First Ward residents petition to recall City Councilman Nick Knoth over lobbyist role

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Residents of Columbia’s First Ward have started a petition to recall Councilman Nick Knoth, because of his new job as a lobbyist.  

In early October, Knoth accepted a position as the Director of Government Affairs & Regional Advocacy with the Missouri Association of Realtors. The group of citizens believes Knoth’s lobbyist position is a conflict of interest.

 Their petition, according to an email from Becca Ray, reads: 

We, the undersigned registered and qualified voters of the 1st Ward of the City of Columbia (in the county of Boone and state of Missouri) request that Nick Knoth, the Council Member representing the 1st Ward, be recalled due to his acceptance of a lobbyist position which creates a professional conflict of interest and leaves Knoth unable to reasonably represent his constituents.

The petition was put together by a group of neighbors in the First Ward. None of the organizers have ever done anything like this before. 

“I’m one of a small group of neighbors who came together organically,” First Ward resident Becca Ray told ABC 17 News. “I saw the news and sent an article to my neighbor and she said ‘yeah been talking about that with other neighbors.’ They know a couple of people a few streets over too so we kind of just pulled together this little group of people who were really just disappointed.” 

According to Article XVII, Section 136 of the city charter a recall petition must have a number of signatures that equals at least 30% of the number of votes cast for the First Ward election. 

There were 1,120 votes cast which means the petition needs 336 signatures. If they reach that total, then the city clerk would submit the petition to city council and the council would then call for a recall vote, which would appear on the next ballot, per Section 137 of the city charter. 

If there are enough votes to recall Knoth, then there would be a vacancy on the City Council. Section 9 of the city charter says that the vacancy will be filled by the council for a period running to the next regular election unless that period exceeds one year. If it exceeds one year, the council can make a provision for a special election. 

According to, Ray they have had multiple people knocking on doors to collect signatures. 

“We don’t think you should be a lobbyist and a public servant at the same time. It’s not who we voted for. We didn’t vote a lobbyist into office and within five months he had this job as a lobbyist.” 

Knoth responded to concerns over his new job with an Oct.12 statement on Facebook that said “My job will be focused on the state level, not the local level, and I will not be working on issues addressed by our local City Council.” 

Knoth also told ABC 17 News that he has engaged with every member of the City Council and that they are all “unanimously in support” of his position. 

Knoth has been adamant that his new job is not a conflict of interest and said he would recuse himself from any city council vote that presents a “genuine conflict of interest”. 

“I will engage on any potential conflict of interest determination with the city legal team. I will always be cautious, as anyone is, to be conscious of potential conflicts of interest. I have already engaged the General Counsel of the Missouri Ethics Commission to ensure there is no overarching conflict of interest between my service as a councilman and my day job. Again, like anyone, I must remain vigilant for potential conflicts, however unlikely they may be,” Knoth told ABC 17 News in a statement. 

Ray said that even if Knoth were to recuse himself from votes that present a conflict of interest, they will still move forward with recalling him. 

“Even if he recuses himself that's not a great situation either because that just means the first ward doesn’t have a vote on those issues,” Ray said. “So if he is recusing himself from all property rights stuff, all land usage stuff, that’s a lot of the council. I went back and kinda looked at agendas and if I’m being conservative listing what those things fall under, that’s like 50 percent of what council is looking at right now.” 

One issue that Ray believes is a conflict of interest is short-term rentals. 

“The organization that he’s worked with has come out with their own statement on short-term rentals and they are often in conflict with what I’m hearing from neighbors,” Ray said. “We are just a little ward, our infrastructure is small. We have small streets, so people having short-term rentals really affects the neighborhood.” 

Knoth addressed the issue of short-term rentals in his Facebook post on Oct. 12 writing: 

“However, you may be concerned about the upcoming Council action on Short-Term Vacation Rentals (STRs). As I said during the campaign, and many times since, I’m fully in favor of regulating STRs and protecting our neighborhoods. After all, I live here too and understand the importance of a vibrant residential community.” 

Knoth ran unopposed in his First Ward race after Pat Fowler dropped out of the election. Missouri Ethics Commission records show Knoth's campaign received multiple contributions from Brian Toohey, who is the CEO of the Columbia Board of REALTORS, which is one of the branches that is a part of Knoth’s region in his lobbyist job.

Toohey contributed $154.97 to Knoth’s campaign on Jan. 20, he then made another $103.48 contribution on March 7.

“It raises red flags. Looking back it feels like we should have caught that and we didn’t and I hope that this recall can kind of correct course,” Ray said.  

Knoth did not see any issues with Toohey’s campaign contribution and says it will have no effect on his decision-making. 

“I do not work for Brian Toohey or the Columbia Board of Realtors. I am no more biased towards them than I am any entity or individual that has supported me in the past like any other councilperson who has been endorsed and/or donated to by individuals and organizations in our community,” Knoth told ABC 17 News in a text message.

ABC 17 News reached out to Toohey who wrote in a statement, "People are taking Mr. Knoth’s position out of context without learning the actual job responsibilities."

Toohey wrote in the statement that Knoth's role could benefit the First Ward.

"Mr. Knoth is NOT a lobbyist for our organization.  We do have an individual who works for our organization as a sub-contractor who attends City of Columbia meetings and on rare occasions, makes public comments on behalf of CBOR during public hearings.     

One of the biggest problems facing Columbia is a housing shortage.  With Nick’s position, he’ll be able to access resources with ideas to help alleviate those problems, which would benefit Columbia, especially the First Ward."

Statement from Brian Toohey

Toohey also stated that Knoth will have to register as a lobbyist. Knoth is not currently registered, according to a search on the Missouri Ethics Commission online records. Knoth's previous role for the Columbia Chamber of Commerce is listed as "terminated," with the last active day registered as April 23, 2021.

Knoth is not the first Columbia elected official to accept a position as a lobbyist. Former Mayor Brian Treece also held a lobbyist position while he was in office. However, after complaints about a conflict of interest the state’s ethics committee forced him to dissolve his campaign committee.