This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: July 10, 2008 - Two candidates for the Democratic nomination for Missouri attorney general found virtually no areas of disagreement during a forum Thursday night held at Webster University, but they strongly criticized a third candidate who didn’t attend.
Reps. Margaret Donnelly of Richmond Heights and Jeff Harris of Columbia criticized the third candidate, Sen. Chris Koster, D-Harrisonville, for supporting state government spending policies favored by the Legislature’s Republican majority. They also called into question Koster’s acceptance of large campaign donations from wealthy donors, such as Rex Sinquefield, who tends to give to pro-school voucher candidates.
“Chris Koster voted for the Medicaid cuts, he voted for the voter ID bill, and he wanted vouchers for (public school students to attend) private schools,” Donnelly said at the Holden Public Policy Forum at Webster University. “His votes are not a reflection of Democratic values.”
Koster could not be reached for comment. Former Gov.Holden, who moderated the forum, said he was told that scheduling problems prevented Koster from attending Thursday night’s session.
Koster’s bid for the Democratic nomination got a boost recently with the endorsement of U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-St. Louis.
Harris criticized GOP-engineered Medicaid budget cuts as “immoral.” He also outlined changes he would make as attorney general. These included doing more to help the mentally ill and expanding drug courts to help addicts turn their lives around through education, training and work.
Donnelly said Missouri already had effective programs to assist people on probation and parole, but she said there were virtually no programs to uplift those who leave prison but are not part of the probation or parole system. She said she would place more emphasis on preventing child and spousal abuse.
The candidates also discussed several other issues, including truth in sentencing, Medicaid fraud, predatory lending, environmental law, and the controversy over emails in the governor's office.