Saint Louis, Mo. — Democrats and labor leaders from across the state are coming to the defense of Attorney General Chris Koster, who is battling loose implications made in a New York Times article last week that suggested that Koster and other Attorneys General around the country had relationships that were too close to corporate political donors.
“Chris Koster is an attorney general with the utmost integrity,” Rep. Vicki Englund (D-St. Louis County) said. “Many times, I’ve seen him take on fights against powerful interests and be prudent not to use the authority of his office on cases that were without merit. To me, this smells like a political cheap shot by Republicans who look at their weak field for governor and have sour grapes that the best candidate in the field, Chris Koster, left their party.”
Koster’s lengthy response to the NYT inquiries — in the form of a six-page memo penned by his chief of staff — were made available to The Missouri Times, and appear to detail a much different story than that reflected in the Times.
“I think Attorney General Koster takes filing charges seriously and I don’t think there is anything behind this,” Rep. John Mayfield (D-Independence) said. “In politics, there are many groups whose job it is to tear people down. I don’t put any stock into things like this.”
The article doesn’t seem to have tarnished his standing with his party.
“Attorney General Koster is a man of great integrity and a devoted public servant,” Rep. Jeremy LaFaver (D-Kansas City) said. “Any allegation to the contrary is simply someone grasping to score cheap political points.”
Koster quickly charged that the New York Times misrepresented the facts of the story, and Speaker of the House Tim Jones announced he would use the last few weeks of his authority to form a legislative committee to investigate the allegations. But Democrats are beginning to rally around Koster, the front-runner for the party’s 2016 gubernatorial bid.
Missouri AFL-CIO’s new president, Mike Louis, also weighed in about the job Koster has done as attorney general.
“Every case that Chris Koster takes on is in the best interest of the citizens of Missouri and when he decides not to take on one it is because he cannot win it,” Louis said. “There is no merit and he doesn’t want to waste taxpayer money.”
Others such as Mark Habbas, Legislative Director, Missouri State Council of Firefighters, were mildly critical of the article itself while defending Koster .
“Chris Koster is one of the smartest people I know and there is no way I see him being involved in any pay-for-play activity,” Habbas said. “The story seemed lacking when I read it.”
Other elected officials questioned the point of the story.
“I think the allegation is unfair and unwarranted,” Sen. Joe Keavney (D-St. Louis) said. “I don’t know the details other than that the New York Times article were structured around a very specific set of circumstances. There isn’t an elected official that doesn’t work with lobbyists or take contributions from them. We could put limits in or even go so far as to publicly finance campaigns.”
The allegations were cannon fodder for Catherine Hanaway, the former Republican Missouri House Speaker who has announced her plans to run for governor in 2016. Many Missouri Republicans will be happy to see a proverbial chip in Koster’s largely intact public armor, and are eager to see a different Democratic nominee to face in November.
Many Democrats do not see any change in their support of Koster heading into 2016 including Sen. Jamiliah Nasheed (D-St. Louis City).
“I’ve known Chris for 8 years now. He is a man of integrity and is honest and I do believe we will get the opportunity to see those characteristics on a statewide scale when he is governor,” Nasheed said.
Others see the article as a normal part of running for office.
“From time to time people take shots at you, so in some ways it’s not surprising,” said Roy Temple, Chairman of the Missouri Democratic Party. “However this many people who still support you says a lot. There are both Republicans and Democrats who know Chris and support him.”
Not all Republicans are eager to criticize Koster.
“First, since when is 5-Hour Energy a pressing public policy issue for Missouri?” Rep. Chris Molendorp, (R-Cass) said. “I would be stunned if they received complaints about the product’s effectiveness. Two, stories in the New York Times don’t just appear. The New York Times reporters have a lot to do, investigating a fly-over-country attorney general is interesting, so I wonder who had a reason to frame the story that negatively and who had the influence to get it done. Three, I know Chris Koster better than most, and he is methodical, detail-oriented, and judicious in the decisions he makes. The article doesn’t portray a guy I know, it portrays a person who is careless, sloppy and reckless and that isn’t the Chris Koster I know.”
Collin Reischman was the Managing Editor for The Missouri Times, and a graduate of Webster University with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.
