An official complaint with the State Division of Professional Registration’s Board of Board For Architects, Professional Engineers, Professional Land Surveyors and Professional Landscape Architects against Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft claims that Ashcroft has been profiting off of the title of engineer, which he has used in his campaign for governor, despite not having the license and little experience.
It should be noted that the person who filed the complaint has donated to Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe’s campaign.
While it is true that Ashcroft does have a background in engineering, he is not a licensed Professional Engineer and his claims of working in the engineering field seem to be overstated. He attended the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy’s engineering program, where he was dismissed before completing the program. Next, he attended the University of Missouri Science and Technology at Rolla, where he earned degrees in Engineering Management.
After graduating, he worked for a small defense firm in West Plains named Systems & Electronics Inc, which is now known as DRS Sustainment Systems. According to state records, Ashcroft was never licensed while working there, instead, he was classified as an “engineering intern”. After a stint there, he began teaching engineering at St. Louis Community College.
Later he began his legal work. Graduating from St. Louis University’s School Of Law in 2008, he began working at the Ashcroft Law Firm, owned by his father, former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft. He practiced law before following in his father’s footsteps in politics starting in 2014, when he lost a race for State Senate. He was later successfully elected to Secretary of State in 2016, where he remains now.
All throughout his political campaigns, Ashcroft has made his engineering experience a focus of his campaign. In fact, his campaign slogan currently reads “Engineering a Stronger Missouri”. The first words on his current campaign website read, “I’m an Engineer”. On his About page, the title reads “Politicians Fix Blame, Engineers Fix Problems”. The first line from his about section reads “Jay Ashcroft is an engineer, not a politician”. That same section also claims Ashcroft “worked as a defense industry engineer and professor of engineering at St. Louis Community College, preparing the next generation of autoworkers in Missouri. Ashcroft even has a part of his website dedicated to his campaign goals dubbed “Red Print”, which seems to be a play on the word blueprint. However since Ashcroft is not a licensed engineer, he would legally not be allowed to sign off on any official blueprints.
Ashcroft’s use of his engineering experience on the campaign trail is not new. He referenced his experience heavily in 2016 when he first ran for Secretary of State. In 2014, he sat down with the Missouri Times to discuss his bid for State Senate at the time. In that interview, Ashcroft said, “My experience as an engineer, perspective as a teacher, and study as an attorney will help me act to foster the environment for growth and opportunity that people should expect from government”.
The complaint lodged against Ashcroft claimed he was breaking Missouri Revised Statutes 327.076.1, which states that “Any person who practices architecture, engineering, land surveying, or landscape architecture, as defined in sections 327.011 to 327.635, or who holds himself or herself out as able to practice such profession and who is not the holder of a currently valid license or certificate of authority in Missouri, and who is not exempt from holding such a license or certificate, is guilty of a class A misdemeanor”.
Section § 327.191.3 RSMo clarifies this law and states that “any person using the word “engineer”, “engineers”, or “engineering”, alone or preceded by any word, or in combination with any words, may do so without being subject to disciplinary action by the board so long as such use is reflective of that person’s profession or vocation and is clearly not indicating or implying that such person is holding himself or herself out as being a professional engineer or is willing or able to practice engineering as defined in this section”.
Criticisms have appeared elsewhere as well. The Missouri Times published an opinion editorial earlier yesterday from Kevin T. McMeel, a professional engineer from Cape Girardeau, titled. McMeel stated that “Professional Engineers do not take kindly to individuals hijacking our hard-earned title for political gain”.
Ashcroft appeared on KCMO talk radio with Pete Mundo to defend himself against the complaints. “I think that shows the sort of Republican that I’m running against when they think that the government has to okay whether or not I call myself an engineer, even with multiple degrees and previous job history,” Ashcroft told Mundo.
While Ashcroft has never claimed to be a professional engineer, the complaint in front of the Missouri State Professional Board argues that Ashcroft has been indicating himself as one and has been using that indication for his campaigns. While the legitimacy of Ashcroft’s engineering background is being debated, there is no question that his engineering experience is a foundational part of his campaign.
Kelton is a 2023 graduate of the University of Missouri with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies. He is a native of mid-Missouri and likes to write politics at both the state and federal levels. Kelton joined the Missouri Times in April 2022
