Dear Editor:
On the campaign trail, Gov. Greitens frequently promised he would "clean up the corruption in Jefferson City." Indeed, his first act as governor was to ban employees under his control from accepting lobbyists' gifts, and the Missouri House quickly passed similar ethics legislation. And citizens across the state applauded.
Now, it appears that Greitens believes ethics apply to everyone but himself. His newly created nonprofit "social welfare" organization, A New Missouri Inc., is far more egregious than a few Cardinals tickets handed out by registered lobbyists. This new dark money committee can funnel in hundreds of thousands of dollars from donors both in and outside Missouri, and it will never have to release the names of donors or amounts of donations. We will have no idea who or what organization is trying to influence Greitens on any particular issue, but we can be sure influence will be at the root of the donations.
Greitens' advisor Austin Chambers has the gall to say no one cares about transparency except "reporters and democratic operatives." Really? Republicans in the past have led the charge for transparency. Remember when they demanded Gov. Bob Holden release all information about donors to his inauguration? And what about the 70 percent of Missouri voters who passed Constitutional Amendment 2 in November to limit the amount of campaign contributions and to require full transparency in disclosing campaign finances? Surely many Republicans voted for that measure.
Compounding the problem, Greitens refuses to answer questions from the press about donors, finances, and this new nonprofit. He refuses interviews and frequently fails to give advance notice of new policies or plans to reporters, instead announcing them first on Facebook and Twitter. What politician wouldn't prefer to frame his own narrative, laying out the facts as he sees them and spinning the story only from his point of view instead of having to answer tough questions from the media? A free and dynamic press and transparency in government, though, are at the heart of our democracy and must be respected and protected.
So, governor, it's time to end this hypocrisy. Show us that you truly are a man of ethics as Missourians believed when they elected you. Disclose your donors for plane flights and either dissolve this nonprofit or fully disclose the donors and donations. Face the press and answer questions thoroughly and candidly.
Issue-oriented letters to [email protected] are welcome. All letters should be limited to 400 words in length; longer letters may be edited to conform to the specified length. The author's name must appear with the letter, and the name, address and phone number provided for verification. Letters that cannot be verified by telephone will not be published.