“I appreciate Judge Burke’s willingness to serve the constituents of the twenty-second circuit and wish her the best as she takes on this new role,” Gov. Blunt said.

Judge Burke, 43 of St. Louis, is a municipal judge for the City of St. Louis. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Southern Illinois University and juris doctorate from St. Louis University School of Law.

Judge Burke will fill the vacancy created by the resignation of the Honorable Michael K. Mullen.

“It is in the best interest of Missourians to have an effective transition and my office has been committed to ensuring that Gov.-elect Nixon has the information he needs together with the full resources of my administration as he prepares to take office,” Gov. Blunt said. “We discussed disaster relief, requested state audits of local governments, the Highway 40 rebuild, the New Mississippi River Bridge, Guard deployments, security and public safety issues, ongoing projects and initiatives that will be continuing through next year, and several other issues important to Missouri taxpayers. It has been an honor to serve Missourians as their governor and I want the next administration to be successful.”

“Today, I met with Gov. Blunt to discuss our shared belief that Missouri’s best days are ahead of us,” Gov.-elect Nixon said. “Missouri is home to the hardest-working, most-innovative people in America. However, our state is facing difficult economic times, and we will only overcome these challenges by working together, across the aisle, to put Missouri families first. By working together, we can make sure that the next generation of Missourians has every opportunity possible to achieve its dreams. I thank Gov. Blunt for his commitment to ensuring a smooth, efficient transition. His administration has been helpful to my transition team, and we look forward to continuing to work together in the weeks to come.”

Yesterday, First Lady Melanie Blunt hosted the next First Lady of Missouri, Mrs. Georganne Nixon, for lunch at the Governor’s Mansion. Mrs. Blunt gave Mrs. Nixon a tour of the Governor’s Mansion and they discussed ways that the Office of the First Lady can bring about positive change for the state.

Advisory Committee for 911 Service Oversight

Russell K. Mason, 51 of St. Peters, is the fire chief of Central County Fire and Rescue. Mr. Mason holds a bachelor’s degree in fire service administration from Western Illinois University. His appointment is subject to Senate confirmation for a term ending on April 9, 2010.

Dam and Reservoir Safety Council

Eugene J. Hites (D), 55 of Leadington, is a mill superintendent for the Doe Run Company. Mr. Hites holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the Rolla School of Mines, now known as the University of Missouri- Rolla. His reappointment is subject to Senate confirmation for a term ending on April 3, 2010.

Governor’s Advisory Council on Aging

Debra E. Catlett, 54 of Hannibal, has served as executive director of the Hannibal Area Council on Aging for the past 16 years. Ms. Catlett is a graduate of Northeast Missouri Real Estate School and A.D. Bankers. Her reappointment is for a term ending on September 17, 2012.

Martin Luther King, Jr. State Celebration Commission

Constance G. Gully, 44 of Normandy, is vice president for business and financial affairs at Harris-Stowe State University. Ms. Gully holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Illinois State University. Her appointment is for a term ending at the pleasure of the governor.

Missouri Assistive Technology Advisory Council

Gary E. Harbison, 49 of Jefferson City, is chief of the Bureau of Special Healthcare Needs at the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. Mr. Harbison holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and master’s in counseling from Southeast Missouri State University. His appointment is for a term ending on August 28, 2010.

Missouri Board of Geographic Names

Christopher J. Barnett, 40 of Columbia, is co-director of the Center for Applied Research and Environmental Systems. Mr. Barnett holds a bachelor’s degree and master’s in geography from the University of Missouri-Columbia. His reappointment is for a term ending on June 30, 2010.

Missouri State Board of Nursing

Kelly J. Scott, 35 of Columbia, is a nurse practitioner at University of Missouri Health Care. Ms. Scott holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Webster University and master’s in nursing from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Her appointment is subject to Senate confirmation for a term ending on June 1, 2012.

Missouri Small Business Regulatory Fairness Board

C. Bob Bess, 70 of St. Louis, was the owner of a chain link fence company until his retirement in 1997. Mr. Bess was mayor of Crestwood for 15 years. His appointment is subject to Senate confirmation for a term ending on April 30, 2011.

Missouri Wine and Grape Board

Kenneth E. Meyer, 81 of Springfield, is the founder and CEO of Meyer Communications, Inc. Mr. Meyer holds a bachelor’s degree from Southwest Missouri State University. His appointment is subject to Senate confirmation for a term ending on October 28, 2012.

Professional Services Payment Committee

Gregory H. Branham, 51 of Frontenac, is an associate professor at Washington University School of Medicine and director of the Division of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Washington University. Dr. Branham holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and medical degree from the University of South Carolina. His appointment is subject to Senate confirmation for a term ending at the pleasure of the governor.

Richard T. Griffey, 41 of Richmond Heights, is an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Washington University. Dr. Griffey holds a bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University, medical degree from Eastern Virginia Medical School and master’s in public health from Harvard. His appointment is subject to Senate confirmation for a term ending at the pleasure of the governor.

Paul G. Perniciaro, 52 of Chesterfield, is the president and director of consultant services at Perniciaro Senior Care Consultants. Mr. Perniciaro holds a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from St. Louis College of Pharmacy. His appointment is subject to Senate confirmation for a term ending at the pleasure of the governor.

Marsha A. Taylor, 50 of Springfield, is a family physician. Dr. Taylor holds a bachelor’s degree and medical degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Her appointment is subject to Senate confirmation for a term ending at the pleasure of the governor.

State Board of Mediation

Jay L. Schultehenrich, 57 of St. Clair, is the Executive Director of SITE Improvement Association. Mr. Schultehenrich holds a bachelor’s degree from Rockhurst University. His appointment is subject to Senate confirmation for a term ending on April 1, 2010.

State Lottery Commission

Patrick C. Dillon, 51 of St. Joseph, is director of retail services for Heartland Regional Medical Center. Mr. Dillon was owner and president of Dillon Co. His appointment is subject to Senate confirmation for a term ending on September 7, 2011.

State Rehabilitation Advisory Council

Karen E. Allan, 57 of Jefferson City, is project coordinator for MO Parents ACT, STELLAR. Ms. Allan holds a master’s in educational administration from the University of Missouri-Columbia and bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Missouri Southern State College. Her appointment is for a term ending March 11, 2011.

Unmarked Human Burial Consultation Committee

Kristina R. Hill, 37 of Rolla, is zone archaeologist for the USDA Forest Service. Ms. Hill holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees in anthropology from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Her appointment is subject to Senate confirmation for a term ending on June 3, 2010.

Well Installation Board

Martha E. Hildebrandt, 45 of Liberty, is senior geologist and project manager in the environmental division of Burns & McDonnell Engineering Co., Inc. Ms. Hildebrandt holds a bachelor’s degree in geology from Missouri University of Science and Technology. Her reappointment is for a term ending February 24, 2012.

For more information on Missouri’s boards and commissions visit http://www.gov.mo.gov/boards/boards.htm.

The Associated Press reports:

But the e-mails also confirm that Scott Eckersley performed private-sector work with state resources and was repeatedly late to work, two factors cited in his dismissal. Blunt officials have claimed Eckersley never raised concerns about their e-mail practices and was fired for justifiable reasons.

The roughly 60,000 pages of e-mails released under a legal settlement with the media put focus on the assertions of Eckersley, who went from being praised by his bosses to banished from the office in a matter of weeks — just as he was raising red flags about their handling of e-mails.

An analysis of the e-mails was conducted as a collaboration of the AP, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and The Kansas City Star, all of which had submitted Sunshine Law requests about a year ago seeking Blunt administration e-mails culled from Missouri’s computerized backup system.

Both sides argue that the ton of documents vindicates their claims:

Eckersley’s attorney, Jeff Bauer, said Friday that the newly released e-mails confirm his client’s account that he was fired after raising concerns to top Blunt aides about their e-mail policies.

“It is a sentinel event which shows you everything he’s been saying from day one is absolutely true and everything they have said is absolutely false,” said Bauer, who declined to let Eckersley comment.

Blunt spokeswoman Jessica Robinson said the e-mails reinforce the position of Blunt’s administration about Eckersley’s dismissal, noting that none said Eckersley was fired for raising concerns about the e-mail policies.

“The reason for his firing had nothing to do with the Sunshine Law or the record-retention law, and his e-mails bolster what we had said and our contention that he was dismissed for poor job performance and doing outside work on a state computer and on state time,” Robinson said.

But in the release of tens of thousands of emails from the governor’s office, still unfound is any one “smoking gun” that threatens to land anyone in jail or explains Blunt’s surprise exit from his re-election campaign.

Time will tell, as reporters continue to look over the mountain of documents, if Missouri gets an Illinois-sized scandal anytime soon.

Professor Ken Warren told the Beacon that “unequivocally that the racist vote in rural Missouri cost [Obama] the state.”

“People don’t like to use that term, but what else do you call it? We have the data to support that.”

Warren, who conducted an exit poll for the Beacon on Election Day, noted that in the St. Louis area, Obama did better than Democrat Claire McCaskill did in her successful run for the U.S. Senate in 2006. But he was unable to get enough strength in outstate Missouri to defeat McCain, where McCaskill was able to match her urban showing with enough votes in rural areas to defeat incumbent Sen. Jim Talent.

“There was a redneck vote in the rural areas,” Warren said about Obama’s showing.

“Why did Obama not do as well as other Democratic candidates? Unquestionably, it was not over the issues. People don’t vote by and large on the issues. They vote on visceral responses.

“Why did they vote for Nixon, (Chris) Koster, (Robin) Carnahan — three white people — and not vote for Obama? There’s no question that in rural areas, they’re not going to vote for a black guy.”

In response, Blunt issued a statement saying Missourians voted for the candidate they believed best represented their views and values.

“Ken Warren’s allegation that President-elect Obama lost Missouri because ‘the racist vote in rural Missouri cost him the state’ is not only detestable, it is absolutely incorrect. Both the liberal New York Times and conservative Wall Street Journal published articles today on how race was a relatively minor factor in electing our new president.

“Like many Missourians I supported John McCain for President, but now is the time to put the contest behind us. Americans should rally together to support the next President of the United States Barack Obama and not make inflammatory statements that are untrue, offensive and divisive.”

Read the St. Louis Beacon story here.

“As governor and as a former secretary of state, I am very concerned about the integrity of the upcoming election. I became secretary of state following the voter fraud that occurred in 2000 and issued a comprehensive report entitled ‘Mandate for Reform: Election Turmoil in St. Louis November 7, 2000,’ http://governor.mo.gov/lawsuit_reform/MandateReformIssued7-24-01.pdf, which provided the framework for election reform in Missouri.

“Missouri is once again a battleground state and now is the time to be vigilant. Let’s have an election result we can trust.”

Gov. Blunt will discuss why he is supporting Senator John McCain for President and why he believes Missourians will “reject Barack Obama’s plan to raise their taxes and then spread the money around for big government programs in Washington, D.C.”

UPDATE: Here’s the link to the video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

His response? Demand the Democratic State Auditor look into it.

The press release:

JEFFERSON CITY— Gov. Matt Blunt is requesting that State Auditor Susan Montee conduct a full and comprehensive audit of the St. Louis Police Department amidst disturbing reports that hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars are missing due to what appears to be an inappropriate relationship between the department and Metropolitan Towing. State Auditor Montee said she would look at the towing issue but Gov. Blunt said today the Auditor should go much further.

“I commend State Auditor Montee for quickly agreeing to examine the accounts related to this most recent discovery,” Gov. Blunt said. “Today, I am asking her to perform a full and comprehensive audit of every account of the St. Louis Police Department. At this point we have no confidence that the accounting problems at the St. Louis Police Department do not go beyond hundreds of thousands of missing taxpayer dollars so a full and comprehensive audit is in the best interest of taxpayers.”

Gov. Blunt is also asking the St. Louis Police Board to continue investigating the matter.

“I expect the St. Louis Police Board to continue to investigate all misdeeds, take steps to ensure this never happens again and do whatever is necessary to recover the missing money for taxpayers,” Gov. Blunt said. “Police business should be conducted appropriately, ethically and legally.”

Gov. Blunt has authority under Section 26.060 RSMo to request an audit at any time of any department, office, commission, board, bureau, institution, any subdivision of the state, road districts, school districts, townships, municipalities or counties.

While the St. Louis Police Department is basically controlled by the state government, the tab to operate the largest police force in the state is paid by the taxpayers of the City of St. Louis alone.

In fact, almost 50 cent of every dollar city residents pay in taxes goes to the police department. Yet they have almost no say at all in how it operates.