LEE'S SUMMIT COUNCILMAN CHRIS MORENO COULD BE FIRST MAJOR METRO POLITICO RECALLED IN YEARS: WILL HE SURVIVE???

Over the weekend, a sordid tale of campaign finance controversy garnered a great deal of traction among Kansas City metro political denizens . . .

KSHB: Lee's Summit councilman causing concerns after linked financial contributions

Money line . . .

"Moreno made a motion in January to lower the payments in lieu of taxes, or PILOT, that local developer, M150 Echelon Land Development Project, would have to pay the city while building the new Residences at Echelon.

"Moreno asked the city to lower the PILOT from $1,051 per unit to $935 per unit, back down to the original price the city had once set. After the city voted against the motion, they later agreed to meet in the middle, voting to approve a PILOT at $993 per unit. Some believe this move saved the developer millions of dollars. According to Missouri Ethics Commission documents, a Political Action Committee was formed by February 6 called ‘Taxpayers Alliance.”

"Although Moreno told 41 Action News he is not involved with the PAC, his father, David Moreno, is listed as the treasurer and a phone number associated with Moreno and one of his former businesses is listed as the PAC phone number."

Read the whole thing . . . Councilman Moreno defends the PAC contribution and his vote in addition to a statement of support from the donor. The reality is that this kind of thing is pretty much standard operating procedure in Missouri.

But here's where it gets interesting . . .

THE TIMING OF THIS STORY IS DEVASTATING AMID THE UPCOMING RECALL CAMPAIGN TO OUST COUNCILMAN MORENO!!!

Just a small bit of insight from an insider on this issue . . .

"The recall could be the first successful one in decades. I think with the recent lawsuit, and now this, it's been a major turning point."

Meanwhile, Insiders from the Moreno camp rage against proponents of a recall that come from outside his Council district.

The big picture here . . . Remember a not-so-long-ago slap fight betwixt Councilman Moreno and another politico over small money contracts???

Whilst Lee's Summit was content to let Councilman Moreno play Conservative Christian culture war crusader against Transgender bathroom at Target . . . An unsavory fight with a colleague was quickly met with a recall effort news that our blog community broke first.

The reality here . . . This blood feud betwixt an embattled politico and a growing coalition of voters in Lee's Summit is boiling over and Councilman Moreno's opponents are even digging into his political history to come up with ammunition for their final push.

The question:

WILL COUNCILMAN MORENO SURVIVE THE RECALL EFFORT THAT SEEMS TO BE GAINING MOMENTUM???

You decide . . .