JEFFERSON CITY 鈥 Missouri鈥檚 treasurer, who is running for state auditor this year, said Wednesday a new ad by his Republican primary opponent is 鈥渁 lie鈥 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.
鈥淗e should take the ad down and stop lying to Missouri voters,鈥 Fitzpatrick told the Post-Dispatch on Wednesday.
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In the ad, Gregory said he鈥檚 an 鈥渁ctual auditor鈥 and goes on to claim the 鈥渆stablishment politician鈥 he鈥檚 running against 鈥 Fitzpatrick 鈥 is 鈥渘ot even an accountant.鈥
A search for Gregory in turns up no records. (Missouri鈥檚 current auditor, Democrat Nicole Galloway, who is not running for reelection, does show up as a licensed CPA in the state database.)
Gregory鈥檚 name also doesn鈥檛 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鈥檚 degree in accounting and a master鈥檚 of business administration with an emphasis in accounting.
Asked what made Gregory an auditor, a spokesman for Gregory said he 鈥渨orked ... as an auditor鈥 for , associate director at Protiviti, a consulting firm.
鈥淎s a Risk Recovery Auditor, he had a great work ethic and was a highly capable professional,鈥 Kohlfeld said, according to a quote provided by Gregory鈥檚 campaign.
(Fitzpatrick鈥檚 campaign said Gregory was referring to work he performed at the Protiviti firm; he is called an accountant, not an auditor, .)
Gregory鈥檚 campaign also said he on the Department of Revenue, which he described as a 鈥渇iscal opportunity audit鈥 at the time.
Fitzpatrick鈥檚 campaign said the report never resulted in savings to taxpayers, but Gregory鈥檚 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.
鈥淭he Department of Revenue did work with Rep. Gregory to improve processes and reduce costs,鈥 said Chris Moreland, spokesman for Zellers, who is now the commissioner of the Office of Administration.
Gregory also describes himself as an 鈥溾 on his website.
Asked what that meant, Gregory said in a statement that 鈥淢y law firm prides itself on conducting thorough investigations for our clients. I conduct financial investigations for clients to uncover fraud and other financial misappropriation.鈥
Fitzpatrick dismissed the explanations from Gregory and his campaign.
鈥淒avid Gregory is a trial attorney, not a certified auditor or CPA. His ad is a lie,鈥 Fitzpatrick said in a statement to the Post-Dispatch on Wednesday.
鈥淚 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,鈥 Fitzpatrick said.
鈥淕regory has spent his career profiting off lawsuits against Missouri鈥檚 small businesses,鈥 Fitzpatrick said. 鈥淟ying about your credentials to win public office is straight out of the Biden playbook.鈥
鈥淪cott Fitzpatrick is clueless about what an auditor is and does, which ought to disqualify someone running for auditor. I鈥檓 not only an auditor, I have a degree in accounting,鈥 Gregory said in response.
鈥淚 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,鈥 he said.
鈥淪cott 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,鈥 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.
鈥淲hen I find political insiders trying to get fat off of your tax dollars, I won鈥檛 just throw 鈥檈m back,鈥 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鈥檚 website. He lives with his wife, Paige, in St. Louis 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.