At a glance-
-The committee raised $11,000 by the end of 2013.
-A total of $4,250 came from Webb City and Carl Junction addresses (contributors are listed below)
-The committee's biggest expenditure was for advertising in the Joplin Globe.
These are the people who, according to a recent Globe story will be meeting secretly to determine which candidates will receive their endorsements, and just as importantly, their financial backing. The group appears to have been formed in response to the growing number of people who are filing to run for school board and city council in an effort to implement change. I wrote the following in the Dec. 19 Turner Report
From its website, Joplin Progress, here is what the group, thinks are the key platform issues:
- regional economic growth and the creation of new jobs through both existing and new businesses to our community
- quality of life improvements for our community
- the efforts of any reputable large-scale developers who express an interest doing projects in our city and bring forth economically viable, self-sustaining projects
- the development of new, younger leaders
- working cooperatively with other cities and schools within the Joplin Region
- student achievement that is on target or exceeds expectations in core academic areas for all grades with continued emphasis upon increasing the high school graduation rate
- graduating civic-minded, high quality citizens who are college and career ready
- the development and ongoing maintenance of a short and long term strategic plans for the City of Joplin and the Joplin School District respectively
As I noted before, it is hard to argue with any of those ideas. They sound wonderful.
Where I run into problems with the Joplin Progress Committee is with its section on "personal values and attitude:
- possess strong integrity and moral values
- be positive, progressive and open minded
- form opinions based on broad-based facts from varied sources
- be practical and pragmatic
- demonstrate good common sense
- be both compassionate and passionate
- be non-partisan with no personal agendas
- demonstrate the ability to focus on policy, not politics or day-to-day management
When a group hides behind closed doors and makes value judgments on candidates and then does its best to elect its chosen candidates, it is doing so perfectly legally. I simply question the definitions that are offered and why we should assume that this elite group of business leaders is doing anything to help the rest of us.
I would guess that someone who "demonstrates good common sense" would be someone who sees eye-to-eye with the committee on every issue. "Non-partisan with no personal agendas" would indicate that if you are getting elected to try to remove people who have been a barrier to good city government or to good education, but who kiss up to to the business community on a regular basis, you are not going to be receiving any of this group's money.
It is the last one that concerns me most of all. When they say "demonstrate the ability to focus on policy, not politics or day-to-day management, they are saying, "we like the status quo and we are willing to spend money to make sure things stay exactly the way they are."
Those contributing to the Joplin Progress Committee:
Clifford Wert, Webb City, $500
Jane Cage, Joplin, $500
Paula Baker, Joplin, Freeman Health, $500
Veri Properties, LLC, Carl Junction, $500
Brad Beecher, Carl Junction, Empire District Electric Company, $500
Sharon Beshore, Joplin, retired, $500
Dr. Lance Beshore, Joplin, Leggett & Platt, $500
Michael Wiggins, Webb City, Granny Shaffer's Restaurant, $500
Sara Newman, Joplin, retired, $500
Karen Platt, Carl Junction, Choice Marketing, $500
Jerrod Hogan, American Engineering, Inc. $500
Bennie Crossland, Joplin, Crossland Construction Company, $500
Fred Osborn, Carl Junction, Mercy Hospital, $500
Nancy Good, Joplin, Waco Title, $500
Troy Hill, Joplin, BKD, LLP, $500
Henry Robertson, Jr., Joplin, retired, $500
Joplin Building Material Company, $500
Randy Moore, Joplin, Eagle-Picher, $500
J. Hipple Investments, Carl Junction, $500
Ronald Gates, Joplin, Empire District Electric Company, $250
Gary Pulsipher, Joplin, Mercy Hospital, $500
T. J. Franz and Associates, Webb City, $500
Scott Brothers, Webb City, The Insurance Center, $250
2 comments:
Round up the usual suspects: the banks and bankers (Us Bank and Commerce officers), BOTH hospitals, Beshore/Leggett & Platt, Empire, Eagle Picher. Yet not very broad based in membership.
More interesting for the lack of members who actually contribute to the betterment of Joplin. For the most part, I see only two kinds on the list--those able to write a $500 check every time someone sneezes, and those so lacking in their own accomplishments that they start and join things like the Joplin Progress Committee in a never-ending and futile attempt to rub shoulders with the check writers. If it's such a great and useful group, you'd think they'd have more (and more interesting) members than that.
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