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NewsMay 10, 2003

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- It's almost 11 p.m., and the third-floor Rotunda in the Missouri Capitol is quiet. So why is there a table full of summer sausage, cheese, crackers, fruit, shrimp, turkey croissant sandwiches, cookies, two boxes of Arturo Fuente cigars and several cigar cutters set up in an alcove behind the representatives gallery?...

Josh Flory

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- It's almost 11 p.m., and the third-floor Rotunda in the Missouri Capitol is quiet.

So why is there a table full of summer sausage, cheese, crackers, fruit, shrimp, turkey croissant sandwiches, cookies, two boxes of Arturo Fuente cigars and several cigar cutters set up in an alcove behind the representatives gallery?

It's the Midnight Caucus, of course.

If you think of the Missouri House as a high school, caucuses are like school clubs. They're made up of lawmakers who, for one reason or another, have something in common and decided to seal the bond by forming an official group.

Among others, the House boasts a Bootheel Caucus, a Faith and Family Caucus, a Missouri Winery Promotion Caucus and even a Blackjack Caucus.

Throw the latter two groups into a room with Midnight Caucus members, and you'd think a good time would ensue. But the founder of the Midnight Caucus, Rep. Jodi Stefanick, R-Ballwin, was quick to disavow any Larry Eustachy-esque notions.

"We never, ever, ever serve alcohol," she said.

As she prepared the spread shortly before 11 p.m. Tuesday, Stefanick explained that the caucus was formed when she noticed that, trying to "be a good freshman," she frequently found herself at the Capitol late at night. She and Rep. Denny Merideth, D-Caruthersville, decided that like-minded representatives should form a caucus devoted to people "who are always here working."

The result is an 11 p.m. gathering -- so timed out of respect for lawmakers who might try to leave by midnight -- on the first Tuesday of every month. Lawmakers, Stefanick said, "kind of come out from the woodwork."

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"They meander out from their office with blurry eyes, and they're just happy to take a little break," she added.

Such was the case this Tuesday. By 11:15 p.m., nearly a dozen people had already gathered at tables in the rotunda, with the attendance heavily weighted toward Republicans.

The lawmakers said it's not uncommon for them to spend nights doing the kind of constituent work -- answering letters and e-mail -- that gets put off during normal working hours. "During the day it's almost constant interruptions. That's why a lot of us are here," said Rep. Mike Sutherland, R-Warrenton.

Sometimes the strategy backfires. While nursing a non-alcoholic beer, Sutherland told of e-mailing a constituent in the wee hours of the morning, only to get a reply telling him he needed some sleep. "She called my mom," Sutherland recalled, "and told my mom I was working too late."

Savoring one of the Arturo Fuente cigars, Rep. Kevin Wilson, R-Neosho, said constituents can be "real surprised" when they receive a call from their legislator at 10 p.m. On this particular evening, Wilson had been in his office writing to people in his district and had also checked in on a group of schoolchildren who visited the Capitol but were delayed on their return trip by severe weather. An evening phone call to the school district superintendent confirmed that the group had "gone through the worst of it."

Not exactly a party, the late-night gathering does offer a different view of lawmakers. Rep. Richard Byrd, an attorney skilled in the often-contentious art of debate, showed up in a Fred Rogers-style cardigan, while Rep. Steve Hunter sported jeans and a shirt with the long sleeves partly trimmed off.

But while several of the attendees were freshmen, they have clearly picked up on one Capitol tradition: food at the Midnight Caucus meetings is picked up by lobbyists.

Scott Marrs, who represents several Springfield-area clients, covered the tab for Tuesday's gathering, although he didn't attend.

"I didn't go because I don't stay up that late," he explained the next afternoon.

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