward prominent Democratic supporters with plum government positions and fee offices.”

As we’ve reported, fee offices are now bid out, and the bid documents are public record, so unlike the previous system, if there are shenanigans being played in the rewarding of the offices, there should be a paper trail. So, Montee winning the bid doesn’t necessarily mean Nixon broke his pledge, but it sure invites folks to examine the paper trail.

Lawmakers passed a bill this year that — if Nixon signs it, as expected — will require the bidding process (much how it is now being conducted) as part of law. Under current law, Nixon could have simply awarded the contract to run the driver’s license office to Montee or other supporters, as have previous governors.

Of the 19 fee offices that have been awarded, some have gone to previous operators, some have gone to non-profits, and some have gone to Democratic donors.