Judith K. Moriarty (born February 2, 1942) is an American politician 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 ...

, first with the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, switching to the

Libertarian Party Active parties by country Defunct parties by country Organizations associated with Libertarian parties See also * Liberal parties by country * List of libertarian organizations * Lists of political parties Lists of political part ...

in 2005. She was the first woman to serve as

Missouri Secretary of State The people below have served as the Secretary of State of the U.S. state of Missouri. List Gallery File:Warren E. Hearnes.jpg, Warren E. Hearnes File:James C. Kirkpatrick.jpg, James C. Kirkpatrick File:Rep Roy Blunt.jpg, Roy Blunt File:Mattb ...

Early life

Moriarty was born Judith Spry in Fairfield, Missouri, the daughter of Earl and Blanch Spry. She graduated from high school in

Warsaw, Missouri Warsaw is a city located in Benton County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,127 at the 2010 census. Warsaw is the county seat of Benton County. Adjacent to the Osage River it is heavily tied to two major lakes on the river. The upp ...

, and attended Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg. Moriarty settled in

Sedalia, Missouri Sedalia is a city located approximately south of the Missouri River and, as the county seat of Pettis County, Missouri, United States, it is the principal city of the Sedalia Micropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the city had ...

, and became active in state and local politics. She was appointed to run the local license fee office by Governor Joe Teasdale in 1977. In 1982, Moriarty was elected county clerk of Pettis County. She was re-elected in 1986 and 1990.

Secretary of state

In 1992, Moriarty was elected as Missouri's secretary of state. She was sworn into office January 11, 1993, becoming the first woman to hold that position. She caused a stir early in her term when she announced that the

Official Manual State of Missouri right The ''Official Manual - State of Missouri'' (often referred to simply as ''The Missouri Blue Book'') is a biennial publication from the Missouri Secretary of State. The Blue Book was first published in 1889. It contains historical, political, ...

, published by the secretary of state and often referred to as the "Blue Book" because of its traditional blue cover, would instead be published with a

mauve Mauve (, ; , ) is a pale purple color named after the mallow flower (French: ''mauve''). The first use of the word ''mauve'' as a color was in 1796–98 according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', but its use seems to have been rare befo ...

cover as a tribute to the role of women in Missouri politics.

Impeachment

In 1994, Moriarty was accused of using her position as secretary of state to help her son file for political office after the deadline had passed by back-dating a form issued by her office. Moriarty was impeached by the Missouri House of Representatives and was removed from office after an

impeachment trial An impeachment trial is a trial that functions as a component of an impeachment. Several governments utilize impeachment trials as a part of their processes for impeachment, but differ as to when in the impeachment process trials take place and how ...

before the

Missouri Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Missouri is the highest court in the state of Missouri. It was established in 1820 and is located at 207 West High Street in Jefferson City, Missouri. Missouri voters have approved changes in the state's constitution to give ...

. Governor

Mel Carnahan Melvin Eugene Carnahan (February 11, 1934 – October 16, 2000) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 51st Governor of Missouri from 1993 until his death in a plane crash in 2000. A Democrat, he was elected posthumously to t ...

appointed

Bekki Cook Rebecca McDowell "Bekki" Cook (July 18, 1950) is an American politician from Missouri, United States. She served as the 36th Missouri Secretary of State from December 1994 to January 2001. Cook was raised in Jackson, Missouri, and attended pub ...

as Moriarty's successor. In 2002, Moriarty attempted a political comeback. She ran for the Missouri House of Representatives seat representing the Sedalia area but was defeated in the November election. In 2005, she left the Democratic Party and aligned with the

. Moriarty reportedly considered running for governor in 2008, but did not meet the filing deadline.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moriarty, Judith 1942 births Living people Missouri Democrats People from Sedalia, Missouri People from Benton County, Missouri Secretaries of State of Missouri Women in Missouri politics Impeached United States officials removed from office Missouri Libertarians University of Central Missouri alumni Candidates in the 2002 United States elections 21st-century American politicians Missouri politicians convicted of crimes 21st-century American women politicians