Galloway, in final stretch, pitches health reform as virus spreads through Missouri
Nicole Galloway’s mask stayed on through the hot and humid September afternoon, even as she spoke to the few dozen supporters rallying outside Clay County’s Democratic Party offices. Afterward, there were elbow bumps for everyone who wanted one.
“What this pandemic has done is show the cracks in our system that have existed for a long time but they’re just getting wider,” the Democratic candidate for governor told the crowd. “We cannot go back to where we were on the eve of this crisis because where we were wasn’t good enough for too many people.”
A CPA who less than a decade ago was Boone County treasurer, Galloway, 38, touts her record as Missouri State Auditor, a position that’s allowed her to drill down into government agencies in search of waste and fraud.
But it is the COVID- 19 pandemic — and the broader failures of the healthcare system — that has provided Galloway perhaps her best chance to offer voters a clear choice between her and Republican Gov. Mike Parson.
She contends that Parson, 65 and in elected office for more than 25 years, has been derelict in his leadership as the virus has spread across the state. His insistence on local control, leaving decisions about masks and school reopening to local officials, has only deepened the crisis, she said.
Galloway, by contrast, has committed to a statewide mask order. She said Missouri should work with other states to increase its purchasing power for more tests. And she has promised to convene an emergency medical task force to brief the public every day on the fight against the virus.
“I ... believe the next governor will need to act with a sense of urgency to contain the spread of the virus so we can get our economy on track and invest in our healthcare system, particularly as we’re recovering from this pandemic — both in a health aspect, but also in an economic one,” Galloway said in an interview Friday.
Parson’s campaign has made law-and-order his signature issue. This week, however, in his campaign’s first TV ad (a pro-Parson PAC has been producing ads for months), he promoted his COVID-19 response.
“Governor Parson’s top priority since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic has been to lead our state with a balanced approach that protected the health and safety of all Missourians,” Parson campaign manager Steele Shippy said in a statement.
Parson may be hard-pressed to prove that he can lead the way in health care reform.
Missouri ranked 39th among states in the 2019 edition of America’s Health Rankings. The Commonwealth Fund, a national foundation that promotes health care access, listed Missouri 48th in health system performance earlier this year. Its report said the state’s worst indicators include childhood obesity, potentially avoidable emergency room visits and public health funding.
“From my perspective, my experience, healthcare was the voters’ top concern heading into this election year. But I think COVID has magnified that,” Galloway said.
A Real Clear Politics average of polls currently gives Parson a 14-point advantage over Galloway. But this week, the non-partisan Cook Political Report moved the race from “likely Republican” to “lean Republican” — an indication the contest is becoming more competitive.
“I didn’t necessarily think that Galloway had much footing as a candidate back in January, ” said Robynn Kuhlmann a professor of American politics at the University of Central Missouri. “But if COVID continues to rise as it is in the state of Missouri and more and more people are infected … she might have a better margin.”
Galloway has promised to create a prescription drug contracting alliance with state and county health programs and non-profits to bulk purchase drugs at lower costs. She said she will establish a health policy office and assist employers in jointly negotiating with providers.
Galloway has also urged voters to entrust her with implementing Medicaid expansion, approved by statewide referendum in August. She has suggested Republicans will undercut the program by withholding funds or won’t move expeditiously to get people enrolled.
Expansion, now part of the state constitution, could eventually offer health care access to up to 200,000 uninsured Missourians by raising eligibility for Medicaid to 138 percent of the federal poverty line, or about $36,000 for a family of four.
Parson, a vocal critic of expansion, has questioned where Missouri will find the money to implement expansion.
“The big thing is where do you find the funding for it right now?” Parson said last month. “You’re probably looking at $200 million or something like that off the bat, so we’ve got to figure out where that funding is going to come from.”
From treasurer to auditor
The daughter of a Fenton civil engineer, Galloway took an early passion for math in a different direction, becoming a certified public accountant and fraud examiner with degrees from Missouri S&T and the University of Missouri.
She was also part of Boone County’s Democratic political scene. Chris Kelly, a former Democratic representative from Columbia, said she could be found at events and volunteering for candidates.
“The press and the larger public world doesn’t notice people in those capacities, but she was there,” Kelly said.
Galloway was 28 when she was elected treasurer. Still, Kelly said it was clear at the time she was “extremely bright and educated specifically for the task.”
She managed the county’s investment portfolio and issued bonds – debt – to pay for infrastructure and other capital projects. While some flexibility existed in how the job was performed, its duties were largely ministerial, with little room to shape policy.
Nevertheless, Galloway found ways to leave her mark. In 2011, the year she became treasurer, she launched an online portal for residents to search for uncashed checks, rebates and other unclaimed property. According to the treasurer’s office, Boone County is the only Missouri county with such a portal.
Galloway said she learned from the position what it means to be a public servant. Residents were in her office with concerns about roads, public safety and funding for children’s services, she said.
“They did not care if you were a Democrat or a Republican, they wanted you to address their problems, the issues they were bringing forward with transparency and results,” Galloway said.
In 2015 Gov. Jay Nixon appointed her state auditor following the death of Auditor Tom Schweich and the short interim tenure of John Watson. Her choice caused some tensions. The Missouri Legislative Black Caucus had urged Nixon to appoint a Black person. No Black individual has ever held one of MIssouri’s six statewide offices. At the same time, Republicans wanted a GOP replacement, since Schweich was a Republican.
As auditor, Galloway is the only Democrat who currently holds a statewide office in Missouri. It’s a position that can generate positive headlines about rooting out corruption. But investigating cities, counties and other public agencies often controlled by Republicans can also produce partisan friction.
A 2017 audit that turned up $90 million in inappropriate lab billings at Putnam County Memorial Hospital received national attention. Federal prosecutors charged 10 people in the scheme in June.
Another audit, released earlier this year, found former Attorney General Josh Hawley, now a U.S. senator, may have misused state resources to boost his Senate campaign. Hawley charged Galloway’s findings showed political bias.
During one deposition with Galloway’s office, an attorney for Daniel Hartman, who for a time served as Hawley’s chief of staff, openly raised the prospect of political influence.
“You’ve got a boss that’s running for governor,” Hartman said during the deposition, “I’m not saying she’ll do this or she won’t do this, and frankly, America is America, but she would have some incentive to take potshots at a sitting senator from the opposite party.”
Galloway said she’s acted as an independent watchdog and gone after both Democrats and Republicans who broke the public trust.
“As auditor, I have looked under the hood of government and I have seen how the system is broken,” Galloway said, adding that as governor she can “put government back on the side of working people.”
Several Missouri politicians have held higher office after stints as auditor. John Ashcroft, who was U.S. Attorney General; Kit Bond, who was governor and senator; and former Sen. Claire McCaskill all took turns as auditor.
“One advantage she has as an auditor is she can really point to the fact that she has been digging around in the dirt in state government,” McCaskill said.
Galloway’s campaign has highlighted her record, including in an ad that aired this month that displayed text that she had “recovered $350 million in wasted or stolen taxpayer money.”
The word “recovered” – a quotation taken from a Fortune magazine article -- was misleading, however, because it implies the money has been returned to taxpayers or governments, when that’s not the case in most instances.
The Galloway campaign this week didn’t directly comment on the decision to use the term “recovered,” but called Galloway “one of the most effective” auditors in Missouri history. In an interview Friday, Galloway used the term “uncovered” to refer to the money.
Republicans and conservatives have attempted to take the shine off of her tenure. In a new ad this week, the pro-Parson Uniting Missouri PAC launched an ad linking her family to lobbying. Her father-in-law, Doug Galloway, has lobbied for the telecommunications provider CenturyLink. Her husband, Jon Galloway, has lobbied for Veterans United Home Loans in the past.
Prior to her run for governor, the Missouri Alliance for Freedom sued Galloway’s office, alleging the auditor had withheld records from disclosure in response to a Sunshine request. A judge ultimately ruled in Galloway’s favor in 2019, finding her office didn’t violate the law.
McCaskill said that Galloway, along with most auditors, didn’t conduct the job in a partisan way.
“There has been no putting a finger on the scale in terms of her audit work,” McCaskill said. “It’s been straightforward, it’s been professional. She’s found people who have wasted money, who have stolen money. She’s found inefficiencies in government.”
“And I think after all the drama of the Trump era, there’s a lot of Missourians that would like to get back to that.”
This story was originally published September 20, 2020 at 5:00 AM.