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Matthew Roy Blunt (born November 20, 1970) is an American politician, lobbyist, and former naval officer who served as the 54th governor of Missouri from 2005 to 2009. He previously served ten years in the United States Navy and as Missouri secretary of state.
Blunt won the 2004 Missouri gubernatorial election as the Republican nominee against Democratic nominee Claire McCaskill. The election coincided with elections in the Missouri General Assembly, where Republicans maintained their majority; this made Blunt the first Republican governor of Missouri to serve with a Republican legislature in 84 years, making his policy proposals easier to accomplish. At age 33, he also became the second-youngest person ever elected governor of Missouri after Kit Bond. Blunt did not seek a second term as governor, announcing his decision on January 22, 2008. Governor Matt Blunt's Address to Missouri, "YouTube", January 22, 2008.
After working as a consultant, Blunt was hired as the president of the American Automotive Policy Council in 2011, representing the auto lobby in Washington, D.C. "Blunt to head auto body lobby", Detroit News His father, Roy Blunt, has served in a variety of political offices, including as Missouri secretary of state and congressman, and in the U.S. Senate from 2011 to 2023.
Blunt and his wife Melanie were married in May 1997. The couple has two sons, William Branch Blunt, born on March 9, 2005, and Brooks Anderson Blunt, born on January 1, 2010. Blunt is a member of the State Historical Society of Missouri, the American Legion, and the Missouri Farm Bureau.
His active duty service included participation in Operation Uphold Democracy, involving the United Nations blockade of Haiti, missions to interdict drug traffic off the South American coast, and on duties involved in the interdiction of migrants in 1994. During his Naval career, Blunt received numerous commendations, including four Navy and Marine Corps Achievement medals. He entered the Navy Reserve.
Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, Blunt was called back into active naval service, after he had been elected to the office of secretary of state for Missouri. He completed a six-month tour of duty in Great Britain during Operation Enduring Freedom, during which time he continued to work full-time for the state as well. He was a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy Reserve.
In August 2001, as secretary of state, Blunt traveled to Israel along with a delegation of Republicans led by his father, Roy Blunt, to meet with Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon.Brogan, Pamela (August 24, 2001). Rep. Blunt leading delegation to Israel. The Springfield News-Leader. He promoted a state election reform bill in 2002, which won support of the Republican-controlled Senate and Democratic House. In 2004, Blunt required all electronic voting machines purchased by the state to produce a voter-verified paper ballot. Blunt Announces Security Requirement for Electronic Voting Machines in Missouri, sos.mo.gov, February 26, 2004.
The first of two debates between Blunt and McCaskill was held on 18 October where McCaskill compared her experience to Blunt's inexperience; while Blunt said that McCaskill would not support the Marriage protection amendment to the State Constitution. In the two debates Blunt described himself as bringing change to Missouri and was assisted by President George W. Bush during the campaign. McCaskill kept her distance from Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry due to Bush's lead in Missouri.
In the end Blunt narrowly defeated McCaskill with surveys showing his conservative stance on social issues and the strong showing of President Bush in Missouri helped him to victory. Blunt obtained strong leads in the rural parts of the state which was sufficient to overcome McCaskill's leads in St. Louis and Jackson County. Blunt defeated McCaskill by 1,382,419 votes (50.83%) to 1,301,442 (47.85%) and thus became Missouri's second-youngest Governor.
With legislative support, Blunt claimed in 2009 that he had enacted almost all of his policy proposals. Among the legislation passed were tort reform measures that overhauled the state's legal system, and changes in the state's workers compensation laws.
Blunt's first year in office was difficult, and he was criticized by both the right and the left. In February 2006, a poll conducted by SurveyUSA showed him with a 33% job approval rating, the fifth lowest of any governor in the nation. "Approval Ratings of Governors", SurvveyUSA, 14 February 2006, accessed 15 September 2014 His approval among Republicans polled was 62%, but his rating among Democrats was only 12%. "Results of SurveyUSA News Poll #8272", SurveyUSA, 14 February 2006, accessed 15 September 2014 This was one of the greatest partisan divides of any governor.
In September 2009, the state insurance agency issued a report showing medical malpractice claims in Missouri at a 30-year low in 2008, believed to result from Blunt's restriction of injury settlements under tort reform in 2005. "...Missouri's medical malpractice insurers made a profit for the fifth straight year in 2008. It also shows an increase in the number of medical providers getting insurance through nonprofit coalitions."
Two years later, with an election almost a year away, Governor Blunt implemented the MO HealthNet Initiative, Senate Bill SB577. This was intended to offer residents more choices and rewards for healthy behavior. Some citizens were deemed qualified again for Medicaid coverage.
In July 2007, Blunt signed an executive order launching the Missouri Accountability Portal (MAP), which provides Missourians with free, immediate, online information about how the state spends taxpayer money.
Blunt signed into law tax cuts. Blunt created the Quality Jobs program, an initiative has been expanded by his successor, Governor Jay Nixon.
In 2005, Blunt and the Republican-controlled Missouri General Assembly enacted an overhaul of the state workers' compensation system, making it more difficult for employees to obtain workers' compensation benefits. The overhaul was supported by business interests and opposed by .Associated Press, Court rejects workers' comp challenge (February 25, 2009).Erin Fuchs, Mo. High Court Upholds Tweaked Workers' Comp Law, Law360 (February 26, 2009). Also in 2005, Blunt signed into law "tort reform" legislation that limited the damages that juries could award in medical malpractice, placed a cap on punitive damages, lowered the maximum amount that juries could award in non-economic damages, and repealed Missouri's shared liability law.Mark Bliss, Gov. Matt Blunt touts tort reform legislation at ceremony in Cape. Southeast Missourian (March 29, 2005). In 2012, the Missouri Supreme Court struck down the cap on medical malpractice damages, ruling that the measure infringed "on the jury's constitutionally protected purpose of determining the amount of damages sustained by an injured party."Blythe Bernhard, Medical malpractice cap is struck down by Missouri Supreme Court, St. Louis Post-Dispatch (August 1, 2012).
Blunt signed bills to expand Missouri's right-to-carry firearms. At the NRA's annual meeting, held in St. Louis in 2007, Blunt signed legislation prohibiting the seizure of firearms during declared states of emergency.
Blunt opposed abortion except in cases of rape, incest, and to save the life of the mother. Ontheissues.org – Matt Blunt He supported measures to prevent the ban on research regarding somatic cell nuclear transfer. There were efforts to pass such a ban in the Missouri General Assembly during the 2005 session. Disagreements among Republicans over the stem cell issue held up efforts to pass restrictions on abortion, such as a 24-hour waiting period, and a restriction on helping minors cross state lines to avoid Missouri's parental consent requirement. In September 2005, Blunt called a special session of the General Assembly specifically to address abortion. The General Assembly passed the above-noted restrictions, and Blunt signed them into law. Blunt supported measures that would allow pharmacists to refuse to fill prescriptions for emergency contraception, in contrast to Illinois, which enacted legislation requiring pharmacies as public businesses to fill such prescriptions.
In 2005, Blunt signed legislation to limit sales of pseudoephedrine and ephedrine products, the key ingredients needed to make methamphetamine. In the 2006 legislative session, Blunt's stated priorities included enacting a version of "Jessica's Law," requiring a minimum 25-year sentence for child sex offenders, as one of his legislative priorities. In 2008, Blunt signed legislation requiring ignition interlocks for drunk drivers who commit two or more drunk driving offenses. He signed legislation to lower the legal intoxication limit for boaters from .10 to .08 percent.
Blunt ended localities' reliance on requiring many victims of sexual assault or rape to pay for their own forensic examinations; he secured $2.8 million in the state budget to pay for the rape kits. Blunt secured funding which led to the creation of the new Springfield Crime Lab.
Blunt signed an immigration bill prohibiting "sanctuary cities" in Missouri; requiring verification of legal employment status for public employees through E-verify; allowing cancellation of state contracts for contractors that hire illegal immigrants; requiring public agencies to verify the legal status of applicants before providing welfare benefits; criminalizing the transportation of illegal immigrants for exploitative purposes; and enacting provisions to punish employers who willfully hire illegal immigrants.
In 2006, Blunt signed legislation requiring gasoline sold in Missouri to contain 10% ethanol. Blunt has supported the development of biomass, biofuels, wind power and solar energy as alternative energy sources. Air quality continues to be a problem for the state, which has a high rate of air pollution due to burning of coal. "Missouri Sees Rise in Carbon Dioxide," Columbia Tribune, June 3, 2007
In his 2008 State of the State address, Blunt proposed a one-week state sales tax exemption on Energy Star-certified new appliances. Missouri became the fourth state in the nation to enact such a tax break. Also in 2008, Blunt and Arkansas Democratic governor Mike Beebe signed an historic bi-state water quality agreement to protect watersheds and aquifers that cross state lines.
Blunt has promoted Missouri as a potential hotspot for bioscience. He was criticized for limiting science funding for research related to stem cells; this was considered to discourage the science community at large from working in the state. In 2005 Governor Blunt created the Missouri Life Sciences Trust Fund, to accept transfers of monies from the Tobacco Settlement fund and apply them to biotech efforts. In January 2006 Gov. Blunt created the Lewis and Clark Discovery Initiative (LCDI), designed to spread biotechnology across the State. The LCDI is funded by the Missouri higher-education learning assistance fund (MOHELA).
At the same time, "Blunt spokesman Rich Chrismer insisted to reporters that 'there is no statute or case that requires the state to retain individual's e-mails as a public record.' Blunt himself told reporters that his staffers would not be required to save e-mails for three years," although this was "widely understood to be state law" (known as the Sunshine Law). It was later revealed that Scott Eckersley, a deputy chief counsel, provided copies of language in the state employees' handbook to general counsel Henry Herschel on September 10 about this state requirement to save such materials. Eckersley was soon locked out of his office by order of Martin.
On September 28, 2007, the governor's office fired Eckersley, a political appointee. It distributed packets of emails and documents to four major newspapers in Missouri to support its claims that the attorney had made inappropriate use of a state computer. Eckersley said he was terminated for other reasons, related to trying to ensure employees complied with the state's email retention policy under its Sunshine Law. In the first known "whistleblower" case against the Missouri state government, Eckersley filed suit for wrongful termination and defamation of character against Blunt and his senior appointees.
Due to concerns expressed to his office in November 2007 that there were actions underway to overwrite email tapes and the governor's office was not complying with the Sunshine Law, AG Jay Nixon appointed special investigators on November 15 to study what was taking place. Special Investigators C.E. Fisher and E.S. Wilhoit, Report of Investigation: Of the Practices and Policies of the Office of Governor Matt Blunt for the Identification and Retention of Public Records and Response to Requests for Public Records , 13 February 2009, State of Missouri, pp.2-3 Nixon's team had to go to court in the spring of 2008 to get a ruling on whether the governor's office was required to comply with their requests for information, at the expense of the state. Through various legal maneuverings, the court ruled in favor of the investigation, appointing two Special Attorneys General to lead it. The governor never was deposed. Eventually the completion of the investigation was extended to February 2009 because of the volume of materials that needed to be reviewed.Fisher and Wilhoit (2009), Report of Investigation, pp. 5-9 The Kansas City Star, St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Associated Press filed petitions in August 2008 as intervening plaintiffs to gain preliminary and injunctive relief, declaratory judgment that the emails were public records under the state Sunshine Law, and access to the emails under discussion.Fisher and Wilhoit (2009), Report of Investigation, p. 7
Martin resigned in November 2007 as chief of staff, without explanation. Blunt's General Counsel Henry Herschel left soon after. On January 22, 2008, Blunt surprised voters, "staffers and supporters" by announcing he would not run for another term, although he reportedly already had millions of dollars in a war chest for his upcoming campaign. More than a year later and after Blunt had left office, "An investigation by state officials later found that the governor's office failed to properly disclose Mr. Martin's emails." Chris Blank, AP, "Fired Aide to Blunt Runs for Governor's Dad's Seat", eMissourian.com, 2 September 2010, accessed 15 September 2014 This investigation, which cost the state $2 million, found that Martin had illegally destroyed some emails, in violation of the state's open government or Sunshine Law. It also found he had used his office to influence outside groups against opponents of Blunt. "Editorial: Ed Martin finally wins an election, to the shame of the GOP", St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 8 January 2013, accessed 15 September 2014
After a year-long legal effort, in November 2008, the Kansas City Star and St. Louis Post Dispatch reported having gained access to 60,000 pages of Blunt administration emails. Their analysis showed that Ed Martin, former chief of staff to Blunt, had used his state office to try to influence outside political groups, among other internal problems. In addition to trying to encourage opposition to AG Jay Nixon, Martin worked with political groups to oppose the appointment of Patricia Breckenridge to an open seat on the Missouri Supreme Court. (Blunt has supported her and she later gained the seat.) "The e-mails that brought down a Republican Governor", 17 November 2008, accessed 12 September 2014 Emails indicate that Leonard Leo was one of the influences corresponding with Martin, as a part of a strategy to dismantle the Missouri Plan.
On May 22, 2009, the Missouri Attorney General's office announced that Eckersley's lawsuit against Blunt and others had been settled for $500,000.
As Commander-in-Chief of the Missouri National Guard, Governor Blunt visited Missouri National guard troops serving in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo, Kuwait, and on the Mexican border.
Because he had been called for active duty while serving as secretary of state, Blunt's office responded to questions about what would happen if the governor were called to service. In accordance with Pentagon regulations and the Missouri Constitution, if Blunt was called for military duty while governor, he would have been required to either transfer his gubernatorial powers to Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder, or resign from the Naval Reserve.
Blunt has been critical of cuts to education funding, arguing that they will erode Missouri's future. He wrote, "States will either be welfare states that protect welfare programs, or they will be education states that prepare for the future." He has also questioned the proposal to cut state scholarship funding for private colleges, writing in an op-ed, "I have been surprised to see those private schools and their students become a scapegoat as the state cuts education funding and scholarships."
Favorability
His approval ratings gradually rose during his term in office. A February – March 2008, poll by the Republican polling firm American Viewpoint showed Blunt with an approval rating of 57%. On January 22, 2008, Blunt surprised the GOP when he announced he would not run for re-election. Polls showed that he was running behind the presumptive Democratic nominee, Attorney General Jay Nixon.
Other activities
As Governor, Blunt was a member of the National Governors Association, Southern Governors' Association, and the Republican Governors Association.
Career after governorship
Prior to his appointment as president of the American Automotive Policy Council in 2011, Blunt served as a member of the board of Copart, an auto salvage company in Fairfield, California; an advisor for Solamere Capital, a suburban Boston private equity firm started by Tagg Romney; a consultant for Cassidy & Associates, a Washington, D.C., lobbying firm, and a partner with The Ashcroft Group, the Washington, D.C., and St. Louis-based consulting firm founded by former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft. Blunt has continued to advocate for greater transparency in government spending, state and national lawsuit reform and improving public education.
President of the American Automotive Policy Council
In February 2011, Matt Blunt was selected as president of the American Automotive Policy Council (AAPC). The AAPC is a trade association created by General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. The council is based in Washington, D.C., and its mission is to promote the public image and lobby for the interests of these "Big Three" American automobile companies. Blunt's governorship of one of the United States' top automobile and automobile-component producing states was given as a major reason for him being chosen to lead the council.
External links
Categories: 1970 Births, Living People, Dismissal Of U.s. Attorneys Controversy, Jefferson City High School Alumni, Republican Party Governors Of Missouri, Politicians From Springfield, Missouri, Secretaries Of State Of Missouri, Southern Baptists, United States Naval Academy Alumni, United States Navy Officers, United States Navy Engineering Officers, Matt, 21st-century Missouri Politicians, 20th-century Members Of The Missouri General Assembly
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