Todd Graves approved for University of Missouri curators despite bipartisan filibuster
By Rudi Keller
A bipartisan coalition of state Senators was unable to stop politically connected Kansas City attorney Todd Graves from winning a seat on the University of Missouri Board of Curators.
After a two-round filibuster — three hours last week and eight more hours ending around 1 a.m. Wednesday — the Senate voted 19-13 to give the former state Republican Party chairman a six-year term on the board.
Only one Democrat, Sen. Brian Williams of Ferguson, joined with Republicans to support Graves. Four Republicans — Sens. Bill Eigel of Weldon Spring, Denny Hoskins of Warrensburg, Mike Moon of Ash Grove and Paul Wieland of Imperial — voted against Graves along with nine Democrats.