Friday, May 29, 2015

Cozy relationship between Banwart, commissioner spells conflict of interest

It's no wonder that Joplin R-8 Board of Education member Lynda Banwart wants the Jasper County Commission to decide who will replace Lane Roberts, Randy Steele, and Mike Landis.

On Friday night, Banwart rejected an overture from board members Jeff Koch, Debbie Fort, and Jennifer Martucci, who proposed Missouri Southern State University professor Marsy Archer instead of their preferred candidate from three nights earlier, former R-8 Board member Jim Kimbrough. While Koch, Fort, and Martucci voted for Archer, Banwart changed her mind and told her fellow board members she wanted the choice to be made by the Jasper County Commission, which will step in once the resignations of Landis and Steele are accepted, unless someone has been appointed to replace Roberts by that time. Banwart said she felt "uncomfortable" with the process.

Banwart and her husband Christopher have a mutually beneficial relationship with Jasper County Commissioner and former Joplin Mayor Darieus Adams going back several years.

Banwart probably has more than 17,000 reasons to want the County Commission to make the choice instead of a school board in which all of those who think like her were either defeated for re-election or quit.

Banwart and her husband  raised more than $4,000 for Darieus Adams during his first campaign in 2004 and his re-election campaign in 2008.

When Banwart ran for school board in 2014, her husband contributed $13,400 to her campaign and all of that money went to Four-States Advertising for television ads. Adams is client relations manager for the business, which has since changed its name to Storm Stanley.

Adams and his wife were also hosts for a fundraiser for the Banwart campaign, according to Missouti Ethics Commission records.

County Commission campaigns

When Adams first ran for county commision, the Banwarts were hosts for a social event at their home May 8, 2004, with snacks and drinks, according to Ethics Commission documents. Twenty-six people attended and $1,650 was raised. The Banwarts contributed $1,000 to Adams during that election period.

On February 23, 2008, they were hosts for another "social gathering," collecting $2,475 from 21 participants. The Banwarts contributed $650.

School Board campaign
(From the April 3, 2014 Turner Report)

The $13,400 that Dr. Christopher Banwart gave to his wife Lynda's Joplin R-8 Board of Education candidacy all went toward television advertising, according to her eight-day-before-election report filed March 31 in the Jasper County Clerk's office.

The Banwart campaign spent $13,420.76 with Four-State Advertising, Joplin, for the ads, the report indicates.

And this.

Sen. Ron Richard and his wife, Patti, provided Mrs. Banwart with the use of Fourth Street Bowl and finger foods and soft drinks, valued at $125, the report said, for a mixer March 14. Yard signs were distributed and $925 in contributions was received. Fifeen people attended the mixer.

Hosts for the event were listed as Ron and Patti Richard, Darieus and Theresa Adams, and Dan and Teresa Brothers.

The Darieus Adams for County Commission campaign also contributed $250 to Banwart.

40 comments:

  1. Anonymous11:21 PM

    That last one should really looked at closely.

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  2. Anonymous3:11 AM

    Hmmmm... Mrs Banwart, you were elected to REPRESENT the patrons of the Joplin School District. If you can't do it, join your sorry-assed buddies Steele and Landis and resign!!

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  3. Anonymous4:27 AM

    Wait a minute! Wait a minute!! Didn't the district pay Storm Stanley over 30 grand for "advertising" just a few weeks ago? What does the district advertise for, anyway? I've seen no ads on television except for Board candidates, and it was Anne Sharp who used Storm Stanley, aka Dareius Adams, for her PR group. This smacks way too much of collusion and conflict of interest. I'm guessing Mr. Adams has his own agenda of people he needs on the Board for his own purposes, political and financial. We desperately need the auditor back, and we need him to bring the attorney general with him. We obviously cannot trust our local legislators to be guardians of the public trust if they are involved with this group, too.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous6:22 AM

      Gosh, all we're missing is Boss Hogg and the Duke Boys. Oh where is the voice of reason from Uncle Jessie.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous4:28 AM

    As has been said before here, one dirty hand is washing the other, so none of them will ever come out clean. They just get dirtier and dirtier.

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  5. Anonymous5:39 AM

    Has the question been resolved that this will be Jasper county only? The school system also includes Newton county and their commission

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous6:11 AM

      Yes...it will be Jasper county only.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous5:53 AM

    Yes the commission supports the progress pack they are all in it together to using there money and influence to control who gets on the BOE. They belive that they know better than the voters....

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  7. Anonymous5:57 AM

    i think this plan was worked out long before now. Huff & his minions are still trying to control things. She is a puppet in a pkan that was set into play when the voters choose change. personally i think there should be a special election held because the puppet master & his puppets DON'T understand that WE ARE SICK OF THEIR SHOW!!!

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  8. Anonymous6:05 AM

    Dr. Archer needs to withdraw her nomination. She has now been exposed as having connections to CART, the corrupt organization that is destroying the district for financial gain. I wonder if she got her chair when Speck was still president? If I were the new president of MSSU, I would be reconsidering Archer's place in the grand scheme of things. Between having Landis nominate her, Banwart seconding that nomination (only to stab Archer in the back to protect her stronger alliance with D. Adams), her apparent relationship with Nancy Good, and her husband's embarrassing behavior at the school board meeting, Dr. Archer has no place directing the education of Joplin students. She is just more of what we just lost.

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  9. Anonymous6:10 AM

    Someone should look into what Storm Stanley does for Franklin Technology Center. Storm Stanley is all over the FTC website.

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  10. Anonymous6:19 AM

    Elections don't matter, not if you have czars to pull the puppet strings from behind the curtain.

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  11. Anonymous6:23 AM

    Yes...it will be Jasper county only.

    Well, that's what Jasper County commission members are saying, but have we heard from the Newton County commission? Is there case law about what happens when a district is split across two or more counties?

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  12. Anonymous6:23 AM

    Any chance in the grand scheme of things Darius Adams for County Commissioner donated money to the Mike Landis campaign?

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  13. Anonymous6:44 AM

    Storm Stanley is Dan Stanley's son, brother of our city council member. The "club" that thinks they are smarter than the rest of us. That hired Wallace, supported Rohr & Huff.

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  14. Anonymous7:39 AM

    Is "The big secret" Bright Futures? Every last one of this Hillbilly Aristocracy is intertwined with the slush fund. It is actually an impressive setup. The bored rich, wishing to be admired, construct the latest gimmick that purports philanthropy. The caring demigods taking time to uplift the impoverished huddled masses. Who would not wish to donate time, effort, and money to the cause of poor children? Everybody wins. The pretentious wealthy lavish praise upon each other for their saintly acts. The children no longer suffer the indignities of poverty; and the community is held up as a shining light upon the hill. Best of all, the ungoverned resources are used in whatever manner these community leaders see fit. All without the pesky interference of donor or government oversight. Look around, Do you see any poverty in his area? Thank BF!

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  15. Anonymous8:10 AM

    These CART/BF people would burn this district to the ground if they could rule over the ashes. Saying Banwart was telling us to 'go to hell' was a polite paraphrasing of what she was really saying to the voters...'F U!'

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  16. Anonymous8:31 AM

    I hope bright futures is exposed for the fraud that it is.

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  17. Anonymous8:37 AM

    Bright Futures is part of the conspiracy for sure. There was a ton of money they received post tornado and yet where has it gone? Not to the kids in need. That organization is at the root of the corruption for sure.

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    1. Anonymous9:14 AM

      Just saw this...

      Rob O' Brian, the president of Joplin Area chamber of commerce, sits on the board of Bright Futures USA. Nancy Good is the Chairman of the board of Bright Futures USA. Cj huff is the assistant secretary of Bright Futures USA...btw Bright Futures was created By Huff. Kim Van was hired by Huff from JACC to be R-8 director of communications and community development which included over seeing Bright Futures Joplin. Now she is the executive director of Bright Futures USA. Just to let you know BFUSA was the custodian of millions of dollars donated for tornado relief from all over the world...without absolutely no accountability to anyone but CJ Huff. The actual BF entity was not part of the states audit on R8, only that there was a connection. All of this political inbreeding and nepotism and millions in unaccounted for donations provides an ominous backdrop for suicides, resignations, 'Retirements',and no-holds barred political brinksmanship.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous9:48 AM

      Where did you 'see' this. Or did you just make your own connections?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:22 PM

      Check Bright Futures USA website for verification.

      Delete
  18. Rouse said he had checked into the county issue, Jasper County is the county who will decide.

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  19. Anonymous9:11 AM

    The mob still has controll of Joplin. Even now............

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  20. Anonymous10:11 AM

    Did Rouse consult the Newton County voters or commissioners? (9:02 says he checked into the county issue.) This topic presents questions that a single statement does not answer.

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  21. Anonymous10:11 AM

    rouse is part of thar drinking club too........

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  22. Anonymous10:42 AM

    Make no mistake, the same people that brought you Wallace Bajjali are behind what is now a very obvious attempt to game the system and keep control of the BOE. It's pretty easy to connect the dots between certain members of C.A.R.T., Bright Futures, the city council, the county commission, the business and political interests represented by those members, and those they're trying so desperately to install on the BOE.

    They have only one current mouthpiece on the BOE. Many thought that person represented change when elected. They were foolish to think so. But that person is a bit player in a much larger effort to control everything possible by the same self-important, self-styled and -proclaimed leaders of Joplin, a cabal that represents a now-proven toxic combination of vanity and stupidity the likes of which even much larger, more historically corrupt cities rarely have to endure.

    You want change? Aside from exercising your right to vote in the next BOE election, educate yourself as to who these people are. Stop patronizing their businesses and those with whom they do business (and consider turning up your thermostat a few degrees this summer, if you know what I mean). Stop voting for those among them who stand for election. And tell everyone you know about this game they're now so blatantly playing, first with our city, and now with the education of our children. Connect the dots and shun them.

    They each have a soft spot. Cleanly, respectfully, hit them where it hurts.

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  23. Anonymous11:05 AM

    Archer withdraws application to BOE.

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  24. Anonymous12:12 PM

    Jo Mo is HBO. First Game of Thrones, Now the Sopranos.

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  25. Anonymous12:55 PM

    I feel almost sorry for Dr. Archer. However, in a situation this severe, you cannot afford to be seen in public with political lightning rods when you have no established record. If the person with whom you are seen is a member of three (at least) organizations that have no obvious intent to bring positive change, then you put yourself in a bad light. She should have waited until after she was on the Board to extend that would-be olive branch. It did not help that her husband was so vocal, along with Anson Burlingame, at the meeting. A connection between Archer and the Huff faction was easily construed at that point. It takes some political savvy to wade these waters. I wish her well.

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  26. Anonymous2:13 PM

    Well said, 12:55.
    She is apparently a delicate snowflake.
    Elected office generates heat under the best of circumstances.
    It's no place for snowflakes.

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  27. Anonymous3:47 PM

    i feel "almost" sorry for Archer. Not totally. I would feel more sorry for her if she had not been nominated by Landis, and if Banwart hadn't apologized to her for her lack of support last night. Put that with meeting with Nancy Good and her Burlingame-led cheering section, and my empathy dims somewhat. That looks very much like partisanship to me. She just can't take the heat. You are correct; this is no place for snowflakes. Perhaps she can get more sympathy from Burlingame or the CART members, along with the JPC, who were there last night.

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  28. Anonymous5:20 PM

    I don't feel sorry for her I think that's what they wanted her for.

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  29. Anonymous9:55 PM

    What happened in the death of Kathleen Gilmartin? Was a special prosecutor ever appointed? Was Keith Adams ever charged?

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  30. Anonymous10:14 PM

    So let me get this straight. Archer is rejected by the board at three consecutive meetings, with all the board members voting against her at one time or another, and she now decides to try to get back at the board by withdrawing her application? Classy, classy. This reminds me of the employee that quits after they are fired. And why withdraw the application by a letter to the press? She was only an applicant; the letter did not need to go to the press unless Archer was just bitter and wanted to attack the board for not accepting her.

    But if Archer is bitter, she only has Banwart to blame for that. Banwart played her; played her like a pawn. I watched all the board meetings where applicants were considered for the one vacant seat. It was apparent to me that Archer was the second choice of the Trinity of Hope (Jennifer, Jeff and Debbie). Banwart only supported Archer because she knew the Trinity of Hope wanted Kimbrough. Then, when the additional two seats opened up due to the departure of Steele and Landis, the Trinity Backwd Archer for one of the three seats. At that time the Ice Queen (Banwart) cast Archer aside like the pawn she was. Banwart never had any intention of having Archer seated. If she did, Banwart would not have cast the sole NO vote on Friday.

    Maybe we could feel sorry for Archer if she had not complained that board members never tried to get to know her when it was she who chose to do her initial board interview over the telephone rather than in person. Did she do that so no one would see her reading the scripted answers Landis gave her? Here is a newsflash, that interview was the board members' attempt to get to know you. Show some respect by doing the interview in person!

    Maybe we could feel sorry for Archer if she had not run to Nancy Good a few hours before Friday's vote so that the Progress Committee could interview her and decide if they would give their blessing. Why would an applicant go to the Progress Commitee just before being voted on by the SchooL Board? The Progress Committee (Clueless Committee) has no say about who sits on the Board, at least not until the Ice Queen sold her soul and allowed them to pull her puppet strings. So the Clueless Commitee played Archer too.

    Maybe we could feel sorry for Archer if her husband had not acted like such an ass at Friday's board meeting. Thank God Archer did not get on the board because who knows what embarrassing antics her husband would enfage in at future board meetings.

    If all of the above "maybes" didn't happen, then maybe, just maybe we could feel sorry for Archer.

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  31. Anonymous10:33 PM

    When one board member asked if anyone had any relationships with the County Commissioner that could pose a conflict of interest, why did Banwart sit silent? It took Rouse to disclose Banwart's relationship with the Commissiober and that of his own. Had Rouse not spoken up, Banwart would have never said anything. Sneaky.

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  32. Anonymous3:54 AM

    If you think the Newton County Commission is going to let this issue go to the Jasper County Commission, then you do not know Marilyn Reustman. This is going to get a bunch of Statewide publicity and Marilyn has her sights set on going back to Jefferson City.

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  33. Anonymous1:01 PM

    I do hope marilyn stands up and fights. Someone said one newton county resident who has a child in Joplin schools...

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  34. Anonymous2:53 PM

    Posted previously:

    "During the filing period, Mrs. Banwart received $16,235 in contributions and spent $14,036.10, leaving her with $3,198 in the bank.

    Mrs. Banwart's spending also included $184.38 for business cards from Dixie Printing, Joplin, and $409.39 for yard signs from Davis Advertising, Joplin."


    $409.39 to Davis Advertising isn't a huge sum, but isn't that Darieus Adamas again?

    Darieus K. Adams: Western District Commissioner Election Profile

    "On the other side, I've owned a small business, Davis Advertising Specialties since 1991."

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