In September of last year, House Speaker Dean Plocher’s message to the statewide electorate was very similar to other Republican candidates. Then came the start of a string of ethics allegations and calls for his resignation.
Today he is on the statewide campaign trail and at every stop, Plocher touts his 7-2 vindication by the House Ethics Committee as proof of his ability to “take on the swamp, just like Donald Trump”.
“The bureaucrats are running the building and that is unacceptable. People must stand up, we must take back the swamp here in Jefferson City. People think of the swamp only occurring in D.C, well it’s deeper here. The fight is today, we have to fight for our Constitution, you have to have elected officials represent you, not bureaucrats,” Plocher said.
During the course of this past session, Plocher was accused of “absolute obstruction” and “unethical/unlawful conduct” by Rep. Chris Sander. Plocher allegedly made threats to legislative employees over the ongoing ethics investigation into the $800,000 Plocher wanted the House to spend on a private constituent company.
After a seven month investigation, the Ethics Committee completely dismissed the complaint with a seven-two vote. This comes as the committee could find no credible evidence that Plocher made threats to fellow Representatives or their staff. There were no official comments made at the time of the ruling, only a complete dismissal.
Last month House Clerk Dana Miller filed a lawsuit against Plocher and the House of Representatives alleging a toxic work environment.
Now at every stop Plocher equates his fight with President Trump’s fight against Democratic officials bringing lawsuits against him.
“When I started politics, I served as a judge and prosecutor. I believed I wanted to make the government smaller, but I’ve taken on a new path”, Plocher said. What I’ve discovered in the past year is that the liberal entrenched bureaucrats are trying to run this state and stop our conservative agenda. We have to fight back against that, and that’s what we’ve been doing.”
Plocher faces significant opposition with a large slate of opponents including Greene County Clerk Shane Schoeller, Representative Adam Schwadron, Wentzville Judge Mike Carter, and Senators Denny Hoskins and Mary Elizabeth Coleman. Plocher also faces Valentina Gomez, and Jamie Corley in the primary.
