Nicole Galloway
Nicole Galloway is an American politician, who has served as State Auditor of Missouri since 2015, and is a candidate for governor of Missouri in the 2020 election. Galloway, a member of the Democratic Party, was elected to a full term as State Auditor of Missouri in the 2018 election on November 6, 2018, winning by 135,571 votes, or nearly 6 percent, with 50.4% of the vote to her Republican opponent Sandra McDowell's 44.6%. Galloway was appointed as State Auditor of Missouri by Governor Jay Nixon on April 14, 2015, following the resignation of John Watson. John Watson was appointed as State Auditor following the death of Tom Schweich in February 2015, before Galloway's appointment as State Auditor nearly two months later. Following the defeat of U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill in the 2018 U.S. Senate election, Galloway became the only female state officeholder and the only Democratic statewide elected official in Missouri.
On August 12, 2019, Galloway announced that she was entering the Democratic primary in the 2020 Missouri gubernatorial election. If elected, Galloway would become the first female Governor of Missouri.
Boone County Treasurer
Galloway served as Treasurer of Boone County, Missouri from April 2011 until her appointment as State Auditor four years later. As County Treasurer, she managed a $100 million investment portfolio and issued all general obligation and revenue bonds for the county. Galloway developed a debt issuance policy in 2012 that provided increased transparency. In 2011, Boone County became the first Missouri county to maintain an online search and claim system for unclaimed property. Galloway's office distributed about $20,000 in unclaimed property in 2014.When serving as County Treasurer, Galloway served on the Missouri Technology Corporation and Missouri County Employees’ Retirement Fund. As a board member for retirement fund board she was the leader for expanding benefits to members’ same-sex spouses.
Following Galloway's resignation as Boone County Treasurer on April 27, 2015, Kay Murray was appointed as interim County Treasurer.
Missouri State Auditor
Galloway has said her goals as State Auditor of Missouri are to hold her office and others to the highest professional standards and being accountable to Missourians.Upon taking the oath of office in 2015, Galloway said one of her first priorities as State Auditor of Missouri would be cybersecurity by making protection of Missourians' private data part of audit procedures for the State Auditor's Office.
As State Auditor of Missouri, Galloway manages about 115 employees. The State Auditor's staff is made up of CPAs, with about 65 percent of all audit staff having at least one professional license, certification or advanced degree. Employment as an auditor with the State Auditor's Office qualifies as mandatory experience required for licensure by the Missouri State Board of Accountancy as a certified public accountant.
Additional responsibilities of the State Auditor's Office include serving as the independent, professional watchdog for government. The State Auditor's Office works to ensure the proper use of public funds and to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Missouri government by performing audits of state agencies, boards and commissions, the circuit court system, the counties in Missouri that do not have a county auditor, and other political subdivisions upon petition by the voters. These audits examine financial accountability, waste, opportunities for fraud, and whether government organizations and programs are achieving their purposes and operating economically and efficiently.
Calloway County
On September 24, 2018, Auditor Galloway delivered an auditor report showing $300,000 missing from the Callaway County Collector’s Office from January 2016 to March 2018. The former collector pleaded guilty in federal court to embezzling the funds.On March 4, 2019, former Callaway County Collector Pamela Oestreich was sentenced to two years and six months in federal prison without parole for embezzling more than $300,000 from taxpayers in Callaway County.
Putnam County Hospital
In 2017, Auditor Galloway issued an audit that uncovered a billing scheme in which Putnam County Memorial Hospital billed insurance companies for lab services conducted across the country. The questionable activity began in September 2016, after the Putnam County Hospital Board hired David Byrns and his company, Hospital Partners Inc., to take over day-to-day management of the hospital. Her report uncovered $90 million in inappropriate lab billings. The findings of the audit were covered by national news outlets and resulted in calls for a federal investigation into hospital billing schemes.Following the audit, dozens of major insurers banded together to file lawsuits against affiliated hospitals in Missouri and other states, demanding hundreds of millions in restitution. The lawsuits describe the lab-billing operation as a "widespread fraudulent scheme".
Audit of City of Viburnum
On June 21, 2017, Auditor Galloway released an audit showing the city clerk of Viburnum, Missouri stole $100,000. Dana Mayberry served as the Viburnum City Clerk for 14 years. The city identified inconsistencies in accounts she oversaw after she lost her reelection bid in April 2016. At that time, most of the city and municipal division records disappeared in the Iron County town of less than 1,000 residents. Mayberry admitted to stealing city funds, after which the mayor notified the State Auditor’s Office. An audit began in August 2016 after the Viburnum Board of Aldermen authorized one. The examination began to uncover a scheme in which the former clerk adjusted customer utility accounts and then destroyed records and other evidence. The former city Clerk was charged with receiving stolen property, a Class B Felony as a result of the audit. On August 15, 2018, the former city Clerk was sentenced to five years probation and ordered to pay the City of Viburnum $100,000.''Missouri Alliance for Freedom v. Galloway''
In May 2017, the 501 non-profit Missouri Alliance for Freedom submitted multiple open-records requests to the Office of State Auditor. The requests sought a wide variety of communications, including those specifically concerning the auditor’s scrutiny of the Missouri Department of Revenue. The Auditor's office responded that non-substantial messages that relate to the office's business are not required to be produced in sunshine law requests. The State Auditor's Office produced approximately 47,000 pages at no charge to Missouri Alliance for Freedom, including 254 screenshots of text messages to and from the State Auditor.In July 2017, Missouri Alliance for Freedom sued the State Auditor's Office. The legal team working for Missouri Alliance for Freedom was Graves Garrett.
In November 2017 the Missouri Alliance for Freedom filed a formal complaint with Republican Missouri attorney general Josh Hawley alleging that Galloway "unlawfully withheld public records from her State-provided cell phone." In February 2018, attorney general Hawley issued a report that found Galloway complied with the Missouri Sunshine Law.
After the Attorney General's report on February 7, 2018, the judge dismissed the majority of the claims against the State Auditor's Office, and ordered Missouri Alliance for Freedom re-plead its claims.
The Missouri Alliance for Freedom alleged that Galloway had her cell phone automatically delete text messages after 30 days. Because Galloway’s office had taken more than 30 days to respond to previous sunshine requests, it was unclear if Galloway’s office knowingly violated or subverted the Missouri sunshine law.
Circuit Judge Jon Beetem ruled against Missouri Alliance for Freedom on January 28, 2019, ending the suit in favor of Galloway. The judgement stated, "The Court finds in favor of Defendant State Auditor Nicole Galloway on all claims..."