State Auditor: Nicole Galloway

Age: 36

Place of residence: Columbia

Education: Applied mathematics and economics degrees from Missouri S&T; MBA from University of Missouri; CPA, Certified Fraud Examiner

Occupation: State Auditor

Political experience: Boone County Treasurer and State Auditor

Opponent: Saundra McDowell

This is your first contested election. How do you feel about running against an opponent?

This election is about a contrast between me and my opponent. It’s a very public job interview to be the state’s top fiscal watchdog and there’s a big contrast between me and my opponent. In my office of State Auditor, I have identified over $300 million in government waste, fraud, and abuse. Because of our audits, more than 35 criminal counts have been brought against corrupt public officials in this state. It is my job to hold all levels of government accountable for how they spend taxpayer money and how they make decisions on people’s behalf. People want a government that lives within its means, that is responsible with taxpayer dollars. My opponent, on the other hand, has shown no ability to manage her own personal and professional finances, has been sued seven times in the last five years for not paying her bills and has over $50,000 in garnishments and other judgments against her. This speaks directly to the choice and qualifications of being state auditor.

Are there any specific examples in which your office has saved taxpayer money?

It is my job to be the taxpayer’s watchdog and I’m proud with the results we have gotten at different levels of government. When it comes to saving taxpayer dollars, I run my office efficiently and effectively. In my office’s budget, I have returned over $1.5 million back to the taxpayers from my budget within the auditor’s office. I am really proud of how we run this office and the results that we get. Here, something locally you might recall: We did an audit of the University of Missouri System, and found that millions in hidden bonuses and luxury car allowances were being paid. We announced those audit findings on a Monday, and by Friday the system announced they eliminated that bonus program. Again, that is a direct example of how my audits get results.

What is something personal about you that you bring to this office that allows you to uncover those kinds of poor spending habits by different counties/groups/organizations?

I’m a CPA and I’m a certified fraud examiner. I did this work in the private sector before ever getting into public service. I did this work for years at different levels, auditing Fortune 500 companies, insurance companies, [and] reinsurance companies so I have the experience this job requires, and that’s why I think you see so many results. Previously to this position of State Auditor, I was treasurer in Boone County, so I understand people’s interaction with local government and how they view, oftentimes, all of state government from the lens of how they interact with their local officials. I’m proud of that work as well. I managed a $100 million investment portfolio, refinanced debt to save taxpayers here in Boone County over $4 million. I’m an auditor by trade and that gives me the perspective needed to lead this office.

You are the only remaining Democrat among state office holders. Do you think you’re carrying the mantle for your party?

I think that people want an independent watchdog in the auditor’s office. My job is to audit everyone, Democrats and Republicans alike. I am tough, I am fair and I am thorough because in my mind, I stand with taxpayers when I do this job every day. People work hard for what they have. People work hard to provide an opportunity for themselves and for their families. And when they see tax dollars wasted, when they see sometimes government officials just plain stealing money, I understand why they get so frustrated and they feel like the system is rigged against them. I think about that all the time, standing for taxpayers in this job and being their watchdog in government. I’m working for all Missourians, from the very beginning I knew that this position required independence and I have demonstrated that over and over again.

You’ve been critical of the use of ‘dark money.’ What are you thoughts on Clean Missouri?

I have been vocal against the use of dark money. I think people should understand how politics are influenced by dark money and who’s trying to pull the levers of government. Clean Missouri is an ethics initiative meant to clean up the ethical environment in Jefferson City and that’s something I have been trying to fight for for years. Let’s not forget that just five months ago, Eric Greitens resigned from office after flooding our political system with dark money. From the very beginning, I took a stand. Now, my opponent has been silent to dark money and if you can’t take a stand against secrecy and corruption in government, even if it means criticizing members of your own party, you should not be seeking the job of state auditor.

Your name has been floated as a possible gubernatorial candidate for 2020, so is a campaign for governor in your future?

You know, I’m running to win two weeks from now because I want to be State Auditor. I’m an auditor by trade and I’m passionate about how we have changed the way government works for the better. We have looked at why school districts are not getting the funding that they deserve, we’ve looked at municipal courts charging illegal fines and fees and have helped out a stop to it across the state, up and down, protecting people’s personal records and personal identifiable information through our cyber security audits. There’s still a lot to do and that I want to accomplish in this office, and I’m just so passionate about making government work better for people.

Saundra McDowell at an event last week accused you of closing or leaving incomplete audits started by Tom Schweich. How do you respond?

That’s completely inaccurate. My opponent has no qualifications to judge the performance of my office. She’s not even qualified to be State Auditor. That statement is completely inaccurate. Coming into this position was difficult. It was a period of tragedy, a tough transition within the office. All the audits that were ongoing, we completed and released. Auditor Schweich was a true public servant who really believed in the work of this office, and I share that with him. We kept a lot of the great practices that he implemented, like follow up audits and citizen summaries, the rating scale. Those were wonderful ideas and we kept those functions of the office just as they were. There’s some things that we changed, like formalizing our public corruption unit. We have now a formal group of forensic auditors and CPAs that do our kind of public corruption audits when we get whistleblower tips coming in, or tips from law enforcement. I’m proud of how we navigated that transition. Again, we have been evaluated four different times in the last several years for the performance of my office. Auditors from across the nation have come in and looked at our audit processes and gave us the highest ratings possible. The Republican legislature asked a nationally recognized firm to come in and look at how our office is managed, and they found it was efficient and effective. Again, I have a lot to be proud of in how we run this office.