Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Joplin Progress Committee preparing to put money into R-8 Board election

With no city council elections this year, the Joplin Progress Committee appears to have started collecting money to influence the Joplin R-8 Board of Education election.

The collecting began last Wednesday, according to the committee's 40-days-before-election disclosure report filed Sunday with the Missouri Ethics Commission.

The report showed $1,400 was raised during a four-day period, giving the committee $4,621.40 when the documents were filed.

The biggest contribution, $500, came from Cynthia Schwab, Joplin.

Nine others contributed $100 apiece:

Brad Beecher, Carl Junction, Empire District Electric Company
Clifford Wert, Webb City, retired U. S. Bank president
Ronald Getz, Joplin, Empire District Electric Company
Karen Plott, Carl Junction, Choice Marketing
T. J. Franz & Associates, Webb City
Henry Robertson Sr., Joplin, retired
Troy Hill, Joplin, BKD LLP
Rodney Spriggs, Joplin, Vintage Stock
Sara Newman, Joplin, retired

Though the Joplin Progress Committee has not announced which candidates it will support, there appears no doubt that one of its favored candidates will be Nancy Good, who is one of three candidates running for the one-year seat left open by Dawn Sticklen's resignation after Sticklen enrolled her daughter at Webb City High School.

Good, a Joplin Progress Committee member and chairman of Bright Futures USA, was also the campaign treasurer for two of the committee's favored candidates, current R-8 board member Shawn McGrew and Joplin City Councilman Mike Woolston.

During last year's board election, the Committee endorsed five of the seven candidates, everyone except Debbie Fort and Dave Guilford.

Word has gotten back to the Turner Report that committee leaders have told candidates not to expect support if they are linked to this blog in any way.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nothing like a level playing field.

Anonymous said...

Why the hell is out of town involved..... Cliford go away.

Anonymous said...

Could this be a group of out of towners trying to influence a Joplin election?

Anonymous said...

Look, it's the CART people back again! They turn up everywhere, don't they? JPAC, school board elections, you name it. Trying to buy up the whole town.

This will be as successful as their attempt last year to promote Flowers. Nancy Good is one of you, we know, and Shawn McGrew. We don't need anymore of what CART, BF, or JPAC has to offer. Take your money and stuff it.

Anonymous said...

You guys know what a Political Action Committee is, right? Let's face it, that's not enough money to influence anything, much less "buy up the whole town". And the reason you don't see Good on the list? She was asked to resign.

Anonymous said...

Oh great. The same people who brought us Wallace-Bajalli.

Anonymous said...

I can't vote for any candidate who would go along with a PAC that restricts a candidate's ability to get information. They're not giving candidates that much money that it's worth that. I want someone who is informed about all sides of an issue. As long as people like those on the Joplin Progress Committee refuse to look at all sides of an issue, Joplin is doomed to its current state of mediocrity.