MEMORANDUM

 
DATE:  12/8/2010  

Steelman:  A  Pawn  for  Trial  Lawyers  

 

This is the first in a series of publicly released memos designed to expose

a candidate who does not represent the Tea Party.

THE EVIDENCE: A LONG HISTORY OF BAD VOTES

 
Sarah  Steelman  has  a  documented  history  of  voting  to  enrich  trial  
lawyers  at  the  expense  of  Missouri  businesses  –  despite  having  a  conflict  
of  interest  because  her  husband,  David  Steelman,  is  one  of  the  state’s  
top  trial  lawyers.  
 
This  is  just  a  sample  of  the  votes  she  has  made:  
   
-­‐Voted  against  fair  standards  for  evaluating  harassment  claims.  (SB  428,  
2001)    
-­‐Voted  against  accountability  for  workers’  compensation  costs.  (HB  321,  
2003)    
-­‐When  a  reasonable  attempt  at  tort  reform  threatened  the  profitability  
of  medical  malpractice  lawsuits,  she  opposed  it.  (HB  1304,  2004)  
-­‐Her  votes  didn’t  just  go  after  bank  accounts  -­‐  she  fought  to  stop  judges  
from  being  able  to  use  their  discretion  to  protect  trade  secrets  from  
being  published  in  court  documents.  (SS#2/SCS/SB  1152,  2002)  
 
 
THE REWARD: HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS IN
CONTRIBUTIONS FROM TRIAL LAWYERS  
 
  While  Steelman  was  touting  her  role  as  a  political  ‘outsider’  in  her  
last  political  campaign,  trial  lawyers  were  lining  up  to  write  big  checks  
to  put  a  friend  of  the  business  into  the  Governor’s  mansion.  Here’s  a  
sample  of  the  more  than  $150,000  in  checks  she  collected  from  trial  
lawyers.  
 
ZEVAN  &  DAVIDSON  LAW  FIRM  -­‐  $5,000  –  2/25/09  
ZAVAN  DAVIDSON  FARRIS  STEWART  LLC  -­‐  $1,350  –  3/19/08  
ZEVAN  DAVIDSON  FARRIS  STEWART  LLC  -­‐  $5,000  –  2/23/09  
AARON  SACHS  -­‐  $1,350  –  3/27/08  
ALISON  HERSHEWE  -­‐  $1,350  –  3/10/08  
DEBBIE  DOLLAR  -­‐  $1,350  –  1/29/08  
ED  HERSHEWE  -­‐  $1,350  –  3/10/08  
JAMES  OLEARY  -­‐  $1,350  –  5/29/08  
JOHN  OCONNOR  –  $1,350  –  3/24/08  
 KAREN  SCHULTE  -­‐  $1,350  –  2/27/08  
MARGIE  LANGDON  -­‐  $1,350  –  2/7/08  
MARK  PARRISH  -­‐  $1,350  –  7/15/08  
MIKE  HOLZKNECHT  -­‐  $1,350  –  3/27/08  
LOUIS  ACCURSO  -­‐  $2,300  –  7/24/08  
OBRIEN  LAW  FIRM  -­‐  $1,350  –  3/19/08  
PATRICK  HORSEFIELD  -­‐  $1,350  –  7/15/08  
ROBERT  LANGDON  -­‐  $1,350  –  2/7/08  
ROBERT  SULLIVAN  -­‐  $1,350  –  2/6/08  
STEVE  GARNER  -­‐  $1,350  –  3/8/08  
STEVE  WHITE  -­‐  $1,350  –  2/18/08  
TIM  DOLLAR  -­‐  $1,350  –  1/29/08  
 
Steelman  has  also  made  extensive  use  of  anonymous  political  
action  committees  to  evade  contribution  limits  and  hide  her  donors.  
More  than  $500,000  was  funneled  through  committees  to  her  campaign,  
mostly  through  a  network  of  ‘legislative  district’  PACs.  
 
In  some  cases,  the  money  trail  isn’t  hard  to  follow.  One  PAC  called  
“Power  to  the  People”  (named  after  her  campaign  slogan)  contributed  
$175,000  to  her  campaign,  mostly  through  intermediaries.  The  PAC  is  
almost  exclusively  funded  by  trial  lawyers.  
 
Another  PAC  with  extensive  links  to  trial  lawyers,  named  
“Committee  for  Common  Sense  Values,”  played  a  significant  role  in  
funneling  tens  of  thousands  of  dollars  to  Steelman.    
 
Steelman  has  also  taken  thousands  in  cash  from  the  Missouri  
Association  of  Trial  Attorneys  (through  ‘Missouri  Freedom’,  a  PAC  under  
a  different  name),  accepting  contributions  in  2003,  2005  and  2008.  
 
Trial  lawyers  were  the  biggest  supporters  of  her  campaign  by  a  
huge  margin.  Steelman’s links to the trial lawyer lobby are in stark
opposition to what the Tea Party really stands for.