Missouri Senators question former GOP chair’s appointment to UM curator’s role

Former GOP Chair Todd Graves’ appointment to the University of Missouri Board of Curators was approved by a Senate committee Wednesday, despite some members’ misgivings about his partisan political background.

Members of the Senate’s Gubernatorial Appointments committee questioned Graves’ history of partisan political influence, particularly the state GOP’s payment of $200,000 to a PAC tied to Graves and his powerful Kansas City law firm, Graves Garrett LLC, in 2019.

The PAC was focused on overturning a redistricting reform provision in the ballot initiative known as Clean Missouri, which passed in 2018. The expenditure angered some Republicans, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. Graves had represented opponents of the measure and his firm was involved in drafting the legislation that overturned it last year.

“I had complete authority [as GOP Chair] to spend the money,” Graves said to Sen. Paul Wieland, an Imperial Republican.

In response to questions from Sen. Mike Moon, an Ash Grove Republican, he said he did not believe the decision left the party in financial trouble.

“I felt that it was something I failed on to keep that from happening,” he said, referring to the 2018 passage of the Clean Missouri constitutional amendment, “and it was my responsibility to fix that problem.”

He told Sen. Brian Williams, a St. Louis Democrat, that his law firm would not have any relationship to the University of Missouri if he is confirmed. But he wouldn’t answer when Wieland asked whether his firm represents anyone who lobbies for the university.

“I’m not going to start playing Battleship between clients,” he said.

When Senate President Dave Schatz, a Sullivan Republican, asked for a vote on the nomination, Wieland objected to how quickly it was moving forward. He withdrew his objection after a brief private meeting with Senate leaders. The nomination was advanced on a 7-3 vote.

Parson announced Graves’ appointment this month after a partisan struggle over the Board of Curators seat reported on by the Missouri Independent. If confirmed, he would replace Democrat Phillip Snowden.

“I hate to point out the elephant in the room, but your nomination has been a bit of a lightning rod,” said Sen. John Rizzo, an Independence Democrat who voted against it.

One of Graves’ law partners is Lucinda Luetkemeyer, former general counsel for former Gov. Eric Greitens and wife of Parkville Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer, who sponsored Graves’ nomination on Wednesday.

Graves, brother of U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, was chair of the Missouri Republican Party from 2017 to 2019. It was a tumultuous period that included Greitens’ governorship, his resignation amid allegations of sexual blackmail and violence, and the transition to Parson’s administration. He stood by Greitens throughout the scandal.

On Tuesday, Graves said he’s interested in the post because “I love this school.”

“A university for the state is a noble thing,” he said.

Williams and Sen. Angela Mosely, a Florissant Democrat, asked Graves about Mizzou’s relationship with students of color, given protests over racial justice that roiled the Columbia campus in 2015.

“The University of Missouri should look like the state of Missouri,” Graves said. “That not only should have representation from all over the state but it also should have representation from minority and ethnic groups in the state that approximate their proportion of the population.”

He also was asked about his resignation from the post of U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri, which he held from 2001 to 2006. He told reporters at the time he was pushed to resign after taking a stand against cases that were seen in Washington as pushing Republican causes.

“It was a political situation,” he said Wednesday. “I felt like I was being used as a pawn.”

This story was originally published March 31, 2021 at 5:37 PM.