Week 16: Nixon's Grade

NIXON'S WEEK 16 GRADE: C -

A member of the State Tourism Commission said the Governor broke a promise. A St. Louis Democrat accused him of "ignoring the plight of blacks." And Senator Brad Lager declared that Jay Nixon's top legislative priority is now "on life support." It all added up to one of the most difficult weeks Nixon has navigated since taking office. We've been hearing about a supposed deal on a job creation bill for weeks. But it clearly hasn't come to fruition. He still has two weeks to get it over the goal line, but there's also the budget to contend with. But there's also lots left to be hashed out on that topic. After signaling they were ok with a budget bill using stimulus funds, the House turned around and rejected it. Accusations surfaced that the Governor leaned on Democrats to help kill the bill. And this did not sit well with some St. Louis Dems, who were counting on a $12 million dollar amendment to help prop up the struggling METRO system. Rep. Jamilah Nasheed sent a scathing letter to Nixon's office Thursday, accusing him "ignoring the plight of blacks." That's tough language from a member of your own party. All politics remains local -- and the Governor learned that in St. Louis as well as Branson this week. A month after Nixon announced he was restoring $1 million dollars to help benefit tourism "immediately" -- most of that money still hasn't trickled down. Now, many in Branson believe the Governor, at best exaggerated and at worst mislead, about the timing and impact of tourism money. The high profile announcement seemed like good politics at the time, but it's certainly lost Nixon some goodwill.