Evidence Suggests Galloway Illegally Used State Resources in Missouri Gubernatorial Campaign
Washington, D.C.— October 5, 2020— Today, the non-partisan ethics watchdog, the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT), filed a complaint with Missouri’s Secretary of State’s office to investigate whether Nicole Galloway misused state resources to benefit her campaign.
According to her official calendar, on February 18, 2020, Galloway, who is the State Auditor and a candidate for Governor, met with Moms Demand Action, a 501 (c)(4) sub-organization that advocates for gun control, in her state office. The State Auditor’s office has no jurisdiction over either the organization or the issue they advocate on. After the meeting, the organization became involved in Galloway’s gubernatorial campaign and Galloway was awarded the “Gun Sense Candidate distinction” from Moms Demand Action.
Under Missouri State law, “ No contributions or expenditures of public funds shall be made directly by an officer, employee, or agent of any political subdivision to advocate, support, or oppose any… candidate for public office.” Public funds constitute “monies belonging to government or any department of it in the hands of public officials.”
“The law clearly forbids officials from using government resources for political purposes, which is especially important to protect taxpayer funds from misuse when a state official is also conducting a political campaign. Galloway's official calendar stated she met with a group at her state office--a meeting that apparently had a political purpose based on the fact that afterwards they endorsed her views and the head of the organization directly raised funds for her campaign. Governing and campaigning are legally separated for a reason, and if this political meeting did in fact take place in her government office it would constitute a clear violation of Missouri law," said Kendra Arnold, Executive Director of FACT.
FACT is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting accountability, ethics, and transparency in government and civic arenas. For more on FACT, visit: http://www.factdc.org/
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