House clerk blows whistle on Plocher in latest hit to Missouri speaker (2024)

JEFFERSON CITY — After weathering a sticky ethics investigation in his final year as speaker of the Missouri House, Rep. Dean Plocher, a Republican candidate for secretary of state, is now being sued in connection with the events leading up to the probe.

Dana Rademan Miller, the nonpartisan chief clerk of the House, filed a whistleblower lawsuit Friday seeking financial damages in excess of $25,000 for the conduct of Plocher and his hand-picked chief of staff, former House Speaker Rod Jetton.

She is accusing them of mismanagement, abuse of authority, violations of policy, wasting of public resources and retaliation.

“We have a culture of fear now in that building,” Miller told reporters on the steps of the Cole County Courthouse just blocks from the Capitol.

Miller, an employee of the House for more than two decades, said she was attacked for reporting possible wrongdoing.

In a statement, Miller said Plocher failed “to act in good faith and honor the rules and regulations to ensure honest government.”

“This behavior continues even now. I have tried, and continue to try, to take measures to protect myself and my colleagues from this inexcusable treatment. But I can’t keep silent anymore,” Miller said.

The timing of the filing was notable. It came a day after Plocher gaveled out the House’s spring session for the final time. Although lawmakers are on a summer break, he remains speaker until January and is expected to preside over the House during the September veto session.

Plocher, a former municipal judge, has been on a statewide tour touting the successes of a legislative session that produced the fewest number of policy bills in recent memory.

The ethics inquiry by the committee began last year after Plocher allegedly attempted to steer an $800,000 software contract for the House around the standard bidding process and then repaid a series of travel bills that he had charged to taxpayers.

Plocher fired two long-time House aides in the dust-up and another employee resigned from the leadership team.

Miller played a key role in raising questions about the proposed software purchase, which was being pushed by a well-connected lobbyist, John Bardgett.

The chief clerk also serves as the House Administrator and supervises the activity of eight nonpartisan administrative staff divisions.

Allegations included possible discussions of campaign contributions related to a successful contract.

“We need to get this program up and going before the next campaign cycle kicks in,” Plocher told Miller, according to the lawsuit.

Later, the filing shows Rep. Dale Wright, R-Farmington, suggesting that Plocher would retaliate if Miller didn’t “capitulate” to the purchase.

“Plaintiff understood this to be an explicit threat due to her voicing her continued opposition to what she saw as a flawed project meant only to line the pockets of a political contributor to Plocher that would result in him receiving political contributions despite the fact that the House did not need or want this expensive program,” the suit says.

“I do not believe that the people of this state would endorse a culture that exists on threats and fear,” Miller said.

Treatment of women

The filing says concerns about Plocher’s behavior were not new.

According to the lawsuit, in May 2022, Miller privately counseled Plocher about complaints she had received about his treatment of female Republican lawmakers, including former Rep. Sara Walsh of Ashland, whom he called “stupid.”

“Plocher’s reaction to plaintiff’s sharing of those concerns was to be dismissive. He replied, ‘They are like an invasive species.’

“When Miller expressed her confusion over that statement, Plocher clarified, ‘Stupid Republican women … they are an invasive species.’”

Walsh, contacted Friday, confirmed Plocher called her “stupid,” adding Plocher was upset that she had introduced an amendment to repeal a gas tax increase approved the year before.

“He said I was ‘too stupid’ to draft it myself,” Walsh said.

Plocher has claimed that the ethics probe was a sham and that it was a product of a “deep state” bureaucracy that wanted to depose him.

A spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

The report did not find direct evidence that Plocher committed ethical violations related the various scandals and the only punishment it recommended was a letter of disapproval.

After the House Ethics Committee voted to dismiss the complaint against him in April, the Des Peres Republican compared himself to former President Donald Trump, a now convicted felon who has faced a litany of legal problems as he seeks a second term in the White House.

The committee’s decision to dismiss the case came despite evidence showing Plocher’s camp had tried to obstruct the investigation.

Among examples cited in the report: On three occasions in March and April, Plocher refused to sign off on subpoena requests by the committee.

Plocher also was accused of threatening witnesses and creating a “culture of fear and retaliation.”

Surrounded by loyalists

Plocher surrounded himself with loyalists, including Jetton, the former speaker. Jetton, too, has faced legal challenges.

Jetton, who has helped organized Plocher’s recent statewide tour, faced felony charges following a sexual encounter where he was accused of physically assaulting a woman to the point of unconsciousness. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and was placed on probation.

The lawsuit says Jetton was “micromanaging” Miller because Plocher “had lost all confidence in her.” Jetton also is accused of considering the replacement of nonpartisan House Communications Director Benjamin Peters because Peters “wasn’t partisan enough.”

Miller said she plans to stay in her post through the end of her term in January.

“I feel diminished in my capacity,” said Miller, who served under 11 speakers. She added none of Plocher’s predecessors had expressed sexist comments to her.

According to the most recent reports filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission, Plocher leads his seven Republican opponents in the fundraising race for the secretary of state post.

Plocher reported more than $1.3 million between his campaign account and an allied political action committee; the competitor closest to his dollar amount was state Sen. Denny Hoskins, R-Warrensburg, who had nearly $255,000 on hand.

Other Republicans running include state Rep. Adam Schwadron, state Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, Valentina Gomez, Greene County Clerk Shane Schoeller, Jamie Corley and Mike Carter.

Schwadron, who called on Plocher to resign as speaker last year, said Friday, after the lawsuit was filed, that “this is par for the course with him and that’s a shame.”