On Monday, the Missouri Senate Financial, Governmental Organizations, and Elections Committee heard testimony on several measures. Senate Bill 1245, sponsored by Sen. Gary Nodler, R-Joplin, would bar a felon from holding public office in the state.

The committee also heard testimony on House Bill 1310, sponsored by Rep. Theodore Hoskins (D-Berkeley). The legislation would require independent candidates to file declarations of candidacy and petitions for nomination by the same deadlines established for other candidates.

Committee chairman Sen. Delbert Scott (R-Lowry City) said the bill would help make the playing field more level and help prevent political “games” commonly played by both Democrats and Republicans.

Sen. Harry Kennedy (D-St. Louis) said the bill would help prevent “shenanigans” and people trying to “skirt the system.”

The committee also heard testimony on Senate Bill 1231, a proposal to implement instant runoff voting in Missouri, a system where voters rank the candidates in order of preference using one ballot.

Sen. Jeff Smith (D-St. Louis) presented the bill on behalf of sponsor Sen. John Loudon (R-Chesterfield).

Under the system, if no candidate has a majority, the lowest ranked candidate drops out and the next highest rankings on the ballots are attributed to the other candidates accordingly, until a candidate achieves a majority.

Kansas City’s The Pitch is reporting that Democrat Attorney General candidate Molly Korth Williams may be a plant.

In an article by David Martin, The Pitch insinuates that A.G. candidate State Senator Chris Koster has something to do with putting Williams in the race to siphon votes from St. Louis State Rep. Margaret Donnelly, who is obviously a woman. Koster, along with Jeff Harris, are among the Democrats running for their party’s nomination.

Sayeth Martin:

In filing the paperwork last month, Williams entered a crowded field of well-established candidates. Her qualifications to be the state’s top law-enforcement official are thin, to say the least. Williams has never held elected office, and she currently works as an eighth-grade teacher at St. Elizabeth School …

Williams is obviously a plant. Only a fake or a delusional person would challenge three state legislators who have been raising money and campaigning for months.

So the question becomes, who sent her out as a stalking horse? Circumstantial evidence points to Koster. Molly Williams is golfing buddies with a judge named Joe Dandurand, a man who’s been called a mentor to Koster.

And it only gets spicier from there!

There are pictures of Williams and Dandurand together in a 2003 newsletter of the Association for Women Lawyers of Greater Kansas City from the two being in a golfing foursome at the association’s annual golfing events in 2004 and 2005. And Dandurand, a judge, presided over for a number of cases Koster tried as a prosecutor. And the cherry on top is the fact that Koster and Dandurand are chummy despite now having different political affiliations. (Koster was once a Republican.)

But Williams tells Martin she’s totally legit and his claims are baseless.

“I’d like to serve the people of the state of Missouri,” she tells me. A lawyer in good standing, Williams says she has had a “long, varied” legal career and has “temporarily” chosen to teach at her daughter’s school. “I love doing it,” she says.

Williams denies that she was prompted to run by anyone from Koster’s camp. But she is unable to discuss the specific things she would like to accomplish if elected. At this point, her candidacy amounts to little more than a declaration of eagerness and her outsider status. “I’m a lawyer,” she says. “I’m not a politician.”

Martin also points out that Williams has next to no funding and that her candidacy makes little sense considering Koster, Donnelly and Harris have stacked $1.6 million in dough for their runs.

Martin remains a skeptic, proclaiming, “it costs almost nothing at all to confuse voters. Williams’ presence on the ballot creates another option for voters who tend to support women but may not take the time to study each candidate’s qualifications.”

Click here to read the rest of Martin’s column.

Koster is a client (website design) of PubDef.net publisher Antonio D. French

Yet another indicator of a recession, the government is reporting a dramatic increase in the number of food stamps used by poor families.

The New York Times is reporting that due to layoffs, rising food and fuel prices the number of Americans receiving food stamps may hit 28 million by this year’s end – the highest level since the food aid program began in the 1960s.

While historically the rate of near-poverty households who qualify for the $100 a month per family member subsidy has fluctuated over the years, this year is looking especially dire. There application’s are up in many states and officials and experts have attributed it to the economic slowdown.

Sayeth The Times:

Citing expected growth in unemployment, the Congressional Budget Office this month projected a continued increase in the monthly number of recipients in the next fiscal year, starting Oct. 1 — to 28 million, up from 27.8 million in 2008, and 26.5 million in 2007.

The percentage of Americans receiving food stamps was higher after a recession in the 1990s, but actual numbers are expected to be higher this year.

Federal benefit costs are projected to rise to $36 billion in the 2009 fiscal year from $34 billion this year.

“People sign up for food stamps when they lose their jobs, or their wages go down because their hours are cut,” said Stacy Dean, director of food stamp policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington, who noted that 14 states saw their rolls reach record numbers by last December.