George W. Lehr (March 10, 1937 – March 21, 1988) was an American Democratic

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

from

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

who served as the state's auditor from 1975 to 1977. He was born in

Kirksville, Missouri Kirksville is the county seat and most populous city in Adair County, Missouri. Located in Benton Township, its population was 17,530 at the 2020 census. Kirksville is home to two colleges: Truman State University and A.T. Still University. ...

in 1937. After graduating from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

with a degree in accounting, he was appointed auditor of

Jackson County, Missouri Jackson County is located in the western portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 717,204. making it the second-most populous county in the state (after St. Louis County). Although Independence retains ...

in 1963. He was elected

county executive A county executive, county manager or county mayor is the head of the executive branch of government in a United States county. The executive may be an elected or an appointed position. When elected, the executive typically functions either as a ...

from 1971 to 1974. During his watch the County built the

Truman Sports Complex The Harry S. Truman Sports Complex is a sports and entertainment facility located in Kansas City, Missouri. It is home to two major sports venues: Arrowhead Stadium—home of the National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs, and Kauffman Stadiu ...

. In 1974, Lehr was elected Missouri auditor by a margin of 73,000, defeating

John Ashcroft John David Ashcroft (born May 9, 1942) is an American lawyer, lobbyist and former politician who served as the 79th U.S. Attorney General in the George W. Bush administration from 2001 to 2005. A former U.S. Senator from Missouri and the 50th ...

. He became the first certified public accountant to serve as State Auditor, but he surprisingly resigned as Auditor and left politics in 1977 to spend more time with his family and terminally ill son, George Lehr who had muscular dystrophy. Lehr is credited with helping to clean up the scandal-plagued Teamsters Union Central States pension fund. He had also been the president of the Empire Bank and Trust Company in Kansas City and later was chairman and chief executive officer of Traders Bank. At the time of his death he had had inoperable brain tumors for more than a year.

References

* Kirkpatrick, James C. "Official Manual State of Missouri, 1975-1976" State Auditors of Missouri University of Iowa alumni American bankers County executives of Jackson County, Missouri Missouri Democrats 1937 births 1988 deaths People from Kirksville, Missouri 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American politicians {{Missouri-politician-stub