JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Senator Rob Schaaf is returning fire at those behind the billboards posted back in April, attacking the Buchanan County Republican.
Who is Darlington Road Corporation and why are they putting up billboards against Schaaf?
Schaaf, in a tweet posted Monday afternoon, announced that he was filing a complaint with the Missouri Ethics Commission against Darlington Road Corporation, who was listed at the bottom of each billboard ad, as well as Robert P. Spretnak.
Schaaf said that, as he is term-limited, the reasoning behind the billboards was unclear, but said in his complaint that after endorsing Harry Roberts to replace him as the District 34 senator in July, he received mailers with similar wording to those used in the billboards.
“It was then obvious that the billboards were put up to influence voters in the 34th district, the purpose being to discredit me in order to lessen the impact of my endorsement of Harry Roberts,” Schaaf wrote.
I just mailed this ethics complaint. The people of my district need to know who is trying to influence the election of my replacement! #moleg pic.twitter.com/yjDGoCMnEn
— Rob Schaaf (@robschaaf) July 30, 2018
He continued, saying that Darlington Road should register and reveal its donors and that the MEC should require them to do so. He says it is “obvious that there was coordination between Darlington Road Corporation and Missouri Senate Conservatives Fund” in the creating of the bill, and asked the commission to investigate.
Benjamin Peters was a reporter for The Missouri Times and Missouri Times Magazine and also produced the #MoLeg Podcast. He joined The Missouri Times in 2016 after working as a sports editor and TV news producer in mid-Missouri. Benjamin is a graduate of Missouri State University in Springfield.