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And, surprisingly, he’s something else — a political consultant whose portfolio of candidates just happens to include candidates who serve in the General Assembly.
That puts Jetton in position to boost the prospects of his own clients through favors he doles out as speaker. This, by the way, has been ruled to be just fine by the state ethics commission.
Not that he ever would dole out favors, mind you.
One of his clients is freshman Republican Bob Onder of St. Louis, now running for the 9th District congressional seat. In the last couple of weeks, Onder has been given the unusual responsibility of handling on the House floor two major bills — one an anti-abortion bill and the other an immigration measure.
It’s unusual because Onder is a first-term lawmaker. Some House members were struck that more seasoned Republicans were passed over for the high-profile duty.
What also struck them was that Onder is a Jetton client. The obvious question: Did Jetton steer the duty to Onder to give him a shot of visibility in his tough race for Congress?
Jetton, as you might guess, is saying no way, no how. Onder, he said, had worked on both issues since he arrived in the House and was a natural pick.
Onder also says no way. “Allegations of preferential treatment are inappropriate,” he wrote the Columbia Daily Tribune.
But the moves caught the attention of lawmakers of both parties. Rep. Beth Low, a second-term Kansas City Democrat, had the gumption to take to the House floor Tuesday to raise a ruckus about Onder.
“Perhaps,” she concluded, “it’s because the speaker is running his race.”
At that, the acting speaker, not Jetton, gaveled her down.
Jetton also has allowed Onder to drop his membership on the House Rules Committee so he has more time to campaign.
Fact is, Jetton has life-and-death power over legislation. He can elevate the fortunes of his charges with the flick of a pen or a nod of his head.
In the Onder case, and others, it looks as if his clients have received a boost.
Even Jetton’s fellow Republicans are leery.
“The concern is that possible legislative favors might be doled out,” said state Rep. Brian Yates of Lee’s Summit.
Jetton’s power as speaker ends in a few weeks when the session ends and term limits end his House career. Given that, I asked to see a fresh client list.
He obliged. On the list are Onder and Republican state Sens. Luann Ridgeway of Smithville, Jason Crowell of Cape Girardeau and Rob Mayer of Dexter.
• • •
Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders has drawn kudos far and wide, and deservedly so, for taming the beast that is Jackson County’s Legislature.
The infighting that haunted the body has faded since Sanders’ election in 2006.
But these days Democrats are rumbling about a feud involving Sanders, this one with the LeVota boys of Independence, Paul and Phil.
The spat dates to at least September 2006, when Phil LeVota left his job as assistant prosecutor shortly after Sanders effectively became county executive by winning the Democratic primary. Leveraging his new power, Sanders also replaced him as Jackson County Democratic chair.
This month, LeVota lost an election for a part-time Lee’s Summit judgeship. He thinks Sanders was behind that, too.
In fact, LeVota and others point the finger at what they contend is a Sanders-controlled political committee called Integrity in Law Enforcement that spent $20,000 to advance the candidacy of LeVota’s foe, James M. Tobin, in that judgeship race.
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