Endorsement Round-up: 9th District

Here’s a list of endorsements for the major party candidates in the 9th District Congressional Race:

Judy Baker (D):

• Lt. General (Ret.) Claudia Kennedy
• Veterans of Foreign Wars
• Alliance for Retired Americans
• The Missouri Nurses Association
  
• National Farmers Union
• Columbia Professional Firefighters
• National Organization for Women
• Columbia Daily Tribune
• St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Blaine Luetkemeyer (R):

• National Rifle Association
• Missouri Right to Life
• Missourians United for Life
• Missouri Farm Bureau FARM-PAC
• National Federation of Independent Businesses
• Quincy Herald-Whig
• Hannibal Courier-Post

What I learned from Robin Carnahan

So, last night, Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, who happens to be running for re-election this year, gave a short speech before State Representative Judy Baker (who is running to be the 9th District’s U.S. Representative) , who was before Attorney General Jay Nixon (running for MO governor), who introduced Barack Obama (running for United States president).

You can read several articles, watch a sweet slideshow, catch a couple videos and look at endless photos of the catalyst himself at the ColumbiaMissourian.com. This is not about Obama, though.

This is about something I learned about in my Communication Law class. The Supreme Court says you can’t campaign within 100 feet of a polling place. This is to save voters from being harrassed every step into the booth.

In Missouri, the law is 25 feet. Which is important not just for you die-hards who have been knocking on doors, beating down doors, racking up the phone bills calling voters and passing out any sort of printed material possible for the candidates. It’s also important for those ever-so-subtle supporters who rock the stylish label 2″ button, or the flashy, yet trendy, T-shirt with your hope for the future’s face on it. The McCain tie or the Barack belt buckle.

While you’re encouraged to investigate the candidates ahead of time and bring a printed ballot, or just your choices jotted down on a post-it, with you, you can’t bring them in your Chuck Graham totebag or Ed Robb briefcase.

Silly, perhaps? But, thoughtful as well. I found that interesting, since it’s something I didn’t think about while listening to my comm law lecture.

I just wanted you to be prepared as well. Now, as our esteemed editor Scott Swafford would say, “Get to work!”… and vote.

Baker to Speak at MU Tomorrow

Judy Baker will talk education at MU’s Speakers Circle (map) at 4 p.m. Wednesday. The Democrat will focus on college affordability, campaign spokesman Paul Tencher said in an e-mail.

The event is open to the public.

Check out Baker’s Web site for a little background on her education policies. Republican opponent Blaine Luetkemeyer’s Web site can be found here, but education is not listed under his issues section. I’ll check in with the Luetkemeyer campaign tomorrow to get some reading material for you guys on the subject.

Nurses Union Endorses Baker

The Missouri Nurses Association announced their endorsement of Judy Baker for the House of Representatives Monday, according to a Baker campaign press release.

MONA, which represents over 70,000 nurses in the state, is part of the American Nurses Association. The ANA endorsed Democratic Sens. Barack Obama and Joe Biden earlier this month.

In a statement released earlier today, Baker, a Democrat, thanked the organization for its support:

“I am so thankful for the support of Missouri’s dedicated nurses who see the need for fundamental change in our health care system. With their help I will win this election and represent the issues nurses and Missourians care deeply about: quality health care that we all can afford.”

Baker Campaign: Luetkemeyer Ad Illegal

Judy Baker’s campaign lawyers sent out notices today alerting TV stations across the 9th District that a recent Blaine Luetkemeyer ad, shown as late as this morning in Columbia, falls short of Federal Communication Commission requirements for campaign advertising. The Luetkemeyer campaign has since apologized and corrected the error.

At issue is the Communications Act of 1934, which requires, at the end of the broadcast, a four-second display of “clearly identifiable photographic or similar image of the candidate,” and a “clearly written printed statement” that the candidate approved and paid for the message. The ad, which can be viewed here in its original form, had all the required information at the beginning rather than the end.

Paul Sloca, Luetkemeyer spokesman, responded to the Baker campaign’s press release:

“I think it’s pretty sad and it shows the disconnect that Judy Baker and her campaign have with reality. Luetkemeyer is focusing on issues and Judy Baker is focusing on minutia … We found out about it and it was changed immediately.”

Baker Monkeying Around with Health Care?

It was hard not to laugh — objectively, of course — when this 9th District attack ad came to my attention yesterday. Uploaded to YouTube by apparent Blaine Luetkemeyer supporters (it is not an official campaign ad), the video calls into question the work Democratic candidate Judy Baker did for MU’s University Physicians a few years back. University Physicians, a subsidiary of MU Health Care, is a group of nearly 400 multi-specialty physicians who practice medicine at a number of clinics in mid-Missouri and are on faculty at MU’s School of Medicine.

Is there any basis to the criticism? The St. Louis Post-Dispatch dug a little deeper into the issue.

Here’s the facts: Baker became interim director of operations at University Physicians in February 2000, and was promoted to interim executive director the next year. A state audit found that, from July 1999 to January 2002, University Physicians lost $2 million from what were essentially billing and bookkeeping mistakes. MU Health Care lost $10 million on the whole from such lapses.

The video raises two questions. Were the bookkeeping issues Baker’s fault, and, if not, why did she leave?

Blood drive today at MU’s Memorial Union

Together with the American Red Cross, State Rep. Judy Baker will hold a blood drive from 3 to 7 p.m. today at MU’s Memorial Union.

After campaigning in Macon, Baker, D-Columbia, learned blood is in short supply this summer because of the flooding earlier in the season. In June, the Red Cross’s blood supply in flooded areas of the country was off 10 to 20 percent, according to a news release from the organization.

Onder concedes to Luetkemeyer, Baker makes victory speech

It seems that former Missouri tourism director Blaine Luetkemeyer of St. Elizabeth will face against State Rep. Judy Baker, D-Columbia in the general election for the 9th District Race.

Right now, Luetkemeyer is at 39.7 percent, about 10 points ahead of State Rep. Bob Onder, R-Lake St. Louis. Baker is at 44.1 percent to former state representative Steve Gaw’s 31.1 percent.

Both campaigns faced harsh criticism from their opponents. Baker weathered a storm of criticism from both Gaw and former state Sen. Ken Jacob, specifically about her veteran’s health care plan. Onder said Luetkemeyer supported amnesty for illegal immigration, which he contrasted against his newly-signed immigration bill.

Both candidates said they tried to stay out of the battle and called the criticisms “negative advertising.”

For more on all the elections, see the Missourian Web site.

Update: 30 minutes after polls close

Twenty of 3515 statewide precincts are reporting, but not enough to make any definitive conclusions. Check out the Missourian Web site for more info as the night goes on, as well as checking the blog out for more info about (hopeful) victory parties. For the Boone county results, see the Boone County Clerk’s Web site.

The Public Life team is going to be going out to various election parties around Columbia, including Blaine Luetkemeyer, Judy Baker, Ken Jacob, Kenny Hulshof, Jeff Harris, Sid Sullivan, Cathy Richards, Sean Spence, Mary Still, Bob Pundt, Cande Iveson and Stephen Webber. We’ll also be catching up with some candidates who are party-hopping and others who are out of town.

9th District stances wrap-up

So although we’ve focused mostly on smaller things here at the Watchword, the 9th District candidates do have lots of ideas about lots of issues. Here are each of our stories in the Missourian about the issues, in case you missed them the first time around.

For gas prices click here, the economy here, health care here, the Iraq war here and immigration here.

Remember, the primary is on Tuesday and you can find a comprehensive voter’s guide in this weekend’s Missourian.