Missouri campaign watchdog is once again unable to function due to vacancies

Last fall, St. Louis attorney Brad Ketcher read the news that a Republican candidate for the Missouri Senate was using money from his church to help fund his campaign.

As the chief of staff to former Democratic Gov. Mel Carnahan in the 1990s, Ketcher helped establish the Missouri Ethics Commission, a state agency that enforces campaign finance and ethics laws. 

He was so “appalled” when the Senate candidate in question won the seat in November that Ketcher filed an ethics complaint asking the commission to investigate.

But in April, he learned his complaint was getting thrown out because there weren’t enough commission members to convene a meeting to review it. 

“Because there were not four commissioners able to consider the investigation within the statutory timeframe, the commission could take no action on this complaint,” the commission said in dismissing the complaint. 

The complaint is among 16 others that have been dismissed in the more than 100 business days since the commission last had enough members to reach a quorum. It’s the second time in less than a year that the commission hasn’t had enough members to enforce state campaign and ethics laws. 

Missouri Ethics Commission finally has a quorum — but still can’t meet or take action

Ketcher refiled the complaint last week in hopes that the governor will fill the commission vacancies. When he served as Carnahan’s right hand, Ketcher said he’d never want to read a headline: “Governor fails to appoint ethics panel.” 

“Do I want that headline?” he said. “Hell no, I don’t want that headline. Even though there’s probably nothing nefarious going on, that’s what it looks like to the rest of the world — like you’re trying to hide something, you’re up to something or trying to protect somebody.”

A spokeswoman for Gov. Mike Kehoe, who was sworn into office in January, did not respond to a request for comment. 

On Jan. 13, former Gov. Mike Parson withdrew two commissioners who he’d appointed months earlier but who had not yet been confirmed by the Missouri Senate. That left only two of the six seats on the commission filled. The last time the commission had enough members to meet was Nov. 20. 

Ketcher said it’s challenging for the ethics commission to get a new governor’s attention in the middle of his first legislative session. 

“I would say it’s probably doubly a challenge for an acting executive director,” Ketcher said. 

Stacey Heislen, acting executive director of the commission, declined to comment. 

State law requires an investigation be completed within 90 business days of a complaint, which is then presented to the commission to determine whether there are reasonable grounds of a violation or whether it should be dismissed. 

However, for campaign-finance complaints 60 days from an election, the investigations must be completed within 15 days. The law also requires at least four commission members for a quorum, and at least four affirmative votes shall be required for any action or recommendation of the commission. 

The state faced the same problem last year for several months, before Parson appointed Jeremy Schneider of Macon in April, Whitney Smith of Des Peres in June and Jim Martin of Perryville in July. 

With Robin Wheeler Sanders serving as the chair since 2022, the commission finally had a quorum after those three appointments. 

However, only Sanders and Schneider remain after Parson withdrew his appointments for Smith and Martin. The law states the vacancies are to be filled within 75 days. 

“State government has made crime fighting a priority, and that should include enforcement of the ethics and nepotism and conflict of interest laws,” Ketcher said, “and they ought to move promptly to get a full commission in place to deal with those important issues.”

Missouri’s governor appoints commission members from nominations received by the congressional districts of the political parties that received the two highest votes for the last gubernatorial election.

Members are prohibited from running for office, making contributions for or against a candidate or issue, working as a lobbyist, for the state or any political subdivision, being an officer of a political party or participating in an election except for voting.

The state Senate must then confirm the appointments. 

For Ketcher’s complaint, he believes the Senate confirmation raises an “interesting” question.

The focus of his complaint is Joe Nicola, a Republican from Grain Valley now serving in the Senate and able to vote on nominees for the ethics commission.

“Let’s assume the governor does appoint some commissioners, is Nicola gonna basically get to vote for or against his jury pool?” Ketcher said. “And I think that will be a moment of truth for the state Senate and for him.”

Nicola told The Independent that Ketcher’s complaint was “ridiculous.”

“My church made donations to a PAC,” Nicola said, but he doesn’t believe it’s against regulations because his church isn’t a registered nonprofit.