Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder (R) has had taxpayers foot the bill for 329 nights at hotels and casinos in St. Louis and St. Louis County since 2006 to “attend society balls, baseball games and political events, even though Missouri guidelines state that taxpayer-funded travel must be ‘essential’ for state business,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported this weekend.Kinder — who is expected to run for governor next year — hung up on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter who called for an interview on the story. In a four-page statement to the newspaper, his office acknowledged that Kinder “may schedule or fit meetings around social events he attends in his role as lieutenant governor or around personal social events that on rare occasion appear on his calendar.” But Democrats are on the attack.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=112920