Kathy McGuiness | |
---|---|
Auditor of Delaware | |
In office January 1, 2019 –October 19, 2022 | |
Governor | John Carney |
Preceded by | Tom Wagner |
Succeeded by | Dennis Greenhouse |
Personal details | |
Born | Kathleen Kramedas McGuiness February 14,1967 Dover,Delaware,U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Alma mater | |
Criminal information | |
Criminal status | Released |
Conviction(s) | Conflict of interest Official misconduct |
Criminal penalty | 1 year probation, 500 hours of community service, $10,000 fine |
Date apprehended | October 12, 2021 |
Kathleen Kramedas McGuiness (born February 14, 1967) [1] is an American politician who was the Delaware state auditor, from January 2019 until October 2022. In July 2022, she was found guilty on multiple corruption charges.
On September 13, 2022, McGuiness lost the Democratic primary election to challenger Lydia York in a 42-point landslide. [2] In October 2022, she was sentenced to one year of probation and was given a $10,000 fine for her corruption convictions. Following her sentencing, McGuiness resigned as auditor. [3]
McGuiness graduated from Cape Henlopen High School in 1985. She earned her bachelor's degree in biology at the Florida Institute of Technology and her bachelor's degree in pharmacy from Northeastern University in Boston.[ citation needed ] After returning to Delaware, she bought a pharmacy in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. She sold her pharmacy in 2002 to become a real estate agent. [4] [ better source needed ]
McGuiness was elected a Rehobeth Beach town commissioner in 2000. In 2010, she moved with her family to Park City, Utah, and resigned from the Rehoboth town board in 2012 because she was no longer able to attend the meetings. [5] She moved back to Delaware and was elected to another term as a town commissioner in 2014. [6]
As a member of the Democratic Party, McGuiness ran for lieutenant governor of Delaware in 2016, but she lost the party's nomination in the primary election. [7] She was subsequently appointed to the Delaware State University Board of Trustees by then governor, Jack Markell [8] and reelected to the town board in 2017. [9]
In 2018, McGuiness ran for state auditor. She won the Democratic Party nomination, defeating Kathleen Davies and former state representative Dennis E. Williams in the primary election. [10] She defeated Republican James Spadola in the general election to become the first woman elected to the position. [11] [12] She was sworn into office on January 1, 2019, replacing Republican Tom Wagner, who had decided not to seek reelection after serving in the office since 1989. [13] [14]
On October 11, 2021, McGuiness was indicted on two felony charges and several misdemeanor charges that she paid her daughter and her daughter's friend nearly $30,000 from the state for jobs they did not work, orchestrated no-bid contracts for former campaign consultants while avoiding reporting requirements, and engaged in email surveillance and other intimidation of employees who became aware of her misconduct, among other charges. [15] [16] [17] The next day, she turned herself in and pleaded not guilty to all the charges. [18] [19]
On July 1, 2022, McGuiness was found guilty of conflict of interest, structuring, and official misconduct and not guilty of felony theft and intimidation. [20] She faced up to 1 year in prison, but had a presumptive sentence of probation. [21] On August 31, 2022, the judge overturned McGuiness's structuring conviction but upheld her convictions of conflict of interest and official misconduct. Her request for a new trial was denied. [22]
On October 19, 2022, McGuiness was sentenced to one year of probation and 500 hours of community service and was given a $10,000 fine for conflict of interest and official misconduct. Later that day, she resigned from her position as auditor. [3] Governor John Carney chose Dennis Greenhouse as McGuiness's successor. Greenhouse had previously served as auditor from 1983 to 1989. [23] Her conviction for official misconduct was vacated in February 2024 by the Delaware Supreme Court, which also upheld the misdemeanor conflict of interest conviction, finding that McGuiness had received a "fair trial". [24] Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings declined to retry McGuiness on the misconduct charges. [25]
In May 2024, McGuiness announced she was running for the Delaware House of Representatives in the 14th district. [25] She was endorsed by former Delaware House Speaker Peter Schwartzkopf, her longtime friend who has represented the 14th district since 2002 but declined to run for reelection. [25] [26]
Rehoboth Beach is a city on the Atlantic Ocean along the Delaware Beaches in eastern Sussex County, Delaware, United States. As of 2020, its population was 1,108. Along with the neighboring coastal town of Lewes, Rehoboth Beach is one of the principal cities of Delaware's rapidly growing Cape Region. Rehoboth Beach lies within the Salisbury metropolitan area.
Cape Henlopen High School (CHHS) is a public high school in unincorporated Sussex County, Delaware, United States, with a Lewes postal address. The school is part of the Cape Henlopen School District and is located between Savannah Road and King's Highway. Cape Henlopen's school colors are bright gold and Columbia blue. Its mascot is Thor the Viking. The school is known for its expansive career pathways. In athletics, the school is best known for its championship-winning lacrosse and field hockey teams
Velda Jones-Potter is an American businesswoman and politician. She was appointed by Jack Markell to finish out his term as Delaware State Treasurer when he was elected governor in 2008. She lost her bid for election in the 2010 Democratic primary to Chip Flowers. She is currently the Wilmington City Treasurer and a candidate for mayor in the 2024 election.
Earl Brian Bradley is a former pediatrician from Lewes, Delaware and convicted serial child rapist. He was indicted in 2010 on 471 charges of molesting, raping, and exploiting 103 child patients. Some of the victims were as young as three months old. He was charged in April 2010 with an additional 58 offenses in relation to the abuse of 24 additional victims. He has been described by a number of reputable news outlets and commentators as "the worst pedophile in American history." Dr. Eli Newberger, a professor at Harvard Medical School and a pediatrician who has studied child abuse cases for almost 40 years, said Bradley's was "the worst pediatrician abuse case I've ever heard of." Bradley had access to an estimated 7,000 pediatric patients. According to a personal injury law firm in Baltimore, one of many representing class action plaintiffs, 1,400 families in the class action alleged abuse. Bradley was ultimately found guilty on all consolidated charges brought and was sentenced to 14 consecutive terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole plus 165 years in prison on June 26, 2011. His conviction was affirmed by the Delaware Supreme Court on September 6, 2012. In the wake of his arrest, it emerged that he had faced accusations of child abuse as early as 1995 in both Delaware and Pennsylvania.
Elections were held in Delaware on Tuesday, November 2, 2010. Primary elections were held on September 14, 2010.
Brian Pettyjohn is an American politician and a Republican member of the Delaware Senate, where he has represented the 19th district since 2012. He has been serving as the Senate Minority Whip since 2020. He was a member of the town council for Georgetown, Delaware from 2008 to 2010 and mayor from 2010 to 2012.
Peter C. Schwartzkopf is an American politician and former Speaker of the Delaware House of Representatives. A member of the Democratic Party, he has represented the 14th district since 2002. His district covers Rehoboth Beach, Lewes, and Dewey Beach in Sussex County. Prior to his election to the House, he was a state police officer.
John C. Atkins is a former American politician and member of the Delaware House of Representatives from 2003 until 2014 representing District 41. Atkins was originally elected as a Republican in 2002, then switched to the Democratic Party in 2008 after resigning over a drunk driving incident. He eventually lost his seat to newcomer Richard G. Collins in the 2014 general election.
The 2016 Delaware lieutenant gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2016, coinciding with the Delaware gubernatorial election. The office had been vacant since former Democratic lieutenant governor Matthew Denn was inaugurated as attorney general on January 6, 2015.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Delaware on November 6, 2018. Half of Delaware's executive officers were up for election as well as a United States Senate seat and Delaware's at-large seat in the United States House of Representatives. Primary elections were held on September 6, 2018.
Kathleen Jennings is an American lawyer and politician serving as the Attorney General of Delaware. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
Darius J. Brown is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party. A former Wilmington city councilmember, he was elected to the Delaware Senate in 2018, representing district 2.
Trinidad Navarro is an American politician who is the Delaware Insurance Commissioner and previously served as New Castle County Sheriff. He is a Democrat.
On April 21, 2016, Amy Inita Joyner-Francis, a female 16-year-old student at Howard High School of Technology in Wilmington, Delaware, was assaulted and killed by another student, Trinity Carr in a school bathroom while two other students allegedly assisted. The incident was widely publicized and started controversy about the appropriate charges of teenagers involved in situations of school violence and assault. Two of the students were convicted of conspiracy and one of the two was also convicted of negligent homicide. The latter conviction was later overturned in a ruling that has faced some criticism. A third student was acquitted of a conspiracy charge.
The Auditor of Accounts of Delaware is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. state of Delaware. The incumbent is Lydia E. York, a Democrat, who was elected to the position in the Nov. 8, 2022 general election and sworn in on January 3, 2023 at Delaware State University. Auditor York was preceded by Dennis Greenhouse, who was appointed to the position by Governor John Carney after former Auditor of Accounts Kathy McGuiness resigned on October 19, 2022.
Lydia E. York is an American attorney, accountant, and Democratic politician who is the Delaware Auditor of Accounts. York is the first African American woman to be elected to an executive office in Delaware. She was first elected in the 2022 general election after winning the 2022 Democratic primary, where she defeated incumbent auditor Kathy McGuiness in a 42-point landslide.
Dennis Edward Greenhouse is an American politician who served as the Delaware Auditor of Accounts from 1983 to 1989, and again in 2022 to 2023. He has also served as the New Castle County Executive from 1989 to 1996. Greenhouse is a member of the Democratic Party.