JEFFERSON CITY 鈥 When lawmakers in May threw papers into the air to mark the end of their annual legislative session, first-year Gov. Eric Greitens walked up to a lectern and declared the previous four months 鈥渢he most successful start of a conservative administration in a generation.鈥
鈥淧eople sent us to Jefferson City to fight for them, and that is exactly what we鈥檝e done,鈥 Greitens told reporters. 鈥淲e鈥檝e finished the first round of a 10-round fight, and we hit 鈥檈m hard.鈥
Greitens, a Republican, rolled into Jefferson City in January with little firsthand knowledge of the capital city 鈥 its bureaucracies, its idiosyncrasies, its personalities. He proved adept at making headlines, conveying a hard-charging persona in which results are top priority. But there is marketing. And then there is reality.
Greitens鈥 initiatives have not always met the high bar set by his salesmanship. Some were in the works for years before he came on the scene. Other initiatives, such as an ethics package that did not clear the Legislature this year, have yet to materialize.
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Greitens has stacked state boards with loyalists. He has issued surprise statements, and in the process frozen out Republicans and Democrats alike.
For better or worse, he has disrupted Jefferson City鈥檚 status quo.
鈥淗e has shown that he can articulate a vision, then he鈥檚 going to pursue that vision, and he鈥檚 going to be unrelenting in the pursuit,鈥 said former Missouri House Speaker Catherine Hanaway, who ran against Greitens in the GOP primary for governor last year. 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 exactly what voters were looking for 鈥 somebody who鈥檚 going to say something, and then do it.鈥
Others believe Greitens鈥 disruption largely has failed to produce results.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 really have a comment on the governor,鈥 state Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. 不良研究所导航网址, said. 鈥淚 just don鈥檛 have comments on what the governor鈥檚 doing, which is nothing.鈥
Has Greitens lived up to his hype?
Or has he just said he has?
The hype
Greitens said in 2016 that he would have fostered 鈥減eace by the second night鈥 of protests in Ferguson two years earlier, unlike his predecessor, Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat.
With the benefit of hindsight, and with the knowledge that a not-guilty verdict in the Jason Stockley case would spark protests, Greitens in September pre-emptively urged calm and mobilized the National Guard before the verdict was announced.
But peace did not prevail by the second night. Protests over that verdict, which have eased in recent months, are ongoing.
There are other instances when Greitens鈥 salesmanship doesn鈥檛 match reality:
鈥 Greitens said that to reduce recidivism, he would focus on inmate education. This year鈥檚 state budget .
鈥 Greitens banned his staffers from becoming lobbyists after they leave his administration. Though no former staffers have registered as lobbyists, one of them, Caleb Jones, to take a job with the Association of Missouri Electrical Cooperatives, which has a robust lobbying presence in the Capitol. Jones is a former lawmaker.
鈥 Greitens signed a right-to-work bill in February, making good on a campaign promise. But by passing the bill so quickly, the Legislature and Greitens allowed unions several months to gather enough signatures to block the bill from taking effect, .
鈥 Greitens announced a prescription drug monitoring program in July, saying the state 鈥渨on鈥檛 wait for this problem to get worse.鈥 A state official had said the program could be running within weeks. But the program ran into resistance from lawmakers concerned about cost. .
2016 planks
Greitens said during his 2016 campaign that he would fight for more jobs, higher pay, safer streets and better schools.
As evidence of the first two points 鈥 higher pay and more jobs 鈥 Parker Briden, the governor鈥檚 spokesman, touted Missouri鈥檚 3.5 percent unemployment rate in October, the lowest in 17 years, . Briden cited department statistics showing the state had gained 30,000 jobs in the last year, including 7,000 manufacturing jobs.
鈥淭he governor is proud that he鈥檚 led the fight to create more jobs and higher pay,鈥 Briden said in an email.
Briden also pointed to the governor鈥檚 signing of the yet-to-take-effect right-to-work bill, a regulatory review process he initiated, a in the state and an effort to bring 800 National Guard jobs to Missouri. He also said a new steel mill in Sedalia was made possible by legislation approved during a summer special session.
David Mitchell, director of Missouri State University鈥檚 Bureau of Economic Research, said it was too early to tell what impact, if any, Greitens was having on Missouri鈥檚 economy. Mitchell said wages were trending up and unemployment was trending down before Greitens took office.
Mitchell added that Missouri鈥檚 growth lagged in some areas compared to the nation.
鈥淲ages here have not been growing as fast as they have been nationwide,鈥 Mitchell said. 鈥淥ur output has not grown as fast as it has nationwide. Our population is not growing as fast as it had been nationwide. We鈥檙e growing a whole lot slower than the rest of the country.鈥
Mitchell cautioned against giving Greitens credit for Missouri鈥檚 successes 鈥 or blaming him for slow growth.
Greitens also said he would work for 鈥渂etter schools.鈥 Briden said the governor , an anomaly in Missouri.
Though this is true, lawmakers in 2016 lowered the bar for education funding, making it easier to fully fund education. Greitens also withheld $15 million from school transportation costs and cut more spending to public universities than the Legislature recommended.
The governor signed a bill establishing a statewide adult high school program, launched a 鈥淪killed Workforce Missouri鈥 initiative to focus on worker training and is pushing to expand broadband internet access to schools across the state.
To promote 鈥渟afer streets,鈥 Briden pointed to the Highway Patrol鈥檚 pilot program to patrol stretches of interstate in St. 不良研究所导航网址. The move was designed to free up city police resources. Greitens also signed a 鈥淏lue Alert鈥 bill, which allows police to alert the public when a law enforcement officer is assaulted.
While it is impossible to say whether the Highway Patrol program reduced crime, during the pilot period, from July through September, . Homicides were down about 9 percent during the pilot period over last year. But assaults by gun were up.
Troopers made about 500 arrests on misdemeanor charges and close to 200 on felonies. They made 93 arrests for driving while intoxicated.
鈥淲e certainly saw a lot of arrests and contraband and weapons seized, which is more than when they weren鈥檛 patrolling,鈥 said Koran Addo, spokesman for Mayor Lyda Krewson, a Democrat.
Eye to eye
Greitens has frozen some people out and taken up digital arms against opponents. He has blocked some Missourians critical of him from viewing his Facebook page, . He has largely dodged the Capitol press corps. (Greitens, through Briden, ignored two interview requests for this story.)
State Sen. Paul Wieland, R-Imperial, knows what it鈥檚 like to be on the governor鈥檚 bad side.
in January whether to shoot down a 2.5 percent pay increase for themselves. Greitens raised alarm on social media and set up camp in Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard鈥檚 office, summoning one by one senators who had signaled their approval of the raise.
鈥淥ur meeting did not go very well,鈥 Wieland said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to get into the details of it. But I would say we didn鈥檛 see eye to eye at that meeting.鈥
Greitens eventually won the fight over raises, and Wieland said the two had repaired their relationship.
A New Missouri, a nonprofit run by ex-Greitens campaign staffers, , Sen. Rob Schaaf of St. Joseph, publishing his cellphone number.
The Rev. Clinton Stancil, of Wayman AME Church in St. 不良研究所导航网址, said Greitens sought his support during the 2016 election. 鈥淗e seemed to be very receptive,鈥 Stancil said.
But after Greitens took office, 鈥淲e found out it was not receptive,鈥 Stancil said. 鈥淚t was deceptive. Because he didn鈥檛 do anything that he promised he would do, as far as engaging with the African-American community.鈥
鈥淚f you鈥檙e not going to play by their rules, they kick you off the team,鈥 said Tim Sumners, of Joplin, whom Greitens briefly appointed to the state school board before booting him.
Disruption
Greitens鈥 methods have led to change, and some fallout, too.
He spent months stacking the Board of Education with loyalists to oust state Education Commissioner Margie Vandeven 鈥 dismissing two board members who refused to follow his orders. Greitens hasn鈥檛 said publicly what Vandeven鈥檚 firing offense was, but has said lagging teacher pay and accelerated administrative pay 鈥 two things Vandeven did not control 鈥 were problems.
He was ultimately successful in removing her. But lawmakers have said Greitens鈥 appointees to the board will face a rocky confirmation process.
Greitens, at least publicly, offers no apologies.
鈥淲e know insiders and bureaucrats will lie,鈥 he said in a statement after a first attempt to oust Vandeven.
In at least two cases, Greitens鈥 surprise announcements drew the ire of Republican lawmakers, who write the state鈥檚 budget: the , and an effort to give to executive branch employees. In both cases, lawmakers said Greitens did not have the authority to appropriate money.
In another controversial move, opted in a preliminary vote to end the state鈥檚 low-income housing tax credits.
This put Greitens at odds with tax credit boosters, including Nasheed, a Democrat, and Lt. Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican. Parson urged commissioners to let lawmakers have the final say, calling the move 鈥渢otally wrong.鈥
Still, Greitens trumpeted the disruption, saying: 鈥淲e zeroed out this failing program, and saved tens of millions of dollars. No. More. Giveaways.鈥
Special sessions
, Greitens compared lawmakers to third-graders.
鈥淪ometimes, when you don鈥檛 complete all your work, you need to go to summer school,鈥 Greitens said.
He then called two special sessions, another out-of-the ordinary move. Lawmakers passed a bill the governor supported allowing large utility customers to negotiate lower electric rates, in hopes of luring a smelter back to the Bootheel region. (Months later, a Department of Economic Development spokeswoman described talks as 鈥渙ngoing.鈥) Greitens called lawmakers back a second time to pass a package of anti-abortion legislation that was hailed by social conservatives and denounced by Democrats and supporters of abortion rights.
Critics say the special sessions were unnecessary, ways for the governor to generate publicity.
State Rep. Doug Beck, D-St. 不良研究所导航网址 County, said this year鈥檚 announcements 鈥 and for-the-cameras feats in which he scaled a rock wall, rappelled from a stadium roof and trained with the St. 不良研究所导航网址 Fire Department 鈥 were designed to boost Greitens鈥 brand and not necessarily the state鈥檚 well-being.
鈥淚 think they play in the interest of Eric Greitens,鈥 Beck said. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 play to the interest of what鈥檚 best for people.鈥
Gov. Greitens鈥 record: hits and misses
Right to work: Because Greitens signed the landmark legislation so early, unions had time to gather enough signatures to block its implementation and force a public vote.
Education: Greitens tried to stack the state Board of Education for months to remove Education Commissioner Margie Vandeven for still-unknown reasons. He succeeded recently, but jeopardized his appointees鈥 Senate confirmations.
Abortion: Greitens successfully pushed a package of anti-abortion legislation through the Legislature during a summer special session. It has so far withstood court challenges.
PDMP: Greitens announced a prescription drug monitoring program in July, but was met by pushback from lawmakers who said he didn鈥檛 have the spending authority. The PDMP started operation in November.
Jobs: Despite regulatory reform pushes, publicized job announcements and other actions, it鈥檚 difficult to say what impact Greitens has had on the state鈥檚 economy.
Foster Care: One focus has been on the state鈥檚 foster children. Greitens signed the Foster Care Bill of Rights earlier this year.
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