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As of October 27, 2010, Mr. Sinquefield has donated $22,500 to candidate Steve Cookson, who is running for the seat in Missouri's 153rd district.<ref>[http://www.mec.mo.gov/EthicsWeb/CampaignFinance/CF_CommInfo.aspx?MECID=C091295&Year=2010].</ref>
As of October 27, 2010, Mr. Sinquefield has donated $22,500 to candidate Steve Cookson, who is running for the seat in Missouri's 153rd district.<ref>[http://www.mec.mo.gov/EthicsWeb/CampaignFinance/CF_CommInfo.aspx?MECID=C091295&Year=2010].</ref>

==Controversial Ku Klux Klan Public School Statement==
At a speaking engagement held at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, MO. Sinquefield made the following statements concerning the public school system: <ref>{{cite web|url= http://midwestdemocracy.com/articles/rex-sinquefield-draws-sharp-rebuke-missouri-teachers-union |title= UPDATE: Rex Sinquefield draws sharp rebuke from Missouri teachers union|publisher= http://midwestdemocracy.com/|date=2012-10-12 |accessdate=2012-10-12}}</ref>

{{cquote| You know what. There was a column written, and I hope I don’t offend anyone. There was a published column by a man named Ralph Voss, who was a former judge in Missouri. He now owns and writes for a newspaper in Central Missouri called the Unterrified Democrat. What a name. And it's in Osage County, Mo. And he starts off something like this: He said a long time ago, decades ago, the Ku Klux Klan got together and said, “How can we really hurt the African American children permanently? How can we ruin their lives?” And what they designed was the public school system.}}

The Legislative Black Caucus in Missouri as well as the Missouri chapter of the National Education Association criticized Sinquefield’s remarks. Sinquefield later issued an apology for his statements. <ref>{{cite web|url= http://midwestdemocracy.com/articles/rex-sinquefield-draws-sharp-rebuke-missouri-teachers-union |title= UPDATE: Rex Sinquefield draws sharp rebuke from Missouri teachers union|publisher= http://midwestdemocracy.com/|date=2012-10-12 |accessdate=2012-10-12}}</ref>


==Education Agenda==
==Education Agenda==

Revision as of 23:12, 10 February 2012

Rex Sinquefield
Born
Saint Louis, United States
Alma materSt. Louis University
OccupationPresident of Show-Me Institute

Rex Sinquefield, 62[needs update], is a conservative businessman active in Missouri politics and philanthropic causes.

Background

Raised in Saint Vincent Orphanage in Saint Louis, Sinquefield received his MBA from the University of Chicago in 1972, his B.S. in 1967 from St. Louis University, where he is a member of the board of trustees, and graduated from Bishop DuBourg High School in 1962. In the 1970s, he conducted research on historical stock market returns and pioneered some of the nation's first index funds[citation needed]. He was the author, with Yale School of Management professor, Roger G. Ibbotson, of Stocks, Bonds, Bills and Inflation, a study of stock market returns.[1] Sinquefield was the co-founder of Dimensional Fund Advisors and was its co-chairman until his retirement in 2005.

Sinquefield founded and serves as the president of the Show-Me Institute, a public policy research organization based in St. Louis that has been labeled libertarian,[2][3][4] conservative,[5][6] and free-market.[7] Since 2003, he has served as a member of the editorial board of the Financial Analysts Journal. Sinquefield is a director of St. Vincent Orphan's Home in St. Louis, a member of the investment committee of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, and a life trustee of DePaul University. He serves on the boards of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, the St. Louis Art Museum, and the Missouri Botanical Garden. He was also the major contributor to the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis and World Chess Hall of Fame.

Campaign donation controversy

Mr. Sinquefield is a major financial contributor to political campaigns in Missouri politics.[8][9] He has particularly focused on supporting public school vouchers and opposing campaign contribution limits. Despite his philanthropic focus, he has been criticized for creating 100 Political action committees through which to funnel his donations, thereby bypassing legal limits on individual donations to political campaigns.[8][10][11][12] The Missouri Citizen Education Fund has contended that he has essentially 'bought' votes on issues such as campaign contribution limits and private school vouchers.[11]

On October 12, 2010, Mr. Sinquefield donated $25,000 to Rep. Timothy Jones, who was running unopposed in Missouri's 89th district.[13]

As of October 27, 2010, Mr. Sinquefield has donated $22,500 to candidate Steve Cookson, who is running for the seat in Missouri's 153rd district.[14]

Controversial Ku Klux Klan Public School Statement

At a speaking engagement held at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, MO. Sinquefield made the following statements concerning the public school system: [15]

You know what. There was a column written, and I hope I don’t offend anyone. There was a published column by a man named Ralph Voss, who was a former judge in Missouri. He now owns and writes for a newspaper in Central Missouri called the Unterrified Democrat. What a name. And it's in Osage County, Mo. And he starts off something like this: He said a long time ago, decades ago, the Ku Klux Klan got together and said, “How can we really hurt the African American children permanently? How can we ruin their lives?” And what they designed was the public school system.

The Legislative Black Caucus in Missouri as well as the Missouri chapter of the National Education Association criticized Sinquefield’s remarks. Sinquefield later issued an apology for his statements. [16]

Education Agenda

Sinquefield dedicates much of his time working on improving educational opportunities for every Missouri child, regardless of social and economic background. His commitment to education recently was brought together with another longtime passion, the game of chess. In 2007, the Sinquefields founded the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, a venue where newcomers can learn the game and gurus can compete in local and national tournaments.[17] Recognizing the cognitive and behavioral benefits of the game for students, one of the key missions of the Center is to promote and grow scholastic chess programs in area schools, especially the Saint Louis Public School System.

Sinquefield is a strong proponent of education reform. On April 1, 2009, Sinquefield and W. Bevis Schock filed suit in U.S. District Court seeking to remove deed restrictions place by St. Louis Public Schools over the sale of closed buildings. The restrictions prohibited the reopening of the buildings as schools for 100 years.[18] On April 17, the St. Louis Public Schools announced it would lift the deed restrictions.[19]

Sinquefield also spent at least $800,000 [20] in a lawsuit brought by more than 250 of the state’s 523 school districts seeking more funding for education. Sinquefield’s participation as a private citizen was considered unusual because the defendant was the state of Missouri, represented by then Attorney General Jay Nixon, now Governor. On Sept. 1, 2009, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled against the school district, saying that the existing state funding formula was adequate.[21]

Tax Policy Efforts

Much of Sinquefield’s efforts in recent years have been devoted to changing tax policy throughout Missouri. He is an advocate of eliminating the state’s income tax and replacing it with a more comprehensive sales tax.[22][23]

He also is a primary financial supporter of the Let Voters Decide committee.[24] The committee successfully placed a statewide initiative on the Missouri ballot in November 2010 to make two changes in state law: Require voters in both Kansas City and St. Louis to vote on whether to keep their respective 1 percent earnings taxes, or phase them out over 10 years; and prohibit any other local government in the state from imposing an earnings tax.[25]

The Let Voters Decide Ballot Initiative became Proposition A on the 2010 November statewide ballot in Missouri.[26] Missourians passed proposition A with a large margin - 68.4% YES / 31.6% NO (1,294,911 YES votes to 598,010 NO votes).[27] Because of the passage of this initiative, if the voters in St. Louis and Kansas City vote down the City Earnings Tax, 1/3 of the two cities' operating budgets could be affected, as the revenue will no longer be collected via the earnings tax.

On January 5, 2011, a group supported by Sinquefield, Let Voters Decide, submitted nine initiative petitions to the Missouri Secretary of State calling for a repeal of the state’s income tax – with a top rate of 6 percent.[28] The petitions also call for a higher sales tax, capped at 7 percent, that would be applied to virtually any good or service transaction involving individuals.[29] The initiative will require signatures from between 146,000 and 167,000 people to be placed on the November 2012 ballot.[30]

Sinquefield and Let Voters Decide President Travis Brown say that replacing the income tax with a sales tax would help create jobs, promote economic development and make state revenue collection less volatile. [31]

Local Control of St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department

Sinquefield is supporting an effort to return local control of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department to the City of St. Louis.[32] The police department is run by a five-person board that includes four gubernatorial appointees.[33] The system has been in place since 1861.[34]

Sinquefield donated $300,000 to “A Safer Missouri,” a group pushing for local control.[35] A Safer Missouri is endorsing state legislation in favor of local control[36], along with a ballot initiative filed with the Missouri Secretary of State, which will be pursued if the legislative efforts fail, according to a spokeswoman for A Safer Missouri. [37]

Local control has received broad support, including St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and the American Civil Liberties Union.[38]

On Feb. 22, 2011, the House of Representatives passed House Bill 71, the local measure in that body, by a vote of 109-46.[39] The measure will go to the Senate, which is also considering similar legislation, Senate Bill 23.

Philanthropy

Sinquefield and his wife, Jeanne, and their children, donate funds to a wide variety of organizations through the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation.[40] Among the areas of interest of the foundation are education, autism research, the Boy Scouts of America, Covenant House of Missouri and the arts.[41][42]

In 2009, Sinquefield and his wife, Jeanne, through the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation, gave $1 million to the University of Missouri’s School of Music.[43] Those funds were used to create the New Music Initiative, an effort designed to encourage young people to become composers and to support new works of music composition. [44]

References

  1. ^ "Stocks, Bonds, Bills and Inflation: Historical Returns (Stocks, Bonds, Bills & Inflation Yearbook) (9781556231407): Roger G. Ibbotson, Rex Sinquefield: Books". Amazon.com. 2009-09-09. Retrieved 2010-09-28.
  2. ^ "Arch City Chronicle". Archive.archcitychronicle.com. 2008-06-09. Retrieved 2010-09-28.
  3. ^ "The Volokh Conspiracy - Eminent Domain in Missouri:". Volokh.com. Retrieved 2010-09-28.
  4. ^ Finkel, Tom (2008-07-17). "Rex Sinquefield's Chess Mecca in the CWE - St. Louis News - Daily RFT". Blogs.riverfronttimes.com. Retrieved 2010-09-28.
  5. ^ Slate Links to Show-Me Institute Study, Show-Me Daily, 2008-11-14, accessed 2009-3-25
  6. ^ "Mississippi Calls for Refore", GavelGrab, 2008-8-11, accessed 2009-3-25
  7. ^ [1][dead link]
  8. ^ a b Drebes, Dave. "Rex Sinquefield opens his wallet wider", St. Louis Business Journal, 2007-11-9. Retrieved on 2009-3-24.
  9. ^ Rosenbaum, Jason. "The Rex Factor", Columbia Tribune, 2007-7-18. Retrieved on 2009-3-24.
  10. ^ "Rex Sinquefield for Grinch 2007", St. Louis Area Jobs with Justice, Retrieved on 2009-3-24.
  11. ^ a b "Rex Sinquefield: Power of the Purse", Missouri Citizen Education Fund, June 2008, Retrieved on 2009-3-24.
  12. ^ "Rex Sinquefield: Putting a Price on Politics", Missouri Citizen Education Fund, October 2007, Retrieved on 2009-3-24.
  13. ^ Campaign Finance: overkill - a $25,000.00 contribution for a candidate with no opponent?, October 14, 2010, http://blog.showmeprogress.com/diary/5165/campaign-finance-overkill-a-2500000-contribution-for-a-candidate-with-no-opponent. Retrieved on 2010-10-15.
  14. ^ [2].
  15. ^ "UPDATE: Rex Sinquefield draws sharp rebuke from Missouri teachers union". http://midwestdemocracy.com/. 2012-10-12. Retrieved 2012-10-12. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  16. ^ "UPDATE: Rex Sinquefield draws sharp rebuke from Missouri teachers union". http://midwestdemocracy.com/. 2012-10-12. Retrieved 2012-10-12. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  17. ^ "ST. Louis Chess Club and Scholastic Center", St. Louis Commerce Magazine, 2008-8-1
  18. ^ "Sinquefield and Schock Sue Saint Louis Public Schools to Lift Building Deed Restrictions", St. Louis Post Dispatch, 2009-4-1
  19. ^ "St. Louis Public School Board Lifts Deed Restrictions on Charter Schools"
  20. ^ "Judge Rules That Missouri is Fulfilling its Public School Funding Obligation"
  21. ^ "Missouri Supreme Court upholds the state's funding formula for public schools"
  22. ^ "Big Change Proposed for Taxes"
  23. ^ "Why a Sales Tax Is Better for Missouri Than an Income Tax"
  24. ^ "BREAKING: Sinquefield drops another $750,000 on anti E-tax campaign"
  25. ^ "Let Voters Decide"
  26. ^ "Proposition A (the Let Voters Decide Initiative) Approved for November 2 Ballot"
  27. ^ "State of Missouri General Election - November 2, 2010 - Prop A"
  28. ^ "Sinquefield, allies to seek ballot proposals ending Missouri’s income tax - St. Louis Beacon, Jan. 7, 2011"
  29. ^ "Sinquefield, allies to seek ballot proposals ending Missouri’s income tax - St. Louis Beacon, Jan. 7, 2011"
  30. ^ "Sinquefield, allies to seek ballot proposals ending Missouri’s income tax - St. Louis Beacon, Jan. 7, 2011"
  31. ^ "Group seeks to swap state income tax for sales tax"
  32. ^ "House committee passes local control measure; Sinquefield backs it."
  33. ^ "Why you should care about who controls the St. Louis Police Department"
  34. ^ "Why you should care about who controls the St. Louis Police Department"
  35. ^ "Groups pushes for local control of police department"
  36. ^ "A Safer Missouri Website"
  37. ^ "Sinquefield’s latest cause: Local control for St. Louis Police"
  38. ^ "House committee passes local control measure; Sinquefield backs it"
  39. ^ "House committee passes local control measure; Sinquefield backs it"
  40. ^ "Sinquefield Charitable Foundation"
  41. ^ "Sinquefield Charitable Foundation"
  42. ^ "Covenant House of Missouri"
  43. ^ "$1 Million Gift Supports New Music at MU"
  44. ^ "MU Music"

External links

  • An interview with Rex Sinquefield explaining the investment philosophy he pioneered.
  • An article on Sinquefield's receipt of the 1999 Distinguished Entrepreneurial Alumni award from the University of Chicago graduate school of business.
  • Fortune article on Sinquefield's investment predictions.
  • Article on Sinquefield's political activities in Missouri.
  • [3] Saint Louis Chess Club and Scholastic Center

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