Thomas Schweich
Thomas Schweich is the former Missouri State Auditor. He was first elected to the office in 2010 and won re-election in 2014.[1] Schweich served until his death from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on February 26, 2015.[2]
Schweich announced his entry into the 2016 race for Governor of Missouri on January 28, 2015. During the speech at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, he suggested that his campaign would focus on stronger ethics laws and consolidation of school districts.[3]
Schweich's suicide sparked a feud between media director Spence Jackson and Missouri Republican Party chair John Hancock in March 2015. Jackson called for Hancock's resignation following allegations that the party chair sought to ruin Schweich's gubernatorial campaign with a whisper campaign about his religious background. Hancock has argued that he mistakenly thought the former auditor was Jewish but did not try to damage his candidacy. Jackson died on March 29 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.[4]
Biography
Following his graduation from Harvard Law School, Schweich began his career as an attorney with the law firm of Bryan Cave LLP. From 1999 to 2000, he was chief of staff for the Special Counsel investigation into the conduct of the U.S. government in connection with the 1993 siege of the Branch Davidian compound at Waco, Texas. Schweich went on to serve as chief of staff to three United States Ambassadors to the United Nations and as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and Acting Assistant Secretary of State at the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs in the State Department. From 2007 to 2008, he served as the U.S. Coordinator for Counternarcotics and Justice Reform in Afghanistan.[5]
Education
- Graduate, St. Louis County Public Schools
- Graduate, Yale
- J.D., Harvard Law School[5]
Political career
Missouri State Auditor (2011 - 2015)
Schweich first won election to office in 2010. He won a second term in office on November 4, 2014.
Audit of St. Joseph School District
On February 17, 2015, Schweich released a 53-page audit of St. Joseph School District detailing a lack of financial control in the scandal-plagued district. This report indicated that secret stipends totaling $25 million were distributed to administrators over an eight-year period, including $3.8 million in 2014. Schweich issued a "poor" rating to the district, which means that the district needs to "significantly improve operations...that require management's immediate attention." The auditor's announcement of these findings drew a crowd of 250 community members and generated gasps from the audience at the scale of the stipend scandal.[6]
Here is the summary of the stipend scandal as published in Schweich's report:
| “ |
The St. Joseph School District's use of its existing salary schedules and stipend system has resulted in a confusing, inconsistently applied, and poorly documented system of compensation. Salary schedules were not complete or always properly approved, there were no salary schedules for some classes of employees, and the district did not have adequate documentation to support some employees' placement and advancement on respective salary schedules. The district failed to establish adequate policies and procedures regarding stipends, does not maintain adequate documentation of the stipend amounts paid to employees, and the School Board does not approve most stipends given to employees. Stipend payments totaled $3.8 million for the 2013-2014 school year. In addition, some additional compensation appears questionable and unnecessary, and the district is not complying with its overtime policies. [7] |
” |
| —Missouri State Auditor, (2015) | ||
Noteworthy events
Lawsuit against Governor Nixon
On August 26, 2011, Schweich sued Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, alleging that the governor violated the state constitution by cutting spending on education and other services to help cover the costs of the Joplin tornado and spring flooding. Nixon had reportedly announced $170 million in budget cuts for the fiscal year that began July 1, 2011.[8]
Schweich and his attorneys argued that the cuts were intended to be permanent and that the governor can reduce expenditures only when revenues fall below projections. Meanwhile, Nixon's attorneys claimed that the cuts were temporary and authorized under a constitutional section that gives the governor the power to control the rate of expenditures.[8]
The section of the Missouri Constitution under question states, "The governor may control the rate at which any appropriation is expended during the period of the appropriation by allotment or other means, and may reduce the expenditures of the state or any of its agencies below their appropriations whenever the actual revenues are less than the revenue estimates upon which the appropriations were based."[9]
Elections
2016
Schweich announced after his 2014 re-election as Missouri State Auditor that he was considering a bid for governor in 2016.[10] He officially launched his campaign for the office on January 28, 2015.[3]
Race background
Citizen for Fairness attack ad against Schweich
In February 2015, a political action committee (PAC) called Citizens for Fairness aired radio ads criticizing former gubernatorial candidate Thomas Schweich (R). The ad criticized Schweich as a weak candidate whom opponents would "squash ... like a bug that he is."[11] Ads ran on radio stations in Kansas City, Columbia, and other Missouri cities from February 19 to 21, coinciding with Reagan-Lincoln Days events for state Republicans. The ads aired prior to Schweich's poor showing in a straw poll against Hanaway.
Suicide and subsequent allegations
On February 26, 2015, Schweich was found dead in his home due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound.[12]
Schweich's supporters, including his mentor and former U.S. Senator John Danforth (R), accused Schweich's opponent, Republican Catherine Hanaway, of launching a smear campaign against him that ultimately led to his suicide. The accusation arose in part from various connections drawn between Hanaway's campaign and the Citizens for Fairness attack ad. The ad was produced by Axiom Strategies, a firm headed by John Roe, who serves as a consultant to Hanaway's campaign. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch drew further connections between Hanaway and Citizens for Fairness through James C. Thomas III, an attorney who, at the time, acted as campaign treasurer for both Hanaway's campaign and for the Citizens for Fairness PAC.[12]
Hanaway briefly suspended her campaign in response to Schweich's suicide.[12] Following her return to the campaign trail at the end of March 2016, she denied any knowledge of the Citizens for Fairness ad prior to its airing. "It wasn’t my style. I wouldn’t have run it," Hanaway said, adding: "What my campaign is going to be about is a positive vision for Missouri." Hanaway also stated that Roe was no longer allowed to create ads for her campaign without her prior consent.[13]
Police investigation and final report
A report later issued by the Clayton Police Department stated that an investigation found no clear motive for Schweich's suicide, nor any link between it and the attack ad or John Hancock.[14] The report stated that Schweich's wife told police that he had suffered from suicidal ideations for years, and that in the days leading up to his death, he had indeed been preoccupied with Hancock's purported anti-Semitic "whisper campaign" against him.[15] A spokeswoman for Danforth stated that Schweich's previous suicidal ideations "really [don't] change anything," and that the senator still believed that political machinations contributed to Schweich's death.[14]
2014
Schweich ran for re-election to the office of Missouri State Auditor.[1] Schweich was unopposed in the primary. The general election took place on November 4, 2014.
Results
General election
| Missouri Auditor, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Tom Schweich Incumbent |
73.3% | 937,961 | |
| Libertarian | Sean O'Toole | 19.7% | 252,351 | |
| Constitution | Rodney Farthing | 7% | 89,080 | |
| Total Votes | 1,279,392 | |||
| Election results via Secretary of State | ||||
2010
Schweich won election as state auditor in the November 2010 election, defeating Democratic incumbent Susan Montee and Libertarian Charles W. Baum.[16]
| Missouri State Auditor, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Thomas Schweich |
50.8% | 974,517 | |
| Democratic | Susan Montee Incumbent | 45.5% | 871,867 | |
| Libertarian | Charles W. Baum | 3.7% | 70,816 | |
| Total Votes | 1,917,200 | |||
| Election results via Missouri Secretary of State | ||||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Recent news
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See also
External links
- Missouri State Auditor Thomas Schweich
- Campaign website
- Profile from Vote-USA
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign contributions: 2012 (Auditor), 2012 (Governor), 2010
- Missouri Auditor Thomas Schweich on Facebook
- Follow Auditor Schweich on Twitter
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 PoliticMo, Schweich unchallenged in 2014 auditor’s cash race, June 19, 2013
- ↑ The New York Times, "Police Say Thomas Schweich, Candidate for Missouri Governor, Killed Himself," February 26, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Daily Journal, "Missouri Auditor Tom Schweich to run for governor, setting up Republican primary in 2016," January 28, 2015
- ↑ Politico, "Spokesman for Missouri official who committed suicide found dead," March 30, 2015
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Missouri Auditor, " About us," accessed February 6, 2013
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Missouri State Auditor, "Citizens Summary," accessed February 20, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 The Associated Press, "UPDATE: Missouri auditor sues Gov. Nixon over disaster-related budget cuts" August 26, 2011
- ↑ The Associated Press, "Judge weighing Nixon's budget cuts" October 31, 2011
- ↑ The Rolla Daily News, "Schweich weighing running for Missouri governor," November 20, 2014
- ↑ Fox2Now, "New political attack ad compares Tom Schweich to Barney Fife," February 26, 2015
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Washington Post, "A fragile man, whispered innuendo, and two suicides in Missouri," accessed August 20, 2015
- ↑ The New York Times, "Missouri Candidate Picks Up Where She Left Off After Rival’s Suicide," March 29, 2015
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 CBS St. Louis, "Hanaway Criticizes ‘Blame Game’ Eulogy in Schweich Funeral," May 11, 2015
- ↑ St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "Schweich told family he had thoughts of suicide for years, Clayton police say," April 15, 2016
- ↑ Missouri Secretary of State, "November 2010 General Election Results," accessed May 18, 2011
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Susan Montee (D) |
Missouri State Auditor 2011–2015 |
Succeeded by John Watson |
| ||||||||||||||
