Spirited GOP primary race for state Senate seat in southwest county

July 30--ST. LOUIS COUNTY --The name recognition and goodwill Rick Stream picked up during his near-miss race for county executive two years ago could give him an edge in his current bid to win a state Senate seat.

But Stream, a former state representative and ex-Kirkwood School Board member, has come up against serious, well-funded competition in Tuesday's Republican primary in state Rep. Andrew Koenig of Manchester.

Koenig and Stream, who expect to spend around $300,000 and $250,000 respectively on their campaigns, are running television ads extolling their own conservative credentials and attacking aspects of the other's voting record.

Meanwhile, Mark Boyko and Stephen Eagleton -- a nephew of the late U.S. Sen. Thomas Eagleton -- are in a low-budget contest for the Democratic nomination in the GOP-leaning district.

The Senate seat is up for grabs because Republican incumbent Eric Schmitt of Glendale is term-limited; he's running this year for state treasurer. The district, the 15th, covers a wide swath of southwest and south St. Louis County west of Interstate 55.

Stream, 67, served eight years in the House, the maximum allowed under Missouri law, from 2007 through 2014.

He cites his role as chairman of the House Budget Committee for two years, working to balance the state budget "without raising job-killing taxes," as one of his commercials declares.

Another high point, he says, was his role as House sponsor of a bill to limit student transfers from school districts losing state accreditation. The measure, passed in 2014, was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon.

Stream also points to his naval service and decades of work as a civilian budget and project manager for the Defense Department before he was elected to the Legislature.

"I've got a lot of life experience that he doesn't have," Stream says of Koenig, 33.

Koenig, who owns a small construction company, is finishing up his eighth and final year in the House. He emphasizes his efforts to curb special tax breaks for certain businesses and promises to continue doing that in the Senate.

An example, he says, was his key role in passing a bill this year that puts new restrictions on tax-increment financing deals, or TIFs, offered by municipalities to developers in St. Louis, St. Charles and Jefferson counties.

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"Corporate welfare has run rampant all over the place," he said.

He also advocates eliminating or reducing the state's various tax credit programs.

Also on the tax front, Koenig cites his role in passing a 2014 bill to mandate cuts in the state income tax when state revenue totals reach specified levels.

Stream also voted for the tax cut bill and says had he been in the Legislature this year he probably would have voted for the TIF restrictions as well. As for tax credits, he says each program should be evaluated yearly on its merits and whether the state gets a good return.

Tax issues also have been raised in TV ads in the race. For example, a Stream commercial proclaims that Koenig supported imposing taxes "on every haircut, day-care bill and doctor's visit."

That's a reference to Koenig's sponsorship over the years of unsuccessful measures to eliminate the state income tax and replace it with a higher sales tax on a broader base.

In response, Koenig said he views the bills as a reform in the way taxes are applied, not a net increase. He noted that Stream voted for a similar bill in 2009.

The Stream ad also makes the point that while Koenig says he's against corporate welfare, he has voted for "even more crony capitalism." Koenig said he has sometimes voted for bills including tax breaks if they also include provisions to reduce other tax incentive programs.

A Koenig commercial, meanwhile, hits Stream for voting in 2014 for a state sales tax hike for road and bridge work across Missouri; Koenig opposed it.

Stream points out that the bill merely called for a statewide election on the tax, which was turned down by voters.

Regarding the future, Stream says the Legislature should try again to come up with a solution for the Missouri Department of Transportation's funding problems but he doesn't advocate a specific idea.

Koenig proposes coming up with more money for roads by cutting in half the tax credit programs for historic preservation and low-income housing. He also says he's open to discussing toll roads.

The Koenig ad also criticizes Stream for giving money to Democratic campaigns.

Stream said that refers to his county executive campaign covering some printing costs of North County Democrats who crossed party lines to support him against Democratic nominee Steve Stenger. He said the Democrats' support helped him do as well as he did in the race.

Stream, whose daughter died of bulimia in 1995, gained notice for his advocacy over the years of a bill to require health insurance to include comprehensive eating disorder coverage.

Such a bill, which Stream says is "going to actually save lives," finally passed last year after he was out of the Legislature. Koenig said he opposed the bill because he doesn't like to add new government mandates regarding health care.

The two, meanwhile, agree on supporting abortion restrictions and gun rights and opposing Medicaid expansion.

Each also says he would vote in the Senate for a "right-to-work" bill barring employment contracts requiring workers to pay dues or fees to a union.

Koenig has voted for the measure in the House. Stream said he didn't vote on the issue when it came up in the House in 2014 to avoid hurting his chances in the vote for county executive. The county as a whole has generally voted Democratic in recent years.

Campaign finance reports show Koenig has raised more than $300,000 and Stream more than $200,000.

More than half of Koenig's total has come from two frequent major donors to conservative causes and candidates.

David Humphreys, president of Joplin-based TAMKO Building Products, donated $151,000. The Missouri Club for Growth, funded largely by retired St. Louis investor Rex Sinquefield, contributed $75,000. That group also made $14,290 in direct expenditures to promote Koenig.

Democrats

On the Democratic side, Boyko, 36, a lawyer from Kirkwood, said he expects to spend about $10,000 on his primary race. Eagleton, 54, a mediator on real estate development, says he's spending less than $1,000.

The two agree on supporting Medicaid expansion and abortion rights. They disagree on right to work. Eagleton, unlike most Democrats, supports the idea. Boyko opposes it, drawing support from the Missouri AFL-CIO.

Another point of friction: Boyko says he has concerns about whether Eagleton meets the one-year district residency requirement set by state law for a senator.

The County Election Board says Eagleton didn't shift his voter registration from an address in University City outside the district to one in Kirkwood inside the district until earlier this month.

However, Eagleton said he moved his legal residence into the district prior to the November 2015 deadline for establishing residence in the district to run for the Senate seat.

Get candidate information and create a customized for Tuesday's primary election at http://lwv.thevoterguide.org/v/stlouispd16/build.do

Mark Schlinkmann --636-255-7233

@mschlinkmann on Twitter

[email protected]

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