Mike Foley (Nebraska politician)

Mike Foley
41st Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska
Incumbent
Assumed office January 8, 2015
Governor	Pete Ricketts
Preceded by	John Nelson
Auditor of Nebraska
In office January 3, 2007 – January 8, 2015
Governor	Dave Heineman
Preceded by	Kate Witek
Succeeded by	Charlie Janssen
Member of the Nebraska Legislature from the 29th district
In office 2001–2007
Preceded by	LaVon Crosby
Succeeded by	Tony Fulton
Personal details
Born	(1954-04-05) April 5, 1954 Rochester, New York, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Education	State University of New York, Brockport (BA) Michigan State University (MBA)
Website	Government website

Mike Foley (born April 5, 1954) is the 41st and current Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska since 2015. A Republican, Foley was previously elected to the Nebraska Legislature from 2001 to 2007 and served as the state's Auditor of Public Accounts from 2007 until 2015.

Personal life

Foley was born in Rochester, New York and graduated from Bishop Kearney High School in 1972, the State University of New York at Brockport in 1976, and Michigan State University with an M.B.A. He held summer positions in the offices of US Department of Transportation and the US International Trade Commission. For 18 years, he was the director of financial analysis for the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners in Washington, DC. Prior to that position he was a consultant with Kirschner Associates. He is married to Nebraska native Susan (Seiker) Foley and they have six children and are members of St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Lincoln, Nebraska.

State Legislature

Foley was elected in 2000 to represent the 29th Nebraska legislative district, and reelected in 2004 with 70% of the vote. He sat on the Judiciary and the Transportation and Telecommunications committees. He resigned in January, 2007 to become state auditor after winning a statewide election for that position in the 2006 election cycle.

As a state senator, Foley was considered one of the body's most fiscally conservative lawmakers and members of the Legislature's Appropriations Committee. He also made a point of not accepting either special interest or corporate dollars, believing money taints the system and deprives the “little guy” of having a say in the political process.^[1]

Foley's passion in the Legislature was promoting pro-life legislation. He carried major pro-life legislation nearly each session, including a successful fetal homicide law in 2002. Under this law, a person who kills a pre-born baby while committing a criminal act can be charged with murder.^[1][2]

Auditor of Public Accounts

On November 7, 2006 Foley defeated incumbent Democrat Kate Witek to become Nebraska State Auditor. In 2010 he was re-elected to a second term with 80% of the statewide vote.

As State Auditor, Foley revealed the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services violated its own regulations and improperly spent nearly $8 million via thousands of separate State warrants (payments) to participants in the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Among those were payments sent to some persons already known by the agency to be dead.^[3]

Candidate for Lt. Governor of Nebraska

Pete Ricketts selected Foley to replace Lavon Heidemann as his running mate in the 2014 Nebraska governors race.^[4]

References