Campaign to Voluntarily Reimburse State for Attorney General’s Security Costs on Campaign Trail

JEFFERSON CITY, MO -- Attorney General Jay Nixon's campaign announced today that it will begin voluntarily reimbursing the state for costs associated with the Attorney General's security and transportation needs on the campaign trail, and called on Governor Blunt's campaign to begin doing the same. 

Ken Morley, campaign manager for Nixon for Governor, released the following statement today:

"We take his security and transportation needs very seriously and political attacks from our opponents will not change that.  Jay Nixon is Attorney General for the state of Missouri 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  As one of the toughest Attorneys General in the nation, the reality is that there are some bad people who don't like him very much. 

"However, the debate surrounding the Attorney General's security detail has become a distraction from the issues that Missourians care most about, like fixing the health care crisis in our state and making college education more affordable.  In order to move the focus back to the issues that matter most, the Nixon campaign will begin voluntarily reimbursing the state for the Attorney General's security and transportation needs while on the campaign trail.  The campaign will examine the campaign schedule going back to the beginning of the cycle in order to determine the appropriate reimbursement level.  

"Today, we call on the Governor's campaign to begin doing the same. His campaign should not only reimburse the state for security expenses associated with his political travel, but also for all security and travel expenses associated with the Governor's decision to commute to Springfield everyday instead of living in the Governor's mansion.  The Attorney General has legitimate security concerns, yet his campaign is making this voluntary decision to reimburse the state for costs relating to his security at campaign events.  The Governor also has legitimate security concerns, but there's no reason his campaign cannot also voluntarily reimburse the state for security costs associated with his political events."