Randy Steele's eight-day-before-election report, filed this morning with the Missouri Ethics Commission, shows he had only $10.02 cents left in his campaign account and was $18.40 in debt before he received another $723.06 from the secretive Joplin Progress Committee after the filing deadline.
Steele spent $1,859.98 of his money on yard signs from the Sign Shop in Webb City, according to the report. He had $1,495 at the beginning of the filing period, including $1,000 from the Joplin Progress Committee, received $380 in contributions, and spent $1,864.98. Steele does not say who gave him the $380.
As noted earlier in the Turner Report, Steele was not the only R-8 incumbent who allowed his reserves to end up in the same shape as they have left the school district. Board President Jeff Flowers had even less money, $5.40, in his account before the Joplin Progress Committee refreshed it with $723.06.
Why do you always call them the secretive committee? They have listed who the members are and you've listed on your blog who the contributions came from...
ReplyDeleteIt is a group that meets behind closed doors to make its decisions and you have to pay your way in. It's a secretive group.
ReplyDeleteSteele and Flowers bought signs from a business in Webb City. What happened to keeping it local? I suppose they could have flown to Germany for signs!!
ReplyDeleteI have it on good authority that Jeff Koch bought his signs from Ramsey Mediaworks of Joplin. At least somebody is using common sense! We need more like him and less of what we have now.
ReplyDeleteThe "Progress Committee" lost all credibility when it endorsed Woolston for city council. He was found to have committed ethics violations and they still recommend him?! Is this the mass corruption Rohr was going to expose?
ReplyDeleteAnd funny, that sign shop gave generously to the pac, and then they got their money back in sign orders. Isn't that just the strangest thing? I'm sure it's not a case of one hand washing another. Oh, no way. Not in Joplin. And certainly not with the schools. Straight shooters all the way!! We all know that--straight into the backs of the taxpayers, that is.
ReplyDeleteBuying the signs out of town is somewhat like Bright Futures spending school dollars (half their income is school dollars) on tee shirts for staff ordered from a firm in TEXAS, not Joplin. Sorry, Sugar Creek Designs, you got snubbed by the ever altruistically minded, community devoted, Bright Futures organization.
ReplyDeleteThe current leadership team and all of its followers could care less about the community, or they would not do these things. Their duplicity is obvious, from the way they sign up to run for board, to "electioneering" breakfasts on voting day, to putting tax dollars into a supposedly charitable cause, and then spending said dollars back on the district. They have no shame at all.