Cunningham Considers StL Co. E ex Campaign March 4, 2014

(AP) – A former Republican state lawmaker says she is giving “serious consideration” to entering the increasingly crowded race for St. Louis County executive.

The county’s current leader, Democrat Charlie Dooley, faces an August primary challenge from County Councilman Steve Stenger.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that onetime state representative and senator Jane Cunningham is weighing a request by leaders of the county’s Republican Party to challenge the Democratic primary winner in the November general election.

She would first have to defeat Green Park Alderman Tony Pousosa and Ellisville City Councilman Matt Pirrello. Both filed their candidacies last week.

Cunningham left the Legislature following a 2012 redistricting. She currently serves on the elected board for the Monarch fire district in Chesterfield

KWMU: Future of St. Louis Area Conservatives has State Politicos Buzzing March 1, 2014

KWMU via Johncombest.com

Until this week, most of the attention directed at state Sen. Brian Nieves, R-Washington, has focused on his outspoken conservatism and his efforts to block some federal gun laws.

But now the chief question is whether Nieves is preparing to quit the state Capitol.

Nieves said in two text messages this week, the latest on Friday, that he’s not yet ready to discuss the situation — but many others are.

As expected, Nieves showed up Tuesday on the first day of candidate filing and filed for re-election this fall. But shortly before 5 p.m., state Rep. Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, filed to challenge Nieves in the August primary.

Schatz’ filing, in turn, may have opened the door to other top Republicans considering whether to jump in as well. They include former state Sen. Jane Cunningham, R-Chesterfield, and state House Speaker Tim Jones, R-Eureka.

The 26th District now represented by Nieves spans from Franklin County to west St. Louis County. The district took in more close-in suburbs as a result of redistricting in 2011.

Almost half of the 26th District’s voters reside in St. Louis County, a far cry from the district’s more rural demographics when Nieves first was elected to the Senate in 2010 in what was arguably the most combative Republican primary in the region that year.

Still, with no prominent Democratic opponent looming, Nieves had been expected to coast to re-election this fall.

But other considerations may intervene. By several accounts, Nieves has been mulling over various business opportunities that would pay more than the roughly $35,000 he earns now in the state Senate.

Even so, some close to Nieves say he was shocked by Schatz’s action – although Schatz said he had discussed the matter with Nieves before filing.

More: http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/republicans-tizzy-over-nieves-possibly-leaving-state-senate

Missouri Senate Redistricting Heads to Federal Court March 4, 2012

JEFFERSON CITY | A federal lawsuit claims Missouri’s newly proposed Senate districts should be struck down because they give greater weight to urban voters at the expense of rural residents.
The lawsuit asserts that the districts recently given tentative approval by a bipartisan commission violate equal protection rights. It asks a judge to instead order the use of a Senate map that had been proposed by a judicial panel last year, but which the Missouri Supreme Court had previously said was invalid.
The latest lawsuit was filed Friday by a pair of law firms whose attorneys include former Missouri House speaker and U.S. attorney Catherine Hanaway, a Republican.
The arguments echo concerns raised by Republican Sen. Jane Cunningham of St. Louis County, whose district number was reassigned to Kansas City.

StL Lawmaker Cunningham Files for Missouri ‘Old’ 7th Senate, Despite ‘New’ 7th Moving to KC Area February 28, 2012

(AP) – Missouri’s 7th senatorial district is drawing candidates from opposite sides of the state. It’s perhaps the best example of the confusion hanging over the start of Missouri’s candidacy filing period.

On Tuesday, Republican Sen. Jane Cunningham of St. Louis County filed for re-election in the 7th District, based on boundaries in place after the 2000 census. But Democratic Rep. Jason Holsman of Kansas City also filed for the 7th District, which would be reassigned to western Missouri under a plan given tentative approval last week by a bipartisan commission. The new Senate map is based on the 2010 census.

The commission’s plan must undergo a 15-day public comment period before it can be finalized. But Cunningham indicated Tuesday that she may bring a legal challenge against it.

Koster Legal Brief, Strike Down Indivdual Mandate in Health Care Law February 14, 2012

(AP) – Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster’s office said Tuesday it has filed a brief calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to reject an individual health insurance mandate but uphold other parts of the federal health care law.

Koster, a Democrat, said his office filed written arguments last week in support of a lawsuit by Florida and other states. The federal law requires most Americans to obtain health insurance by 2014 or face financial penalties.

Koster says the mandate goes beyond what courts have ruled is the authority of Congress to regulate interstate commerce. Koster also says the federal law conflicts with a voter-approved Missouri law barring the government from requiring people to have health insurance and penalizing those who do not.

Republican attorney general candidate Ed Martin said Tuesday that Koster should oppose the entire federal health care law.

Koster announced that he had filed his argument on the same day that a Missouri Senate committee heard testimony about a proposed amendment to the state constitution that aims to block the federal mandate from taking effect in Missouri.

The proposed amendment, sponsored by Sen. Jane Cunningham, would essentially codify into the state’s constitution a ballot measure that state voters approved in 2010 prohibiting the government from requiring people to have health insurance.