As I pointed out earlier this week in The Turner Report, former 126th District State Representative Bubs Hohulin, R-Lamar, was first elected to the state legislature in 1990 after ripping into incumbent Jerry Burch for being a tool of special interests in St. Louis and Kansas City.
Hohulin, who now has a taxpayer-financed $62,000 a year position as an aide to Sen Carl Vogel, R-Jefferson City, and whose wife has been awarded the lucrative license fee office in Lamar, didn't take too long to catch up to his predecessor.
By the time term limits drove Hohulin out of the House, he had become an expert at raking in money from Kansas City and St. Louis special interests, and even used it in an effort to influence local races in Barton and Vernon counties in the year 2000.
With no opposition in the general election (and just token opposition in the primaries), Hohulin spread the PAC money he received to candidates who were attempting to unseat incumbent Democrats. According to documents filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission, Hohulin donated $550, the maximum allowed (275 in the primary and $275 in the general election) to Nevada lawyer James Bickel in his successful attempt to defeat Circuit Court Judge David Darnold. He also donated $550 to Ivan Frieden, who ousted longtime assessor Doug Sprouls. He put $200 into the Barton County Republican Central Committee and $825 to local campaigns elsewhere across the state, including $200 to the campaign of his future employer, Sen. Vogel.
The donations in Barton and Vernon counties most likely did not play a major role in the outcome of the elections since it appears Bickel and Frieden were headed for victory anyway, but it was the first time in this area that the kind of PAC money that drives state races had been used for county elections.
Where did Hohulin's money comes from? Not from this area, according to campaign documents. During the reporting period just after the August 2000 primary, Hohulin reported received 16 donations of $100 or more...all of them coming from big city business interests.
Hohulin, who was an Iantha hog farmer when he was elected to the House, appears to have spent most of his campaign contribution efforts at that point drinking from the trough of the Missouri Bankers Association. The MBA managed to avoid the $275 contribution limit by having most of its Missouri branches donate to Hohulin's campaign, including $275 from the MBA State PAC, $200 from MBA Gateway Region, $100 from MBA Capitol Region, $200 from MBA Truman Region, $100 from MBA Pony Express Region, $100 from MBA River Heritage Region, $100 from MBA Mark Twain Region, and $200 from MBA Ozark Region.
Hohulin also received $100 from the Missouri Optometric PAC, $275 from Commerce Bank, $200 from the MR/MGA PAC; $100 from the Missouri Podiatry PAC; $275 from Dealers Interested in Government (car dealers, not drug dealers); $200 from Missouri Criminal Defense Lawyers PAC and $250 from Northport Health Services of Missouri. Nearly all of the contributions came from St. Louis or Jefferson City.
In the financial disclosure report filed with the Ethics Commission before the August 2000 primary, Hohulin listed the following donations: Blue Cross Blue Shield, $275; Empire District PAC, Jefferson City, $200; AGL Missouri PAC, Jefferson City, $275; Kansas City Light Employee PAC, $275; David Greenlee, Nevada, $100; Marvin Proffer, SEMO, St. Louis, $200; Kenneth Neises, Laclede Gas Company, St. Louis, $100; John Parker, Bank of Minden, $100; National Federation of Independent Businesses PAC, Washington, D.C. $275; RPAC, Columbia, $275; Mid-Missouri Holding PAC, Jefferson City, $200; Missouri Association of Municipal Utilities PAC, $100.
In Hohulin's June 30, 2000, financial disclosure form, he listed $3,745 in contributions between April 16 and June 30. Among those contributing were:
Missouri Medical PAC, Jefferson City, $275; Nicollas Whitley, Mid-America Environmental, Carthage, $275; Metz Banking Co., Metz, $275; Don Ross, Mid-America Environmental, Carthage, $275; Motor Carrier Public Affairs, Sugar Creek, Mo, $275; Missouri Land Title PAC, Jefferson City, $275; Anheuser-Busch, St. Louis, $275; Missouri Businesses for Good Government, Jefferson City, $275; Kansas City Power and Light PAC, $275; Missouri Forest Products PAC, Jefferson City, $100; Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers, Jefferson City, $150; Missouri Concrete Association PAC, $150; General American PAC, St. Louis, $150; SAMPEC, Jefferson City, $200; Hallmark Cards, Kansas City, $150; BAPAC, Kansas City, $100.
In his 1998 race against Nevada Mayor Mary Ireland, Hohulin spent approximately $20,000, with money pouring in from political action committees. He received eight $100 donations from the eight branches of the Missouri Bankers Association PACs. Other PACS donating to Hohulin included:
National Federation of Independent Businesses, Jefferson City, $275; Amernve, Jefferson City, $275; Missouri Progress Committee, Jefferson City, $275; Title Loans of America, Atlanta, Ga., $100; Health-PAC, Jefferson City, $100; Southwestern Bell Employees PAC, $200; NationsBank Mo, $100; FEA-PAC of Missouri, Kansas City, $50; Missouri Petroleum Marketing Association PAC, $100; Missouri Financial Service PAC, $250; Builders Association PAC, $100; Missouri Association of Municipal Utilities, $100; Citizens for Mark Elliott, $275; Chrysler Political Support Committee, St. Louis, $100; Missouri Independent Business Association, North Kansas City, $200; Missouri Restaurant Association, Kansas City, $100; American Insurance Association PAC, $100; Gary Burton for State Representative, Joplin, $250; Conservative Committee of Southwest Missouri, $250; Shelter Insurance PAC, $250; Missouri Managed Healthcare Association PAC, Jefferson City, $100; Missouri Pork PAC, Jefferson City, $125; Life Underwriters PAC, Jefferson City, $150; Sprint of Missouri PAC, Jefferson City, $250; Missouri State Medical Association, Jefferson City, $275; Ford Motor Company Civic Action Fund, Dearborn, Mich., $125; Missouri Insurance Coalition PAC, Jefferson City, $275; MR.PAC, Jefferson City, $100; National Association of Independent Insurance Agents, Des Plaines, Ill., $200; KAMO-PAC, Vinita, Okla., $100; Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers, Jefferson City, $100; SAMPEC, Jefferson City, $200; CPA-MO-PAC, St. Louis, $275; Leggett & Platt, Carthage, $275; Tapjac, Carthage, $275; David Humphrey, TAMKO Roofing Products, Joplin, $275; Ethel Mae Humphrey, TAMKO Roofing Products, Joplin, $275; Hallmark Cards, Kansas City, $150; Murphy Family Farms, Nevada, $250.
Also, Missouri Association of Insurance Agents, $200; KC Power PAC, Kansas City, $275; Citizens for Bill Waris, Kansas City, $50; DIG, Jefferson City, $275; Mercantile Bank PAC, St. Louis, $250; Missouri Health Care Association, Jefferson City, $275; and General American PAC, St. Louis, $200.
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Rep. Hohulin proved to be just as adept at receiving gifts from the lobbyists who are a permanent fixture in every nook and cranny of the Missouri Legislature.
Only the lobbyist disclosure forms from the last two years of Hohulin's 12 years in the House are available on the Missouri Ethics Commission website, but in those two years, Hohulin accepted close to $2,800 in gifts.
Basketball tickets were the big thing during 2001, according to the reports. He accepted $38 worth from Allen James Snider, University of Missouri lobbyist on Feb. 7, $11 worth from Scott Swain of Verizon a week later, and $100 worth from Snider on Feb. 19.
The reporting for the year 2001 began in the month of December 2000 when Hohulin received $44.55 filed in the meals, food, and beverage category from Jennifer Durham, Anheuser-Busch lobbyist.
Other gifts among the $1,410 Hohulin received in 2001 included: $61 for three meals with John Cuaderes, representing Leggett & Platt, and $80.29 for lodging, two meals, each worth $91.29 from Gregory Taylor, Household Financial, a $74 gift from William F. Waris of the Jackson County Sports Complex, and $144 for entertainment from Joseph L. Thompson. Thompson's reports show he was representing Joseph L. Thompson Consulting when he gave his gifts to all of his recipients, but Thompson is also listed as a lobbyist for the Isle of Capri casinos.
The final two gifts from 2001 were among the most interesting. Hohulin received $8.04 under meals, food, and beverage, from former Enron lobbyist Roy Cagle, representing the Missouri State Troopers Association, and $87.02 in "merchandise" from Jennifer Durham, who as you may remember from two paragraphs back, is the lobbyist for Anheuser Busch. The report forms do not say what the merchandise was, but it doesn't take any stretch of the imagination to guess.
During his final year as a state legislator, Hohulin accepted $1,355.63 in gifts, including $308 for "entertainment" from Robert L. Waldron, representing Southwestern Bell; $97.94 in meals, food and beverage on March 7 from Kathryn Ann Harness, R. J. Reynolds Tobacco; $93.41 in meals, food, and beverage on March 20 from Brent Evans, Missouri Hospital Association; $7.217, on Jan. 23, from Thomas L. Holloway, Missouri State Medical Association; $116.70 in meals, food and beverage on April 2 from Gregory Taylor, Household Financial, and another $8.492 for meal, food and beverage from Taylor on May 1; and $146.49 for meals, food, and beverage from J. Scott Marrs, Greene County Commission, on May 9.
The final lobbyist to present Hohulin with a gift while he was in the House, according to the Ethics Commission documents, ironically, was the brother of the Hohulin family's latest benefactor.
Andrew Blunt, brother of Missouri Governor Matt Blunt, spent $27.12 on May 14, 2002, on meals, food, and beverage for Hohulin. Strangely, all of Blunt's lobbying was done for Hendren and Andrae, according to the forms, but Hendren and Andrae is a law firm that has some of its lawyers doing lobbying work, so while Blunt most likely was working for the firm, it seems likely that the firm was working for other companies, which were not listed on Blunt's disclosure forms.