LIQUOR INDUSTRY DONATES TO STATE LAWMAKERS IN REGION

The liquor industry poured $12,612 into the campaigns of 11 state lawmakers in Southeast Missouri over the past four years, a study shows.

Three other state representatives from the area -- Lanie Black of Charleston, Peter Myers of Sikeston and Bill Foster of Poplar Bluff -- didn't receive any money from the liquor industry.

Most Southeast Missouri lawmakers received less than the average amount that went to their House or Senate colleagues.

The study by the Missouri Alliance for Campaign Reform found that state House members received $849 on average in the 1996 and 1998 election cycles combined.

Senators on average received $2,136. That figure is based on campaign contributions made to senators who ran for office in 1996 or 1998.

The study looked at campaign contributions to 159 House members and 32 senators. It found that current members of the Legislature received $145,476 in campaign funds from liquor interests in their recent campaigns.

Pat Harvey directs the Missouri Alliance for Campaign Reform based in St. Louis. Harvey said Thursday that the study demonstrates the influence of the liquor industry, and particularly St. Louis brewery Anheuser-Busch, on political candidates.

About 70 percent of the liquor money poured into legislative races came from the beer giant, he said. That doesn't include the money that the liquor industry contributed to the state's political parties, Harvey said.

Rep. Mark Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, was the top House recipient of liquor money. He received $2,846 from the liquor industry in 1996 and 1998 combined. That amounted to 2 percent of his $141,000 in campaign contributions.

Richardson was on vacation and couldn't be reached for comment Thursday.

Rep. Patrick Naeger, R-Perryville, ranked sixth on the House list. Among Southeast Missouri's 11 state representatives, he ranked second only to Richardson.

Naeger said he saw no reason not to take the money. Naeger suggested that many of his constituents in Perry and Ste. Genevieve would approve of the liquor contributions.

"I just happen to represent a whole of responsible users of alcohol," he said. The liquor industry is a legitimate business, said Naeger.

He said the liquor industry and the beer industry in particular don't unduly influence state lawmakers.

Naeger said he opposed a measure to lower Missouri's blood-alcohol limit for drivers. The legislation died on the final day of the session this spring. But Naeger said he didn't oppose the bill because of past campaign contributions from the liquor industry.

Naeger received $84,290 in campaign contributions in the 1996 and 1998 election cycles combined. Only 2.6 percent of the money came from the liquor industry, the study said.

Rep. Marilyn Williams, D-Dudley, ranked third among the Southeast Missouri delegation with $1,300 in contributions from the liquor industry. The other state representatives from Southeast Missouri received contributions of less than $1,000.

On the Senate side in Southeast Missouri, Sen. Danny Staples, D-Eminence, received $1,875 in liquor contributions for his 1998 race.

Liquor contributions totaled $1,500 for Sen. Peter Kinder's 1996 campaign and $726 for Sen. Jerry Howard's campaign. Kinder is a Cape Girardeau Republican. Howard is a Democrat from Dexter.

Kinder welcomed the campaign finance study, saying he supports full disclosure of campaign money. He said he isn't concerned about the study's findings. "I hardly think there is any scandal revealed there."

Kinder said there is nothing wrong in taking campaign contributions from a legal industry. "It costs money to run campaigns," he said.

Kinder said the liquor industry wasn't a major contributor to his campaign. The study showed that 1.6 percent of Kinder's $91,525 in campaign contributions came from the liquor industry.

Less than 1 percent of Howard's $117,102 in campaign contributions came from the liquor industry.

Two percent of Staples' $92,394 in campaign contributions came from the liquor industry, the study found.

LIQUOR INDUSTRY GIVING

Campaign contributions to Southeast Missouri lawmakers from the liquor industry in the 1996 and, or 1998 election cycles:

* Rep. Mark Richardson, $2,846

* Rep. Patrick Naeger, $2,190

* Sen. Danny Staples, $1,875

* Sen. Peter Kinder, $1,500

* Rep. Marilyn Williams, $1,300

* Rep. David Schwab, $825

* Sen. Jerry Howard, $726

* Rep. Mary Kasten, $625

* Rep. Jim Graham, $375

* Rep. Denny Merideth, $250.

* Rep. Phillip Britt, $100

Source: Missouri Alliance for Campaign Reform