JEFFERSON CITY — House Speaker Dean Plocher fired his chief of staff Tuesday, weeks after top aides in the House raised questions about an $800,000 software purchase the Des Peres Republican was lobbying for.
Kenny Ross, who has served in a variety of top staff roles in the Legislature, “vacated†the post Wednesday, according to a letter Plocher sent to lawmakers.
Plocher, who is running for lieutenant governor, did not elaborate on why Ross was let go from the . He did not respond to requests for comment and a spokesman said he didn’t expect further elaboration.
Ross, who served under four House speakers since 2018, declined comment.
Later Tuesday, Senate President Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, announced he had scooped up Ross to serve as his director of strategic initiatives.
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“I am excited to add Kenny’s years of experience to my incredibly talented team,†Rowden said in a social media post.
Rowden’s maneuver was hailed by one of Ross’ former bosses, Elijah Haahr, a Springfield Republican who served as speaker with Ross as his chief of staff.
Haahr said Ross was one of the “brightest minds†in the Capitol, where term limits have put the institutional knowledge of longtime staffers at a premium.
Plocher has drawn scrutiny in recent months after he pushed for the House to purchase a constituent management system from a private company over the objections of nonpartisan legislative staff.
House Chief Clerk Dana Rademan Miller argued in a series of emails to lawmakers that the web-based product is an unneeded and expensive redundancy.
In her analysis, Miller expressed concern that a feature on the Fireside software program would allow lawmakers to export data obtained within their official capacity as a state representative to the campaign side of their jobs.
She also said under the current system data is stored on an internal database with its own unique internal security credentials and which is not connected to the web server to avoid this data being vulnerable to hacking.
The push by Plocher drew the attention of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Missouri Independent reported last month that the FBI sent an agent to the meeting where the committee debated the purchase.
After the panel rejected the purchase, Fireside lobbyists Chris Roepe and John Bardgett canceled their contract and a spokesman for the company said the firm was no longer offering lawmakers free trials of its product.
Plocher’s counterpart, House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, said she was concerned that the push to hire Fireside was not subject to normal purchasing rules, where the House would have typically asked for requests from a number of vendors for the service in order to get the best price.
“I think that was the biggest red flag for me,†Quade said Tuesday. “I think we should have approached it differently.â€
Quade, who is running for governor, said Plocher called to make her aware of Ross’ departure, but didn’t offer an explanation.
Plocher begins his final year as speaker in January before he is term limited.
The former prosecutor and municipal judge is set to face state Sen. Holly Rehder, R-Sikeston, Franklin County Clerk Tim Baker and unsuccessful congressional candidate Paul Berry III in the GOP primary next year.
Rep. Richard Brown, the assistant minority floor leader in the House, is among Democrats seeking the post. Brown, a former Kansas City school teacher, is set to serve in his final House session in 2024 due to term limits.