Susan Montee Running for Missouri State Auditor

Intro:	Issuing audits for the past 4 years, Susan Montee is running for re-election as Missouri's State Auditor. Erica Coghill has more from the state capital.
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Wrap: Missouri's current state auditor is a CPA, an attorney and divorced mother of three. Despite her hectic lifestyle, Susan Montee still manages to maintain a sense of humor.

Montee shares her candid personality with Missourians in a Holiday YouTube greeting, full of humorous bloopers and re-takes.

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Description: "Stop it, I'm not wearing the hat (laughter). (Beep)One of the difficult things about the Holiday Season is choosing what to wear. (Beep, meow) Oh gah, (laughter)hi, I'm Missouri State Auditor, Susan Montee, wishing you a safe and happy Holiday Season."

In this year's election campaign, she's cracking even more jokes.

During the auditor debate at Lake Ozark, Republican opponent, Tom Schweich accused Montee of strategically timing the release of her audits to help her campaign.

Schweich recalled a previous speech where Montee admitted to front loading.

Montee laughed off the accusation and still managed to make the crowd laugh.

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Description: "I had just got done saying I'm doing everything the same way as I always have, and then um, I made a joke that said, maybe I'll frontload a few, it was looked at as a joke and unfortunately I'm an accountant and I've forgotten that I'm not funny (laughter)."

Schweich insisted Montee's joke wasn't funny.

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Description: "Mr. Schweich may not have a sense of humor either, however, the problem here is not about this statement or that statement, I have a four year history here that everyone can look at in the way that we do our audits outside of political influence."

Unlike Montee's predecessor, Claire McCaskill, Montee has continued to run audits through the election cycle.

She says if she didn't release the audits during this time, she wouldn't be doing her job.

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Description: "We put out 151 audits last year, we put out audits every single week, and the political position on not putting out audits, it to say because I'm runing for office, I'm going to hold information that should be out there to the public."

In an effort to be more transparent, Montee says she is the first Missouri official to make tracking the stimulus, public information on the web.

When first elected in 2006, Montee issued 91 audits.

Last year she issued 151 and increased her audits even more this year with 124.

She says she plans on continuing her progress over the next four years.

In a heated debate between Montee and Schweich about campaign funding, Montee says they shouldn't be talking about all of the big checks.

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Description: "It isn't about the money, it's never been about the money, it is about the office and tryng to do the job and primarily my approach to this whole campaign is to go out and do my job, the same way i've done it for the last four years."

She says there should've been campaign contribution limits during this primary and general election and can't imagine what it will be like next year.

From the State Capital, I'm Erica Coghill.