JEFFERSON CITY — Although there’s no price tag on resolving the dysfunction in the Missouri Senate, a new political action committee has $2 million to try to do just that.
RightPath PAC registered in January, according to Missouri Ethics Commission documents. On Monday, the PAC collected 15 contributions, primarily from prominent St. Louis business owners with ties to Washington University. They ranged from $25,000 to $200,000, with most coming in on the higher end.
What the PAC wants to address is how to fix the problems contributors see in the Senate.
The Senate has spent weeks stalled on a congressional redistricting bill. When leadership decided to set that aside Tuesday, several conservative senators refused to let any other legislation advance. On Wednesday, members of the Conservative Caucus delayed a bill modifying the Fast Track Workforce Incentive Grant program.
That pattern of paralysis spurred formation of the PAC, said Jorgen Schlemeier, a lobbyist for Washington University.
“It’s kind of the number one question on all of our minds: ‘What’s going on with the Senate?’” Schlemeier said. “We all kind of scratch our head and say, ‘If I knew what the solution was, I’d be rich and I’d be on a beach someplace,’ but nobody knows what the magic formula is yet.”
While the PAC is not affiliated with the university, most of its contributors are either current or former members of its board of trustees, and nearly all are major university donors.
Those contributing to RightPath PAC include former board of trustees members Andrew Taylor, executive chairperson of Enterprise Holdings, Inc.; John McDonnell, former chairperson of the board of McDonnell Douglas Corp.; and George Couch III, chairperson of Couch Distributing Company, Inc.
For those affiliated with Washington University, legislation came close to home last session when senators introduced a bill that would tax the university’s multibillion-dollar endowment.
They have more than that in common, though: They’re all frustrated with what’s been happening in the Senate, Schlemeier said.
“The dysfunction and some of the policies that were brought up and debated ... just led to the ignition of everybody and a wave of frustrations,” Schlemeier said. “We need to do something about this. This is not a direction that we think is good, and we can’t let it progress any further.”
Tensions have been high as members of the Conservative Caucus find themselves at odds with other Republicans. Contention has gone beyond legislation; on Wednesday, President Pro Tempore, Sen. Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, removed Conservative Caucus member Sen. Mike Moon, R-Ash Grove, from most of his committee assignments after Moon wore overalls in the chamber last week.
Schlemeier said there’s no clear way to solve the arguing among the 34 senators.
“As a father, if it’s a fight between the two kids, you can kind of sit them down and talk to both of them, but when you have 34 that you’re trying to get lined up at one time — 34 is a big number,” Schlemeier said.
The PAC doesn’t have a game plan yet.
“We decided that we don’t know exactly how we want to impact the system yet, but we do know that we’re going to need some resources,” Schlemeier said.
With filing yet to open, PAC members are waiting to see where the Senate districts are drawn and who the candidates are before rallying behind anyone. In the meantime, Schlemeier said he anticipates more contributions coming in, and he hopes they’ll go beyond Washington University.
“We have had a lot of interest in this and a lot of interest in its purpose, which is really just to try and make for a better climate and a better policy discussion,” Schlemeier said.
Danielle DuClos and Mavis Chan contributed to this report.
