This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, March 7, 2009 - After several months of silence, state Auditor Susan Montee is now loudly making one aspect of her future very clear:
"I am running for re-election."
She'll conduct a more formal kickoff sometime this spring, Montee said in an interview Friday night, as she mingled with fellow Democrats at the opening night of this weekend's Democrat Days in Hannibal.
Montee, who first won her post in 2006, hadn't been saying much about whether she would seek re-election in 2010. Her silence on the topic fed rumors that Montee might not run again.
The delay, she acknowledged, was in part because she had been considering some federal options posed by the new Democratic administration in the White House. Montee had been an early and active supporter of now-President Barack Obama. Among other things, the new administration had indicated to Montee that it is expanding the various federal inspector general positions as part of its move to more closely monitor federal spending.
But Montee said that after some reflection, she has decided, "I like my job here...There's a huge increase in our job responsibilities. It's just not the right time to leave my state."
"I am feeling good'' about the decision, Montee continued.
State Auditor is among only two statewide posts on the 2010 ballot. The other is the U.S. Senate seat soon to be vacated by incumbent Republican Christopher "Kit" Bond. One of Montee's fellow statewide officeholders, Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, is the only announced Democrat for that post.
A Carnahan-Montee ticket would be a Democratic replay of the last two off-year statewide elections, in which both of the party's contenders were women. (The first was in 2002, with then-Sen. Jean Carnahan and then-Auditor Claire McCaskill. In 2006, it was McCaskill for Senate and Montee -- a longtime McCaskill buddy -- for auditor.)
Montee said that "the focus in our office has shifted'' over the course of her four-year term as more and more Missouri residents file petitions to seek audits of various local governmental entities. Montee attributes the rising requests, in part, to rising public distrust in government, and "an offshoot of last fall's election.
Her office also is responsible for regular audits of 89 smaller counties around Missouri, as well as scheduled audits of the other statewide offices.
Ideally, Montee observed, her post should be filled by a nonpartisan independent, not a politician. But being an appointed post wouldn't work either, she said.
"It certainly shouldn't be appointed by the governor,'' Montee said, alluding indirectly to the various disputes over the decades between governors and state auditors over spending in the governor's office and elsewhere.
Montee and her staff also will be involved in monitoring the billions of dollars in federal stimulus money coming to Missouri. She emphasized that her office will be watching to see that the money is spent in ways that comply with federal regulations. But otherwise, Montee said, she and her staff won't be making value judgements in what the Legislature or Jay Nixon's administration opts to do with the money.
While at Democrat Days, Montee said she will emphasize that she's willing to do all she can to help other Democrats around the state running for legislative or local office.
"And of course,'' she added with a smile, "I'll tell people I'm running."
Among other items of note at Democrat Days:
-- Marion County presiding commissioner Lyndon Bode says he'll seek re-election in 2010, and not make another quest for Congress. He lost a bid last year for the 9th District seat now held by Republican Blaine Leutkemeyer.
-- State Rep. Jake Zimmerman of St. Louis County says he's definitely looking at that 24th District state Senate seat to be open in 2010, since incumbent Joan Bray must retire because of term limits. A crowd of others also are pondering the post.
-- Former U.S. Sen. Jean Carnahan, D-Mo., is promoting the Web site redesign of Firedup Missouri, which she helped found five years ago, and the launch later this year of her new book, "The Tide Always Comes Back."
Carnahan calls the book "an inspiration for old ladies."
We need it, ma' am.
