For your consideration. Cori Bush - MO 01

[Algernon Moncrieff]

94. Again, the voters and readers here can decide for themselves

Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-Mo.) paid the law firm of his sister, Michelle, about $309,000 — more than any other vendor or staffer — for everything from campaign management to data entry.

During the same period, his campaign has doled out $800 to his niece, Angela, for media consulting, and an additional $400 in disbursements to his ex-wife, Ivie Lewellen Clay. He also paid $11,000 to his nonprofit, the William L. Clay Scholarship and Research Fund, for "voter education research."

"I would say that for us, the family that works hard together, wins together," said Michelle Clay, who works as the campaign's political director, legal counsel and chief fundraiser as well as "a trusted voice in the Congressman's political circle."

"Over the last decade, my brother and I have built on the historic legacy of public service that our father, former Congressman Bill Clay, established in Missouri's first Congressional district," she added.

http://www.rollcall.com/issues/57_13/house-spouses-make-good-money-from-campaigns-207654-1.html

Let’s not pick on U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay for being true to his kind — a politician who helps out his family. It isn’t exactly news that he paid his sister, Michelle C. Clay, to be his campaign manager, fundraiser, legal counsel and data-entry worker for the past 10 years.

A search of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch archives shows that the story was written in Sunday’s paper, and that similar stories appeared in 2012 and 2011.

Mr. Clay used campaign funds to pay Ms. Clay, a Washington-area attorney, more than half a million dollars over 10 years. That is not illegal. Mr. Clay also used campaign money to pay his niece, his former wife and a nonprofit fund named after him. Also not illegal.

https://www.stltoday.com/opinion/editorial/fair-or-foul-all-in-the-families/article_ff51cf7a-249d-5671-80f0-f308ddd6292f.html

For more than a decade, U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay has had a trusted political ally on his campaign staff. His sister, Michelle C. Clay, a Washington-area attorney, has served as campaign manager, fundraiser, legal counsel and even data entry worker.

For her work, she’s been paid more than $500,000 in fees over the past 10 years, records show — all of it from a campaign fund that, under law, wouldn’t be allowed to pay a nickel to Rep. Clay himself.

Channeling campaign dollars to family members for election work is a legal but often controversial practice that is getting increased scrutiny nationally because of the potential for fraud.

A study last year found 82 U.S. House members have relatives on their campaign payrolls, often for unspecified work. The study, by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, recommended outlawing or heavily regulating the practice.

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/all-in-the-family-campaign-spending-in-congress-raises-questions/article_af483b6d-6cac-5ba0-8a9d-29207f0625b9.html

Under this system, some lawmakers go to expensive places surrounded by people with the means and motivation to write them thousand-dollar checks.

“Especially if they are not themselves affluent to begin with,” Krumholz said, “this is a step up and a job not to let go of anytime soon.”

The Post-Dispatch analysis of primary campaign accounts showed the seven members spent a lot of their money simply to raise more, with some spending roughly 30 cents on the dollar to pay professional fundraisers, travel around the country or rent space, sometimes from corporations or associations with business before Congress.

Reps. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, John Shimkus, R-Collinsville, and Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, had modest challenges and spent the most. Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-St. Louis, spent the least.

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/even-in-easy-wins-congressional-incumbents-spend-big-money/article_50a6accb-48e7-58c2-82b7-4456e4514dc1.html

Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-St. Louis, is also a member of the House Financial Services Committee. He had about $327,000 cash on hand as of July 1. His top Democratic primary opponent, Cori Bush, had just over $4,000 cash on hand.

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/metro-east-republicans-in-congress-raise-big-bucks-for-fall/article_f8bb5608-e28f-51d8-accf-c01b926c98ee.html

Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-St. Louis, reported raising $69,906 in the last months of the year, most of it — $60,000 — from PACs. They include St. Louis-area PACs such as Enterprise Holdings ($2,000), and Emerson Electric ($1,000). Clay also received $1,000 from Boeing’s PAC, which is slated to build an additional 24 F/A-18E/F Super Hornets for the Navy at its St. Louis plant.

Clay reported raising just under $248,000 for the whole year of 2017, $210,000 of that from PACs.

Clay’s top-funded Democratic opponent in Missouri’s Aug. 7 primaries, the Rev. Cori Bush, reported raising about $12,000 from October through December. She had just under $18,000 in the bank at the end of the year, to Clay’s more than $301,000.

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/new-records-show-brace-yourself-that-congressional-incumbents-getting-most/article_a546e44d-9d8a-5a3d-85b7-1c11e8b15e22.html

Super PACs should be banned, private donations to politicians and campaigns should be banned, and a clean public financing system should be implemented to end the takeover of our government by corporations and billionaires. Americans deserve free and fair elections — free from the corruption of big money donors. The Supreme Court has effectively legalized bribery.

https://www.votecoribush.com/issues