Matt Blunt

Matthew Roy Blunt (born November 20, 1970) served as the 54th Governor of Missouri from 2005 to 2009. Before his election as governor, Blunt served ten years in the United States Navy, was elected to serve in the Missouri General Assembly in 1998 and as Missouri's Secretary of State in 2000.

A Republican, Blunt was elected governor on November 2, 2004, carrying 101 of Missouri's 114 counties. At age 33, he became the second youngest person ever elected to that office after Kit Bond. Blunt did not seek a second term as governor, announcing his decision in an address to Missourians on January 22, 2008. He was selected to serve as the president of the American Automotive Policy Council in 2011.

Early life, education, and family
Born in Greene County, Missouri, He is the son of U.S. Senator Roy Blunt and his first wife, Roseann Ray Blunt. After graduating from Jefferson City High School in Jefferson City, Missouri, Blunt was accepted into the United States Naval Academy where he received a bachelor's degree in history in 1993. Blunt and his wife, Melanie, were married in May 1997. The couple has two sons, William Branch Blunt who was born on March 9, 2005, and Brooks Anderson Blunt, who was born on January 1, 2010. Blunt is a member of the State Historical Society of Missouri, the American Legion, and the Missouri Farm Bureau.

Naval career
As an officer in the United States Navy, Blunt went on to serve as an engineering officer aboard the USS Jack Williams and as the navigator and administrative officer on the USS Peterson.

His active duty service included participation in Operation Support 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 Cuban migrants in 1994. During his Naval career, Blunt received numerous commendations, including four Navy and Marine Corps Achievement medals.

Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, Blunt was called into active naval service. Blunt completed a six-month tour of duty in Great Britain during Operation Enduring Freedom, during which time he continued to work full-time as Missouri Secretary of State. He was a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy Reserve. 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.

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.

Early political career
In 1998, Blunt was elected as a Republican to the Missouri House of Representatives to represent the 139th legislative district for a two-year term. In 2000, he was elected Missouri Secretary of State; although only a first-term state representative, Blunt defeated the Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives, Steve Gaw. Blunt was the only Republican elected to statewide office in Missouri in 2000. On November 2, 2004, he defeated then-State Auditor (and current U.S. Senator) Claire McCaskill 50.8% – 47.9% and was elected Governor of Missouri. Blunt carried 101 of the state's 114 counties.

In the general election on November 7, 2000, Blunt defeated Democratic opponent Steve Gaw with 51.4% of the vote, to Gaw's 45.1%. Blunt was 29 on election day, 30 at the time he assumed office, making him the youngest ever to win statewide office in Missouri. His father had been elected to the same office at age 34.

As Secretary of State, Blunt 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.

Shortly after the attacks of September 11, 2001, Blunt was called into active military service for a six-month tour of duty during Operation Enduring Freedom and served in the United Kingdom, where he continued to fulfill his duties to the state of Missouri.

Governor of Missouri
When Blunt took office on January 10, 2005, it was the first time in Missouri since 1921 that a Republican held the Governor's office with Republican majorities in both houses of the State Legislature. Blunt and his allies in the Missouri General Assembly moved quickly to enact legislation that they said would create a positive business climate in the state and result in job growth. Aided by a Republican-led legislature, Blunt 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. In September 2009, a report was issued showing malpractice claims in Missouri at a 30 year low, a direct result of Blunt's enactment of tort reform in 2005.

Fiscal policy
Handling the state's financial crisis by reducing spending was Governor Blunt's first task in office. Along with the Republican leadership in the General Assembly, Blunt trimmed state spending in order to keep the budget balanced without raising taxes. Particularly controversial were provisions eliminating parts of the state's social entitlement programs. After some minor changes to the Governor's original requests the final version was passed. Many Missourians previously enrolled with Medicaid were no longer eligible for benefits. Approximately 90,000 Missourians had their health benefits cut off due to these legislative actions. Two years later, with an election almost a year away, Governor Blunt implemented the MO HealthNet Initiative, Senate Bill SB577. Missourians were able to leave the Medicaid system or have coverage restored for the new coverage which was intended to offer them more choices and more rewards for healthy behavior.

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. MAP was one of the nation's first comprehensive and searchable databases of financial records based on real-time data. Blunt's initiative has become a model for other states and nations seeking to improve government transparency. British Conservative Party leader, David Cameron, called Blunt's MAP "a powerful tool to control public spending."

Blunt signed several job creation initiatives including tax cuts, tort reform and workers' compensation reform. Blunt also created the Quality Jobs program, an initiative that continues to be expanded by his successor, Governor Jay Nixon. Under Blunt, Missouri saw a 70,000 net increase in jobs over 4 years.

Legislative initiatives
Blunt provided annual increases for K-12 education, signed legislation authorizing $335 million for college construction, expanded college scholarships and enacted a new school funding method. Blunt proposed selling Missouri's student loan agency, known as MOHELA, and using the proceeds to pay for endowments and new construction for the state's public universities. In the area of elementary and secondary education, Blunt has proposed that school districts be required to spend at least 65% of their budgets on student instruction. After the proposal was criticized, Blunt suggested that the 65% threshold should be a goal, rather than a mandate.

Blunt signed bills improving Missouri's right-to-carry firearms law, allowing citizens to better defend their homes from intruders, safe-guarding shooting ranges from frivolous lawsuits, and protecting vital wildlife habitat and hunting lands from overdevelopment. Blunt signed legislation prohibiting the seizure of firearms during declared states of emergency at the NRA's annual meeting, held in St. Louis in 2007.

Blunt opposed abortion except in cases of rape, incest, and to save the life of the mother. 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. He signed legislation providing income tax credits for contributions to qualified crisis pregnancy centers, removing taxpayer funding for abortion providers, banning Planned Parenthood from Missouri classrooms, requiring medical standards for abortion clinics, and funding for the alternatives to abortion program. Blunt supported measures that would allow pharmacists to refuse to fill prescriptions for emergency contraception, in contrast to Illinois, which enacted legislation requiring pharmacies 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 sentences for child sex offenders 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 changed the system that had required many victims of sexual assault or rape to pay for their own forensic examinations and 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 immigration reform 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 that willfully hire illegal immigrants.

In 2006, Blunt signed legislation requiring gasoline sold in Missouri to contain 10% ethanol. Blunt has supported the use of biomass, biofuels, wind power and solar energy.

In his 2008 State of the State address, Blunt proposed a Show-Me Green Sales Tax Holiday to create a one-week state sales tax exemption on Energy Star certified new appliances. Missouri became just 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.

Executive actions
Among the many efforts are Executive Orders and programs created by Blunt delivering university cooperation, tax relief, research funds and seed capital for "life science" start up firms and an innovative program to reward insurance companies and other large institutional investors for putting their money in funds that hold biotech stocks.

Blunt has promoted Missouri as a potential hotspot for bioscience, although he has been criticized for restricting science funding for research involving stem cells—a decision seen as discouraging the science community at large from working in the state. In 2005 Governor Blunt created the Missouri Life Sciences Trust Fund to take 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 takes funds from the Missouri higher education learning assistance fund (MOHELA).

In 2007, the governor's office terminated a staff attorney and distributed packets of emails and documents to four major newspapers in Missouri to support claims that the employee had made inappropriate use of a state computer. The former staff member claimed he was terminated for other reasons related to the state's email retention policy. On May 22, 2009, the Missouri Attorney General's office announced that staff attorney's lawsuit against Blunt and others had been settled for $500,000. The former staff attorney later switched parties and lost an election for Congress as a Democrat.

Favorability
As Governor, he was a member of the National Governors Association, Southern Governors' Association, and the Republican Governors Association. 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.

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; and 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. Blunt has been critical of cuts to education funding arguing that they will erode Missouri’s future. Blunt 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.”

President of the American Automotive Policy Council
In February 2011, Matt Blunt was appointed president of the American Automotive Policy Council (AAPC). The AAPC, is a policy association created by General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. The AAPC is a bipartisan 501(c)6 based in Washington DC and its mission is to promote the unique and significant economic contribution of the U.S. based auto companies to the American economy. Blunt’s leadership at one of the United States' top automobile and component producing states is a major reason he was chosen to lead the policy initiatives of General Motors, Ford, Chrysler.