JEFFERSON CITY - Rep. Bob Onder is drawing scrutiny for employing one of the state’s most powerful legislators to work on his Ninth District congressional bid.

Onder

Onder, R-Lake Saint Louis, has tapped House Speaker Rod Jetton, R-Marble Hill, as general consultant for his campaign. Onder is in a five-way primary battle to represent the district that ranges from Boone County across northeast Missouri.

Jetton has been a consultant for other legislators, including state Sen. Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau, and Sen. Luann Ridgeway, R-Smithville. The Missouri Ethics Commission ruled several years ago that Jetton is not prohibited under Missouri law from working for other lawmakers.

Although the consulting relationship between Onder and Jetton has been known for some time, it became an issue last week when state Rep. Beth Low, D-Kansas City, said on the House floor that Onder was getting preferential treatment from Jetton as House speaker. Onder was handling a bill seeking criminal penalties for someone coercing a woman to get an abortion as well as legislation that sought to enact restrictions on illegal immigrants.

Onder called Low’s remark "inappropriate."

Jetton said House Majority Leader Steve Tilley, R-Perryville, has control over which legislation reaches the floor, and he said Onder’s legislation dealing with immigration and abortion restrictions were priorities for Republicans before Onder’s campaign.

"These are issues that Bob Onder has worked on since the day he got here," Jetton said. "These were planned early in January as caucus priorities. He happened to be the guy carrying them. … I applaud him for his efforts, and whether he’s working with me or not really has nothing to do with that."

Two of Onder’s Republican opponents in the congressional primary, Rep. Danie Moore, R-Fulton, and former Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-St. Elizabeth, declined to criticize Onder for using Jetton as a consultant. But two Democratic lawmakers running for the seat say the relationship is troubling.

Rep. Judy Baker, D-Columbia, who works as a health-care consultant, said her company has forgone business at times to prevent the appearance of impropriety. "There is no real transparency when you’ve got internal relationships and internal consulting going on when you’re trying to run the business of the House," she said. "It certainly could bring an appearance of conflict."

Former Senate Minority Leader Ken Jacob, D-Columbia, said it is "unbelievable" there hasn’t been more discussion to overturn the Ethics Commission decision allowing Jetton to consult for state legislators. He said he would have encountered fierce criticism if he had conducted business as a lawyer for another House member.

"When I was Democratic minority leader, if Chuck Graham when he was a House member had given campaign money to me personally, even as a lawyer, your paper would have crucified me," he said.

Onder said he chose Jetton as his general consultant because he doesn’t think there’s a better person for the job. "I don’t think I’ve been given any kind of preferential treatment," he said. "And I think that the speaker is a very talented political strategist, and I don’t see what’s wrong with him making money using those skills to help good state Senate candidates and me."

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