Candidate questionnaire: Tom Schweich

Candidate Name: Tom Schweich

Party: Republican

Age: 49

Place of birth: St. Louis, Mo.

Spouse: Kathy

Children: Emilie (17) and Thomas Jr. (12)

Occupation: Attorney

Education: Yale University, B.A. 1982; Harvard University, J.D. 1985

Employer: Bryan Cave, LLP

Businesses owned, all or part: None

Previous offices held/sought: Though I am new to politics, I am not new to public service. I served the Bush Administration in several capacities: Chief of Staff to Amb. John Bolton at the United Nations, Deputy Director of the Law Enforcement division of the US State Department, and Coordinator for Counter Narcotics and Justice Reform in Afghanistan.

Question 1: Missouri has seen two straight years with steep declines in revenue. Where should the auditor's office put special emphasis to find savings?

Answer: It is the role of the state auditor to ensure departments are efficiently and effectively using taxpayer funds. The auditor's office should put special emphasis on departments whose budgets have been drastically increased by the federal government's recent $700+ billion stimulus package. Without proper management practices in place, these funds are at a high risk of being subject to waste, fraud and abuse.

Question 2: What additional powers does the auditor's office need to do its job more effectively?

Answer: The auditor's office has over 100 employees (most of them CPAs). To do its job more effectively, it needs a leader with tenacity and management experience. The office should not simply issue an audit and move on to the next one. Rather, the office should enact a fair but strict follow-up procedure to ensure state and local government entities are held accountable.

Question 3: Three of the last five auditors have sought other offices while serving. Do you have ambitions beyond the auditor's office?

Answer: My only focus is on doing the best job I can as state auditor. Bringing accountability to our state government will be a long process and I plan to spend a full term devoting my talents to the office of auditor.

Question 4: Three of the last four auditors have been CPAs, though it is not a requirement for the job. Is being a CPA important? Why or why not?

Answer: The state auditor, first and foremost, must be an effective manager. The auditor has a staff of hardworking CPAs who would greatly benefit from new leadership in that office. Some of our state's best auditors, John Ashcroft and Kit Bond, have brought with them a legal and law enforcement background similar to my own.

Closing remarks: Though I've never run for office before, I have twenty-five years of experience managing audits and investigations for some of Missouri's largest corporations. As a highly-qualified outsider to Jefferson City politics, with no ties to lobbyists or special interests, I believe I will bring the new ideas and leadership our government desperately needs to be held accountable to you, the taxpayer.