Kathleen Kramedas McGuiness (born February 14, 1967) is an American politician who was the

Delaware state auditor 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 York, Lydia E. York, a Delaware Democratic Party, Democrat, who was elected to the position in the 2022 ...

, from January 2019 until October 2022. In July 2022, she was found guilty on multiple

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

charges. On September 13, 2022, McGuiness lost the Democratic

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

to challenger

Lydia York Lydia York (born 1958/1959) is an American attorney, accountant, and Democratic politician who is the Delaware state auditor. She was first elected in the 2022 elections. York was previously a candidate for the same office in 2018, losing to Kath ...

in a 42-point landslide. 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.

Early life and career

McGuiness graduated from

Cape Henlopen High School Cape Henlopen High School (CHHS) is a public high school in unincorporated area, unincorporated Sussex County, Delaware, United States, with a Lewes, Delaware, Lewes postal address. The school is part of the Cape Henlopen School District and is l ...

in 1985. She earned her

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in biology at the

Florida Institute of Technology The Florida Institute of Technology (Florida Tech or FIT) is a private research university in Melbourne, Florida. The university comprises four academic colleges: Engineering & Science, Aeronautics, Psychology & Liberal Arts, and Business. Appr ...

and her bachelor's degree in pharmacy from

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...

in Boston. After returning to Delaware, she bought a pharmacy in

Rehoboth Beach, Delaware Rehoboth Beach ( ) is a city on the Atlantic Ocean along the Delaware Beaches in eastern Sussex County, Delaware. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the population was 1,327, reflecting a decline of 161 (11.2%) from the 1,488 counted in the 2000 ce ...

, where she was elected a town commissioner in 2000. She sold her pharmacy in 2002 to become a real estate agent. In 2010, McGuiness and her family moved to

Park City, Utah Park City is a city in Utah, United States. The vast majority is in Summit County, and it extends into Wasatch County. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back. The city is southeast of downtown Salt Lake City and from Salt Lake City' ...

, and she resigned from the Rehoboth town board in 2012 because she was unable to attend the meetings. She moved back to Delaware and was elected to another term as a town commissioner in 2014. As a member of 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 ...

, McGuiness ran for

lieutenant governor of Delaware The lieutenant governor of Delaware is the second ranking executive officer of the U.S. state of Delaware. Lieutenant governors are elected for a term of four years in the same general election as the U.S. president and take office the following ...

in 2016, but she lost the party's nomination in the primary election. She was subsequently appointed to the

Delaware State University Delaware State University (DSU or Del State) is a public historically black land-grant research university in Dover, Delaware. DSU also has two satellite campuses: one in Wilmington and one in Georgetown. The university encompasses four col ...

Board of Trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

by then governor,

Jack Markell Jack Alan Markell (born November 26, 1960) is an American politician who currently serves as the United States ambassador to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. He previously served as the 73rd governor of Delaware from 2 ...

and reelected to the town board in 2017.

Delaware state auditor

In 2018, McGuiness ran for

state auditor State auditors (also known as state comptrollers, state controllers, state examiners, or inspectors general) are fiscal officers lodged in the executive or legislative branches of U.S. state governments who serve as external auditors, financial ...

. She won the Democratic Party nomination, defeating Kathleen Davies and former state representative Dennis E. Williams in the primary election. She defeated

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

James Spadola in the general election to become the first woman elected to the position. She was sworn into office on January 1, 2019, replacing Republican

Tom Wagner Robert Thomas Wagner Jr. served as Delaware's state auditor from 1989 to 2019. A Republican, he lost to incumbent Democratic Auditor Dennis E. Greenhouse in 1986, but was appointed to the position in 1989 after Greenhouse resigned after being el ...

, who had decided not to seek reelection after serving in the office since 1989.

Corruption charges, convictions, and resignation

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. The next day, she turned herself in and pleaded not guilty to all the charges. On July 1, 2022, McGuiness was found guilty of conflict of interest, structuring, and official misconduct and not guilty of felony theft and intimidation. She faced up to 1 year in prison, but had a presumptive sentence of probation. On August 31, 2022, a 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. 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. Governor John Carney chose Dennis Greenhouse as McGuiness's successor. Greenhouse had previously served as auditor from 1983 to 1989.

References

External links

Government website

Campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcguiness, Kathy 21st-century American criminals 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians 1967 births American female criminals American pharmacists American people of Greek descent Delaware Democrats Delaware politicians convicted of crimes Delaware State Auditors Florida Institute of Technology alumni Living people Northeastern University alumni Overturned convictions in the United States People from Rehoboth Beach, Delaware Women pharmacists