Kathleen Kramedas McGuiness (born February 14, 1967) 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 Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

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

primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...

to challenger Lydia York 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. She ran to represent the 14th district in the

Delaware House of Representatives The Delaware State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Delaware General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is composed of 41 Representatives from an equal number of constituencies, each of whom is ...

in 2024 and was endorsed by retiring representative

Peter Schwartzkopf Peter C. Schwartzkopf (born January 15, 1955) is an American politician and former Speaker of the Delaware House of Representatives. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented the 14th district from 2002 to 2024. His district covers Reh ...

, but lost in the primary election to Claire Snyder-Hall after coming in third place.

Early life and career

McGuiness graduated from Cape Henlopen High School in 1985. She earned her

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

in biology at the

Florida Institute of Technology 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. Approxim ...

and her bachelor's degree in pharmacy from

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU or NEU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by the Boston Young Men's Christian Association in 1898 as an all-male instit ...

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 List of beaches in Delaware, 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, ...

. She sold her pharmacy in 2002 to become a real estate agent.

Political career

McGuiness was elected a city of Rehoboth Beach commissioner in 2000. In 2010, she moved with her family to

Park City, Utah Park City is a city in Utah, United States. Most of the city is within Summit County, Utah, Summit County, with some portions extending into Wasatch County, Utah, Wasatch County. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back. The city is sou ...

, and resigned from the Rehoboth town board in 2012 because she was no longer able 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, 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 Statutory college#Outside New York State, privately governed, state-assisted Historically black colleges and universities, historically black Land-grant university, land-grant research universi ...

Board of Trustees A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

by then governor,

Jack Markell Jack Alan Markell (born November 26, 1960) is an American politician and diplomat. He had served the United States ambassador both to Italy and to San Marino. He had served as the United States ambassador to the Organisation for Economic Co-oper ...

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, or state examiners, among others) are fiscal officers lodged in the executive or legislative branches of U.S. state governments who serve as external auditors, program eval ...

. She won the Democratic Party nomination, defeating Kathleen Davies and former state representative Dennis E. Williams in the primary election. She defeated Republican 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, who had decided not to seek reelection after serving in the office since 1989.

Corruption 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, 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. 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. Her conviction for official misconduct was vacated in February 2024 by the

Delaware Supreme Court The Delaware Supreme Court is the sole appellate court in the United States state of Delaware. Because Delaware is a popular haven for corporations, the Court has developed a worldwide reputation as a respected source of corporate law decisions, ...

, which also upheld the misdemeanor conflict of interest conviction, finding that McGuiness had received a "fair trial". Delaware Attorney General

Kathy Jennings Kathleen Jennings (born April 4, 1953) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the Attorney General of Delaware. She is a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. Early life and education Jennings was born on Apr ...

declined to retry McGuiness on the misconduct charges.

2024 campaign

In May 2024, McGuiness announced she was running for the

in the 14th district. She was endorsed by former Delaware House Speaker

, her longtime friend who has represented the 14th district since 2002 but declined to run for reelection. She lost the election with 26.9% of the vote, coming in third after Marty Rendon with 31.8% and Claire Snyder-Hall with 41.2%.

References

External links

Government website

Campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcguiness, Kathy 21st-century American criminals 21st-century Delaware politicians 21st-century American women politicians 1967 births American female criminals 21st-century 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 American women pharmacists Women in Delaware politics Pharmacists from Delaware