State Rep. Jonas Hughes offers new explanation — lupus — for flaky behavior

By every appearance, state Rep. Leonard “Jonas” Hughes IV is a guy who has trouble getting his act together.

The Missouri Ethics Commission sued him to recover fees and fines related to campaign-finance violations. He was delinquent on his property taxes. Earlier this month, The Kansas City Star reported that he hadn’t appeared in the Capitol for more than two weeks, an absence that Hughes vaguely attributed to constituent matters. Reached Thursday, Hughes provided another explanation.