WAG - Update from the Missouri Ethics Commission:
No Dice.
Miscommunication? Stonewalling? Snafu?
No matter what has dropped into the spokes the jam the cogs, all I know is that the machinery has stalled and we're not going anywhere.
(Typed, in frustration at the public computer terminal at the MEC in JC)
Update from Columbia:
Correction: We did eventually come across some dice in Jefferson City. Unfortunately, they added up to snake eyes.
Okay. It was a simple plan:
1) The Missouri Ethics Commission were responsible for collecting and later redistributing the latest financial statements for all the candidates in Missouri. They are turned in either in electronic or hard copy.
2) As had been practice in the past, a team of Missourian reporters were to go to their office and get copies of the mailed in packets since they would not be readily available online as would the electronic filings.
3) I was part of the duo who planned to take the newspaper sponsored road trip to JC. My partner and I set up things in advance, even calling the day before to confirm things would be alright when we arrived the next day.
The next day Be-4) you know it, we’d have the hard copies and would be well on our way toward deciphering the results of the 20-odd state and local races we were interested.
Unfortunately, somewhere along the line, a secretary got in the way.
The woman who worked the front desk at the MEC had no idea we were coming and didn’t think there’d be the time to get us any hard copies, though she often told us the electronic reports could readily be available online. With a smile, and while repeating the same comment over and over, she shut us down cold. I had to wonder how new she was, because she seemed surprised that we would show up on a busy day like this.
When asked, as politely as we could, wasn’t it common place for other news outlets in the state to be requesting the reports the day they were to become public (or put another way, was the Missourian the only paper interested in campaign finances in Missouri?).
Yes, we were the only ones she told us.
It was not a fun phone call back to the Missourian to our editor who was absolutely incredulous. When told there might even be a delay of 48 hours, he went a bit nuts and couldn’t fathom where this woman was channeling these numbers or this policy.
We asked her, if she found the time, to make copies of some of the local races and went on our way. We didn’t cuss her out, we didn’t raise our voices (though we did raise our eyebrows), and despite my petty urge to do so, I did not steal the pen that was on her desk.
The trip wasn’t a total bust, however. My friend and I stopped at a hotdog stand within view of the capitol and chowed down on foot-long chilidogs before returning to Columbia.
I spent most of my afternoon and early evening compiling the online number reports and looking at the sparse number of mailed in reports that had been scanned. She told us she hadn’t made any of our copies yet, it had been busy, but there were online reports. I wager she had a busy day at the phones. Because the attempts to compile the reports for the group failed, the Missourian reporters started calling in requests individually. The fact
I wish the lady good luck in her future job search.
Anyway, I became the go-to person for compiling everyone’s numbers. The byline for the end article was credited as “compiled by Missourian staff.” It wasn’t the biggest story of the day (which was the breaking of the story that Vice President Dick Cheney is coming to Columbia), but I’m still proud of it.
It’s just another place where the political machinery meant to help the public was gummed up by a sweet person who meant well but lacked the ability to back it up.
It happens, no big deal, time for the rest of us to more on.
'political_processes_move_slowly'
