JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri’s treasurer, who is running for state auditor this year, said Wednesday a new ad by his Republican primary opponent is “a lie” that should be taken off the air.
Treasurer , who is running against state Rep. , R-Sunset Hills, in the Aug. 2 primary, said Gregory lied about his experience as an auditor and accountant in this week.
“He should take the ad down and stop lying to Missouri voters,” Fitzpatrick told the Post-Dispatch on Wednesday.
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In the ad, Gregory said he’s an “actual auditor” and goes on to claim the “establishment politician” he’s running against — Fitzpatrick — is “not even an accountant.”
A search for Gregory in turns up no records. (Missouri’s current auditor, Democrat Nicole Galloway, who is not running for reelection, does show up as a licensed CPA in the state database.)
Gregory’s name also doesn’t appear in of certified internal auditors maintained by the Institute of Internal Auditors.
Asked what made Gregory an accountant, a campaign official said Gregory earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a master’s of business administration with an emphasis in accounting.
Asked what made Gregory an auditor, a spokesman for Gregory said he “worked ... as an auditor” for , associate director at Protiviti, a consulting firm.
“As a Risk Recovery Auditor, he had a great work ethic and was a highly capable professional,” Kohlfeld said, according to a quote provided by Gregory’s campaign.
(Fitzpatrick’s campaign said Gregory was referring to work he performed at the Protiviti firm; he is called an accountant, not an auditor, .)
Gregory’s campaign also said he on the Department of Revenue, which he described as a “fiscal opportunity audit” at the time.
Fitzpatrick’s campaign said the report never resulted in savings to taxpayers, but Gregory’s campaign cited statements by Ken Zellers, the then-director of the Department of Revenue, who in 2020 praised Gregory during a House Budget Committee hearing for his work with the department.
“The Department of Revenue did work with Rep. Gregory to improve processes and reduce costs,” said Chris Moreland, spokesman for Zellers, who is now the commissioner of the Office of Administration.
Gregory also describes himself as an “” on his website.
Asked what that meant, Gregory said in a statement that “My law firm prides itself on conducting thorough investigations for our clients. I conduct financial investigations for clients to uncover fraud and other financial misappropriation.”
Fitzpatrick dismissed the explanations from Gregory and his campaign.
“David Gregory is a trial attorney, not a certified auditor or CPA. His ad is a lie,” Fitzpatrick said in a statement to the Post-Dispatch on Wednesday.
“I have spent my entire career building the business I started as a teenager from the ground up, and as state Budget Chairman and State Treasurer, my oversight work has actually resulted in tens of millions of dollars in savings for Missouri taxpayers,” Fitzpatrick said.
“Gregory has spent his career profiting off lawsuits against Missouri’s small businesses,” Fitzpatrick said. “Lying about your credentials to win public office is straight out of the Biden playbook.”
“Scott Fitzpatrick is clueless about what an auditor is and does, which ought to disqualify someone running for auditor. I’m not only an auditor, I have a degree in accounting,” Gregory said in response.
“I worked as an auditor and use those skills and my accounting background every day to help save money for taxpayers and serve my clients as an investigative attorney,” he said.
“Scott Fitzpatrick is flailing because he has no experience as an auditor, or even as an accountant, and his false attacks show he knows absolutely nothing about what it takes to be an auditor, or even what an auditor is,” Gregory said.
Fitzpatrick, meanwhile, . In the 30-second spot, the current state treasurer rides around in a motorboat and catches a largemouth bass. He then fries a breaded filet.
“When I find political insiders trying to get fat off of your tax dollars, I won’t just throw ’em back,” he said in the ad.
Fitzpatrick is the CEO of MariCorp US, a marine manufacturing and construction company based in Shell Knob, Missouri. He and his wife, Mallory, have three sons, including a set of twins.
Gregory is listed as founder and partner of The Injury Counsel, , on the firm’s website. He lives with his wife, Paige, in Ƶ County.
Former state Rep. , D-Florissant, is running for auditor as a Democrat.
Libertarian of Clayton is also running. Hartwig is a CPA.
Originally posted at 12:45 p.m. Wednesday, July 13.