Martin, former Chief of Staff to Governor Matt Blunt, is a tenacious campaigner.  Your contribution of $50, $100, or $500 will help us prepare for what is sure to be a spirited race.

In 2008, Missourians embraced our campaign because they understood the importance of having an Attorney General who was a prosecutor, one who has personally stood up for our citizens in the courtroom. For me, this isn’t just an office to run for – it’s a job I truly believe in.

Will you make a contribution today?

Thank you for your support.

Respectfully,

Chris Koster
Attorney General

P.S. Join the campaign!  Follow me on Facebook and Twitter to help spread the word.

  ]]> http://jacksoncountydemocraticcommittee.org/2012/01/news-from-attorney-general-chris-koster/feed/ 0 http://jacksoncountydemocraticcommittee.org/2012/01/enhanced-version-of-the-stateof-the-union/ http://jacksoncountydemocraticcommittee.org/2012/01/enhanced-version-of-the-stateof-the-union/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:35:02 +0000 Jessica Podhola http://jacksoncountydemocraticcommittee.org/?p=3484

“Instead of throwing staff under the bus, David Spence needs to take responsibility for years of academic dishonesty,” said Caitlin Legacki, Missouri Democratic Party spokeswoman. “For at least 23 years, Spence has walked around acting like he got a degree from Missouri’s Business School when it’s simply not true. So two months into his candidacy, the only things Missourians know about this guy is that his bank refused to pay back its $40 million bailout and that he has a hard time telling the truth.”

In an interview yesterday, Spence’s campaign told the AP it distributed campaign materials that inaccurately stated Spence attended the University of Missouri’s business school because of “staff oversight.”

But Spence told the Post-Dispatch in a 1989 profile that he was a 1980 graduate of the University’s business school. Spence never requested a correction from the Post-Dispatch, but was forced to admit on Tuesday that he didn’t have the grades to attend the business school.

BACKGROUND

Spence Campaign Said Misleading Claim Was “Staff Oversight.” “Spence campaign manager Jared Craighead said the statement about the business school was a ‘staff oversight that was corrected.’” [AP, 1/12/12]

…But The Same Error Appears As Far Back As 1989. A 1989 profile of Spence in the St. Louis Post Dispatch indicates that Spence has been misleading the press and the public about his academic credentials for years. The biographical snapshot said Spence was a “1980 graduate of the College of Business and Public Administration, University of Missouri-Columbia.” [St. Louis Post Dispatch, 1/2/89]
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Academic Credentials and Bank Bailouts: What Else is Spence Misleading Missourians About?

Jefferson City, Mo.— One day after the St. Louis Post-Dispatch caught David Spence knowingly misleading Missourians about hisacademic credentials, it’s now clear that Spence has been embellishing his academic record since at least 1989. While Spence’s campaign website continues to falsely say he earned a degree in economics, the Missouri Democratic Party calls again on Spence to finally come clean about his academic credentials and immediately correct all inaccurate campaign materials.

Beginning in a 1989 profile in the Post-Dispatch, Spence has told the press and the public that he earned an Economics degree from the University of Missouri’s school of business. Yesterday, the Post-Dispatch revealed that Spence actually received a degree in Home Economics from the College of Human Environmental Sciences at the University of Missouri. [St. Louis Post Dispatch, 1/2/89; Post-Dispatch, 1/10/12]

“It’s hard to say what’s more disturbing: the fact that David Spence has been lying about his academic record for more than 20 years, or that even after getting caught, Spence still hasn’t corrected his campaign materials. Either way, misleading voters about your academic credentials is pretty shameless,” said Caitlin Legacki, Missouri Democratic Party spokeswoman. “Whether misleading voters about his bank’s $40 million bailout or lying about his academic credentials, David Spence clearly has a problem looking Missourians in the eye and telling them the truth.”

Spence has repeatedly lied about attending the University of Missouri’s School of Business when in fact “his grades did not meet the threshold to enter the Business School.” [Post-Dispatch, 1/10/12]

Tuesday evening, in response to the Post-Dispatch’s reporting, Republican candidate for Governor Bill Randles released his full transcripts from Harvard Law School, Baylor University and Southwest Baptist University.

BACKGROUND

Since 1989, Spence has repeatedly lied to members of the press and voters about his academic background.

Post-Dispatch, 1989

PRESIDENT: David Spence, 30. Graduate of Kirkwood High School, 1980 graduate of the College of Business and Public Administration, University of Missouri-Columbia. Single, describes his background as ”entrepreneurial.” SECRETS OF SUCCESS: Buy the latest, state-of-the-art equipment. Build sales with individualized service and fast, responsive decision making. Plow the profits back into plant and equipment. [St.Louis Post Dispatch, 1/2/89]

97.1 Talk Radio, 2011

“Dave attended University of Missouri-Columbia School of Business and earned a degree in Economics.”

Associated Press, 2011

“As an aspiring 26-year-old entrepreneur who had recently earned an economics degree at MU, Spence said he was turned down by a dozen banks before he finally got a loan to purchase a packaging business.”

KTVO, 2012

“He graduated from Kirkwood High School in Kirkwood and attended University of Missouri-Columbia where he earned a degree in Economics.”

KTVI, 2011

Spence “holds an economics degree from Mizzou.”

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Promises Kept