ST. LOUIS -- While he was in office, former Democratic State Rep. Rodney Hubbard burnished a reputation of contrasts, showcasing an ability to mingle with conservative Republicans while maintaining a flashy profile that mimicked a hip-hop mogul.
Even after he's left Jefferson City, that legacy continues.
The Missouri Ethics Commission on Tuesday, which alleges that, during his 2008 campaign for state senate, Hubbard used his campaign account as a virtual piggy bank, failing to properly disclose payments to the Ritz-Carlton, Washington D.C. restaurants, airlines and even a guitar store.
There is hardly ever a reason that a political campaign would need to access money from an ATM machine -- especially, as in Hubbard's case, from Las Vegas casinos.
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Hubbard, 38, is no stranger to controversy.
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He was first elected in 2002, after running for the post vacated by 20-year House veteran Louis Ford.
In a tight election fraught with suspicions - there were allegations that polling stations opened late and were moved without proper notice - Hubbard defeated Ford's stepson, sparking a brief but intense family rivalry.
A year later, Hubbard was arrested after being accused of shooting at a man in Carr Square. The case was referred to Jefferson County Prosecutor Robert G. Wilkins, who did not find evidence to support assault charges.
Hubbard claims that he was set up by drug pushers he previously had a "verbal confrontation" with, encouraging them to push their wares elsewhere.
At the capitol, Hubbard drew the scorn of other members of the Black Caucus because of his close association with Republicans, who found an ally in Hubbard on the issue of school choice. Much of the complaint handed by the Ethics Commission deals with Hubbard's handling of a donation from wealthy school choice enthusiast Rex Sinquefield.
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Along the way, Hubbard enjoyed rubbing elbows with local celebrities. In 2008, Berkeley-native Cedric the Entertainer headlined a roast for Hubbard. Two years earlier, the rapper Jibbs was the guest at Hubbard's birthday party at a Washington Avenue nightclub.
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Hubbard's charisma -- and intimate knowledge of his base in Carr Square and other north central أغر؟´«أ½ neighborhoods -- helped make him a political powerbroker, though it would be difficult to say that his disorganized campaign did not hurt his own ambitions.
He lost his state senate race two years ago by about 100 votes -- a margin that probably could have been overcome with a more focused get out the vote effort.
The loss, however, did not keep Hubbard from staying involved in politics, which is in his blood.
In the August primary, Hubbard helped unseat State Rep. James Morris, a pastor that took Hubbard's old House seat in 2008.
The candidate that won? Rodney's mother Penny, who will be sworn in to her son's old seat in January.
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