Elected Officials - your state officials Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon 55th Governor of Missouri Jay Nixon is serving his first term as governor of Missouri. Governor Nixon has put forward an agenda to make government more efficient, effective and responsive to the needs of Missouri families. He is committed to attracting the jobs of the future to Missouri, making health care more affordable and placing a college education within reach for middle-class students. As he did while serving in the state Senate and during his four terms as attorney general, Governor Nixon is reaching across the aisle to put Missouri families first. During his first legislative session as Governor in 2009, Nixon successfully worked with the Republican-controlled legislature to pass his comprehensive jobs bill to put Missourians back to work in the face of a 25-year high in unemployment. The legislature also passed Caring for Missourians, an initiative by Gov. Nixon that will enable Missouri’s public colleges and universities to graduate an additional 900 professionals in high-demand health care fields each year. Gov. Nixon has made a strong public education system one of his chief priorities. During his first year in office, Missouri’s public elementary and secondary schools received a record amount of funding. Similarly, even as other states were cutting funding for their universities and raising tuition by double digits, the Governor reached a historic agreement to freeze tuition rates for the 2009-2010 school year and keep funding for those schools stable. After earning both his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Missouri-Columbia, Nixon returned to DeSoto to practice as an attorney. In 1986, he was elected to his first term in the Missouri State Senate, where he would represent the people of Jefferson County for six years. Governor Nixon and his wife, Georganne Wheeler Nixon, have two sons, Jeremiah and Willson. They belong to the First United Methodist Church in Jefferson City. For more information visit the web site. Chris Koster Attorney General On January 12th, 2009, Chris Koster was sworn in as the 41st Attorney General of the state of Missouri. Koster campaigned on a platform of prosecuting fraudulent Medicaid providers; cracking down on violations of workers' rights; aggressively enforcing Missouri's environmental laws; and supporting law enforcement in fighting the spread of methamphetamines and preventing urban crime. From 2004 to 2008, Koster represented the 31st district in the Missouri Senate, which covers Cass, Johnson, Bates and Vernon Counties. During his time in the General Assembly, Koster played key roles in the debates over stem cell research, tort reform, and the elimination of Medicaid fraud. Additionally, in 2006 Koster successfully carried legislation in the Senate to dramatically overhaul Missouri's eminent domain laws. Prior to his election to the Missouri Senate, Koster served as Cass County Prosecuting Attorney for ten years. He was first elected prosecutor in 1994 and was re-elected in 1998 and 2002 by wide margins. Prior to becoming prosecuting attorney, Koster practiced law with the Kansas City law firm of Blackwell Sanders. He also served as an Assistant Attorney General from 1991 to 1993. Koster was born and raised in St. Louis. He received a liberal arts degree from the University of Missouri in 1987 and his law degree from University of Missouri School of Law in 1991. Additionally, Koster earned a Masters in Business Administration from Washington University in St. Louis in 2002. For more information visit the web site. Chris Koster Attorney General Clint Zweifel was sworn in as Missouri's 45th State Treasurer on Jan. 12, 2009.   Zweifel's strategic priorities for the State Treasurer's Office include rebuilding the economy and putting Missourians back to work, increasing college affordability, furthering open government and renewing the promise of affordable and responsible homeownership. Upon taking office, Zweifel focused on creating and retaining Missouri jobs and reinvesting in communities by championing Invest in Missouri.  The legislation targets economic development by reinvesting more than $1 billion in Missouri communities.  It passed the legislature without receiving one "no" vote. Zweifel pushed for college affordability through use of the MOST 529 College Savings Program, which his office administers.  He led efforts to provide incentives to encourage more Missourians to use the program to save for college education, and worked to expand awareness of the plan and its benefits.  MOST 529 has more than $1 billion in assets, with more than 117,000 account owners. As State Treasurer, Zweifel oversees the management of the state's investments.  His office manages $20 billion in annual state revenues, directs the state's banking services and oversees Missouri's $3.5 billion investment portfolio. Zweifel serves as chair of the Missouri Higher Education Savings Program Board, the Missouri Housing Development Commission and the Missouri Investment Trust.  In addition, he sits on the Missouri State Employees' Retirement System and the Missouri Cultural Trust Board. Prior to serving as State Treasurer, Zweifel represented the 78th District in the Missouri House of Representatives for six years.  In the House, Zweifel was the ranking member on the Ways and Means Committee and the Special Committee on Tax Reform. Treasurer Zweifel grew up in Florissant. His dad is a retired union carpenter and his mom is a hairdresser.  He graduated from the University of Missouri-St. Louis with a Bachelors of Arts in Political Science in 1996.  In 2001, he graduated from UMSL with a Master of Business Administration.  He is married to Janice, and they are parents to two wonderful girls, Selma and Elma.  They reside in Columbia. For more information visit the web site. Claire McCaskill U.S. Senator In November 2006, Claire became the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from Missouri. In keeping with her history as state auditor and Jackson County Prosecutor, one of Claire’s first major bills to pass in the Senate established the Wartime Contracting Commission, charged with investigating wasteful, fraudulent and abusive contracts in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2009, she was named chairman of a new subcommittee that investigates contracting abuses throughout the federal government: the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight. Claire also sits on the Armed Services, Commerce, and Aging Committees. From them, she’s taken on: accountability and transparency, earmark reform, increased independence for Inspector Generals (IG) that act as federal auditors, credit card regulations, security improvements to foreign repair stations that service our domestic aircraft, reforms to the reverse mortgage industry, consumer protections, and full benefits and adequate facilities for our brave veterans and wounded active service members. Claire is a fourth-generation Missourian who has spent her entire life in the Show-Me State. After graduating law school, she clerked for the Missouri Court of Appeals in Kansas City, and then got a job as an assistant prosecutor in Kansas City. In 1982, Claire won a seat in the Missouri State Legislature. She juggled the responsibilities of both mother and legislator and was the first woman to ever give birth while an active member of the Missouri State Legislature. She chaired the Civil and Criminal Justice Committee and passed numerous laws that impacted the justice system. Claire became the first female prosecutor for Jackson County in 1993. As head of the largest prosecutor's office in the state, she established many new programs, including a domestic violence unit and one of the nation's first Drug Courts. She held this position until she was sworn in as Missouri Auditor in 1999. As Auditor, Claire brought an innovative approach to the office by adding performance audits to the traditional financial audits. She is married to Joseph Shepard, a St. Louis businessman. They each brought children to the marriage, which created a blended family that includes seven children, and three grandchildren. Claire's 81-year old mother Betty Anne lives with the family and continues to be a strong influence in Claire’s life.