Gaw releases campaign ad

Steve Gaw is a Democratic candidate for the Ninth District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, released a campaign ad today.

The ad highlights Gaw’s goals to end the war in Iraq, create jobs, lower gas prices and protect Social Security.

“Beginning our television campaign early is what we’ve been planning to do for quite some time,” Jeremiah Levine, Gaw’s spokesman, said in a news release.

Other Democrats running for the seat — Judy Baker, Lyndon Bode and Ken Jacob — plan to run ads after Independence Day.

State Representative Clint Zweifel, one of the Democratic candidates for state treasurer, released a plan on Friday that addresses the current problems Missouri homeowners are facing.

The plan includes “increasing state efforts to assist homeowners facing foreclosure, protect borrowers from unscrupulous lenders and enact property relief for seniors,” a press release on Zweifel’s state treasurer website stated.

“I have a real plan to protect homebuyers from unscrupulous lenders and to assist homeowners facing foreclosure,” Zweifel said. “My plan also will hold local governments accountable for keeping property taxes in check and keeping officials honest.”

Summer Snows?

I recently wrote a story titled “Wheeling Over Sidewalk Problems”, which discussed the condition of Columbia’s sidewalks, and the problems they pose to citizens in wheelchairs. It was a pleasure to work on this piece, as the sources were all very helpful and the information was of high value.

In all actuality, this piece began by investigating the problems associated with removing snow from Columbia’s sidewalks (we thought a story about snow in June would grab attention), and slowly evolved into an entirely different story. 
Since the story’s focus changed so much, I thought some readers might be interested in the struggles citizens in wheelchairs face in regards to snow.

Attorney General candidate Mike Gibbons supports Supreme Court gun control ruling

Republican Attorney General candidate Mike Gibbons reiterated his support of the right to bear arms yesterday by praising the Supreme Court’s gun control ruling. The court struck down Washington D.C.’s 32-year-old ban on handguns, calling it incompatible with gun rights under the Second Amendment.

Still announces education PAC endorsement

The Missouri School Administrators Political Action Committee, representing 3,150 school administrators, announced its endorsement of Mary Still in the Missouri House’s  25th District Democratic Primary today.

The PAC represents four education administrators’ groups. The groups, according to the PAC’s website, include the:

-Missouri Association of Elementary School Principals

-Missouri Association of School Administrators

-Missouri Association of Secondary School Principals

-Missouri Council of Career and Technical Administrators

“I am honored to have this endorsement,” Still said in a statement. “I have worked with this important group of educators in the past and look forward to working with them to keep public education strong in Missouri.”

This is Still’s second education endorsement this month. She announced the endorsement of the Missouri National Education Association on June 9.

An “equal-opportunity spoiler” joins Ninth District race

One more joins the quest for the Ninth District congressional seat.

Justin Johnson, who is running as an Independent, has over half of the signatures necessary to get his name on the ballot.

The Missourian has an article about why he’s decided to run.

Five interesting things about Justin Johnson:

1) He’s not from Missouri; he was born in Newport, Arkansas. Johnson went to Mizzou for an undergraduate degree in journalism and political science (class of ’94). He then worked for eight years in Washington D.C. He moved from Washington D.C. to Columbia after the Sept. 11 attacks. When talking with him about Columbia, he said he feels its an “undiscovered treasure.”

2) He has around 400 families that live in the district collecting signatures to get him on the ballot.

Blaine Luetkemeyer releases first campaign video

Blaine Luetkemeyer, candidate for the Republican nomination for the Ninth Congressional District, has released as 30-second commercial that will begin running today.

The commercial opens with Luetkemeyer promising to fix Congress while hammering a shed.

“Just like this old shed, Congress is broken, and it’s time we fixed it,” he says.

The rest of the commercial touts his conservative values. He did not follow the suit of the gubernatorial candidates in criticizing his fellow Republicans running for the nomination.

The Ninth Congressional District nominee will replace Kenny Hulshof, who is running for governor.

Former Lt. Gov. Joe Maxwell Endorses Jeff Harris

State Rep. Jeff Harris of Columbia has a new name to add to his list of endorsements for his campaign for Missouri attorney general. As of last Wednesday, former Lt. Governor Joe Maxwell is a Harris supporter.

Maxwell, a Democrat who served as the state’s LG from 2000 to 2005, identified Harris as a “leader in fighting for democratic values.” Both he and the representative emphasized the vastness of Harris’ campaign in its inclusion of “every part of the state,” “in the cities or small towns,” and “in every corner of Missouri.”

The former LG joins two former governors backing Harris: Roger Wilson and Warren Hearnes. Harris is in the lead as of now with 126 endorsements.

What does “the media” mean?

The Watchword derives its name from the “watchdog role” of journalism: holding public figures and institutions accountable for their involvement in civic life.

How well does the news media fulfill this role? Is this an important function of journalism or are there better things to spend time on? What does news mean to you as a citizen of the U.S. and Boone County?

Share your thoughts and listen to what others in the community have to say during three discussions on the media held this summer. The community dialogue sessions will be hosted by Columbia Human Rights Commission Study Circle, the Reynolds Journalism Institute and the Missourian.

The first is Wednesday, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., in the Friends Room at the Columbia Public Library.  Missourian reporters will be present to observe but will leave the talking to participants. The discussions will be moderated by volunteer facilitators from the Study Circles program. Participants will be able to attend Journalism School Centennial events with a “citizen VIP pass.”

“Watching the Watchdog” events will be held June 25, July 14 and Aug. 6 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Columbia Public Library. Childcare and transportation are available. Call 573-874-7487 for more information.

Luetkemeyer issues two releases

Candidate for the Republican Ninth Congressional District nomination Blaine Luetkemeyer has recently issued two releases, one about health care and one about gas prices.