JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Last Monday, Rep. Don Gosen, R-Ballwin, was singing Jane Cunningham’s praises at a Jefferson City event. He was telling people about the Transparency Portal for the Monarch Fire Protection District she helped create with lobbyist and former House Speaker Pro Tem, Carl Bearden.
Fast-forward to Tuesday afternoon and the former Senator had thrown Gosen under a bus in an email she sent to the House General Laws Committee.
“By the way, you have a wolf in sheep’s clothing on your committee,” she wrote. “Don Gosen has consistently assisted the fire unions by endorsing their chosen candidates and done their bidding.”
She did not back off those statements in an interview.
“I don’t think he has a backbone,” she said. “As a person out in front who helped him get elected, I’m president of the club disappointed in the product we’ve gotten.”
Cunningham wrote that email about House Bills 1275 and 1276, sponsored by Keith English, D-Florissant. HB 1275 require candidates for fire boards to collect 100 signatures to file for office. HB 1276 allows counties to charge up to $50 to cover administrative costs involved with filing for office. English said counties still have the option of charging as little as $10 for a filing fee.
English has his own dispute with Cunningham. He referred to her as the only opponent to these bills, which he says are uncontroversial. Cunningham said in the email that she asked English to drop the bills. English showed The Missouri Times a text message conversation from Jan. 18 in which she asked English to modify the bill to make candidates gather signatures themselves, rather than through proxy individuals. He said he was working on an amendment when he saw the email.
English responded to Cunningham’s opposition to his bills by sponsoring HB 1830 which prohibits a fire district director from receiving a state pension.
English is perplexed at why Cunningham would go after Gosen, who did not cosponsor either bill.
“Representative Gosen is one of the most honorable representative out there,” English said. “He’s a straight-forward, honest man.”
Cunningham herself admits that her ill will dates back to when Gosen backed Steve Swyers to join the Monarch Fire Protection District Board of Directors, of which she is Secretary. She said Swyers was the union candidate, something she feels does not match with Gosen’s fiscally conservative ideology.
Cunningham also said she was frustrated when Gosen did not endorse her when she last ran for office.
“Don Gosen was the only Republican house member in the St. Louis area who did not endorse me,” she said.
Gosen fully admits that he backed Swyers for the fireboard position. He also said he did not endorse Cunningham when she was running. She happened to be running against Gosen’s friend, Cole McNary, who he also did not endorse.
The bills have yet to be voted on in committee. Gosen said he is not going to vote for either one. He told English the same thing before Cunningham sent the email last week.
“It’s odd,” he said. “On these two bills I agree with her stand point. For fire board and school board we want it to be as easy as possible.”
Gosen sees some people would think Cunningham’s tactics would influence him to vote for English’s bills. He said he does not want to get involved with personalities.
“Some people see it as soft,” Gosen said. “I see it as effective.”
