How Missouri’s ethical watchdog was ‘quietly dismantled,’ according to new report
A Kansas City-area senator whose church helped fund his campaign. A top college football coach accused of improperly endorsing a political candidate. A local landfill developer who allegedly acted as an unregistered lobbyist.
Those cases are among dozens of complaints of ethical misconduct that have been effectively dismissed over the past two years as the Missouri Ethics Commission remains hobbled by vacancies. The watchdog panel enforces the state’s campaign finance and ethics laws.
A new report from Progress MO, a progressive advocacy group, argues that failures by Gov. Mike Kehoe and his predecessor Gov. Mike Parson to fill those vacancies have “quietly dismantled” the commission, leaving it unable to investigate complaints, issue fines or hold meetings.
The report, conducted over the past two months and obtained by The Star, found that the number of complaints dismissed with no action over the past two years has eclipsed the number of dismissals from 2010 (the last year of publicly available data) to 2024. That inaction has left Missouri open to abuse with little oversight, the report found.
“The consequence is a system vulnerable to corruption, where big donors influence decisions and there is no oversight for those in power,” the report’s executive summary said.
The report found that the commission has taken no action on at least 50 complaints over the past two years, including 26 this year and 24 in 2024. From 2010 to 2024, the commission took no action on a total of 22 complaints, according to the report.
After the report became public, the commission took no action on two additional complaints. The commission also recently released a consent order with Attorney General Andrew Bailey, but it’s likely the commission pre-authorized the decision when it had a quorum.
Missouri law requires the six-member commission to complete an investigation within 90 days after receiving a complaint. At least four members are required to investigate and vote on any action related to the complaint.
But as of this week, only two individuals currently sit on the panel. The commission long struggled with vacancies under the tenure of Parson. That issue has continued under Kehoe, who took office in January and has yet to appoint new members, who then must be confirmed by the state Senate.
The vacancies have resulted in a wave of complaints released with no action or investigations this year, including one complaint filed against state Sen. Joe Nicola, a Grain Valley Republican who also serves as the founding pastor of a church in Independence.
St. Louis-based attorney Brad Ketcher filed the complaint in January after reporting from The Star revealed that Nicola’s church donated money to a political action committee that supported his candidacy on several occasions.
Ketcher, who previously worked in the Missouri Governor’s Office under Democrat Mel Carnahan, alleged in his complaint that the donations violated state campaign finance laws.
But in April, Ketcher saw a letter on the commission’s website saying that his complaint was thrown out because there weren’t enough commissioners to investigate it. Ketcher, in an interview with The Star at the time, said the commission’s inability to investigate complaints allowed Nicola and others to skirt potential responsibility.
Nicola did not respond to a request for comment on the Progress MO report.
Inside the vacancies
The report from Progress MO makes similar conclusions, saying that the lack of a quorum has weakened the commission’s ability to hold politicians accountable. However, the report goes a step further and alleges that it’s intentional.
“These prolonged delays in seating the MEC are not procedural oversights,” the report said. “They reflect a deliberate decision by political actors and state leaders to weaken the only body responsible for enforcing ethics laws that target themselves and their allies.”
Kehoe spokesperson Gabby Picard noted in an email to The Star that the commission already did not have a quorum when Kehoe became governor.
“Requirements for MEC appointments are stringent, and this can make finding qualified and interested candidates difficult,” Picard said.
While serving as a commissioner, members cannot serve in state or local government, register as lobbyists, serve as an officer in a political party or donate to political candidates. State law requires that within 30 days of a vacancy, congressional district committees of both major parties in Missouri must submit to the governor the names of two eligible nominees.
Picard said in the email that Kehoe requested the Missouri Republican Party and the Missouri Democratic Party to work with their congressional district committees to submit eligible nominees to fill the vacancies, as required by state law.
“Our office has received those nominations from both parties and has held interviews with candidates to fill the vacancies,” Picard said. “Governor Kehoe knows that it is important for the MEC to have a quorum and looks forward to appointing members to the Commission soon.”
The report from Progress MO highlights that the lack of a quorum has affected complaints against politicians of both parties. The organization called on Kehoe to immediately appoint new members to the commission ahead of the 2026 elections.
The report also calls on state lawmakers to create deadlines, requiring the governor to appoint — and the Senate to confirm — new members within a specific time period. Additionally, it calls for new enforcement procedures when there isn’t a quorum.
