Greasing the Wheels: The Steve Tilley Money Machine

GOP State Rep. Steve Tilley (R-Perryville) is sitting on a good pile of campaign cash heading into 2010.  Tilley is the #3 Republican in the House behind Speaker Ron Richard and Speaker Pro Tem Bryan Pratt, and is in line to be Minority Leader or Speaker after next year's elections.

As has been noted elsewhere, Tilley's considerable sums of campaign money provide him with considerable influence when it's time for said cash to be "passed out to his buddies."

Now, with the clock ticking as soon as a legislator takes his seat, leadership jobs and committee chairmanships often go to whomever can raise the most money fastest for the election campaigns of his colleagues.

Consider state House Republican Floor Leader Steven Tilley, who represents a district in Perryville. He wants to move up to speaker in 2011. He's already raised nearly $500,000 for his 2010 re-election campaign, most of which he won't need, but which he can pass out to his buddies.

Much of that money comes from special interests, including $100,000 from conservative activist Rex Sinquefield and $100,000 from a political committee connected to former GOP House Speaker Rod Jetton, now a full-time political consultant.

It's not really coincidence that many special interest bills get fast-tracked for consideration, which is why the FBI was poking around the Capitol this year, investigating allegations of "pay-to-play" deals.

As Fired Up! has noted in the past, Tilley utilizes an array of committees for raising and distributing funds.  Breaking down the transactions and transfers, the flow of money looks like this:

(click to enlarge)

Or, if we cut out some of the smaller transfers and focus on the big movement, like this:

(click to enlarge)

Most notably, there are three committees through which money is given and received in large payments: the Friends of Tilley committee, the Missouri Leadership Committee and the 106th House District Committee -- with direct connections to the Missouri GOP and House Republican Campaign Committee, which previously "shared resources" with Rod Jetton's private consulting business.

Two of these major committees are overseen by former state representative Thomas Burcham. Burcham, you may recall, was awarded a motor vehicle fee office by former Governor Matt Blunt in 2005.  He also controlled the same 106th House District Committee, as Deputy Treasurer, when it made numerous contributions to committees controlled by convicted felon Nathan Cooper in 2005 and 2006.

The movement of large sums of money between the committees is especially interesting when looking at how much is actually spent by the committees on campaign expenses.  There's no reason to think that there are any real cash flow problems with the committees -- why then would money flow both ways between committees? 

While the committees spend relatively little on actual campaign expenses -- choosing to disburse most money to even more campaign committees and PACs -- there are a few expenditures that stand out. 

• Both Friends of Tilley and the Missouri Leadership Committee employed the Representative's wife for "bookkeeping services" late last year, for a combined $4,800 in fees in November 2008.  These "bookkeeping services" were on top of the thousands paid to Crouch, Farley & Heuring, PC for regular bookkeeping services.
• Friends of Tilley paid more than $23,875 to Tilley's aviation company, Mid-Missouri Aviation, which he co-owns with Rex Sinquefield lobbyist Travis Brown. He also paid thousands in fees to other aviation companies.

Taken together, the reports of the many committees document a massive collection of corporate money and curious transfers -- and we haven't even seen what was raised in the final days of this year's legislative session.

For those so inclined, spreadsheets with campaign receipts, expenditures and donations may be found at the following links, which will be updated to include second quarter information when it becomes available.

• Friends of Tilley
• Missouri Leadership Committee
• 106th District Republican Committee
• 3rd Senatorial District Republican Committee
• Common Sense Leaders of Missouri
• Republican Leadership Campaign Committee

ALSO: Here are some key facts about the main committees discussed above.

Friends of Tilley 
(Jack Sebastian, Treasurer)

• This is Tilley's principle campaign committee, and reported more than $233,300 cash on hand, as of March 31.
• Top donors include:
  • Rex Sinquefield of Westphalia - $100,000
  • The Missouri Leadership Committee - $110,000
  • Howard Wood of Bonne Terre - $50,000
  • Other PACs connected to Rex Sinqufield  - more than $30,000
• In February, more than $100k of this money was transferred to the House Republican Campaign Committee (HRCC), which was chaired by Tilley in 2008 and shared resources with Rod Jetton.

The Missouri Leadership Committee
(Tom Burcham, Treasurer)

• This PAC has more than $314,600 cash on hand, as of March 31.
• Top donors include:
  • 106th Legislative District Republican Committee - $102,000
  • The Jetton-connected HRCC - $45,000
  • Blue Cross Blue Shield - $13,500
  • The District 7 MHCA PAC - $22,000
  • Friends of Tilley - $10,000

The 106th House District Committee
(Tonya Sheets, Treasurer; Tom Burcham, Deputy Treasurer)

• This committee was terminated in December 2008.
• Top Donors include:
  • Life Sciences Fund Of The Greater Kansas City Chamber Of Commerce - $38,750
  • Supporters Of Health Research & Treatments - $34,175
  • Republican State Committee - $26,900
  • Committee For Strong Leadership, Blue Springs - $25,000
  • Friends Of Tilley – $10,000