State Auditor Shad White and State Senator John Polk (R - Meat Market) squared off during a Senate Appropriations Committee meeting yesterday. Tempers flared, fireworks erupted, and verbal fisticuffs ensued for nearly a half hour as they went at it.
Start at 1:00:00 in video.
The hearing started off in a cordial fashion as Mr. White addressed why he asked for an appropriation that is $1 million less than his current budget. However, harmony lasted for only 15 minutes when Committee Chairman Polk harangued the State Auditor over his treatment of Brett Favre (1:20:00).
Mr. Polk said "one of my constituents is Brett Favre." The State Senator said he "tried to find out" how the State Auditor calculated the principal and interested owed by the football star in the DHS scandal. The fireworks began.
"I've had several numbers people look at the court record and what you are saying he owes and nobody can make it come to your number. Does that surprise you? " asked Mr. Polk.
Mr. White said his office sent him documents on how the interest claimed was calculated but the State Senator disagreed. The State Auditor bristled as he returned fire:
I'm just going to be very blunt right now. If you're biggest concern is how we got the Brett Favre demand amount correct down to the penny, I'm shocked because I have never once been called by this body to testify before any sort of hearing on the DHS scandal, the largest public fraud in state history and the first question I get is from a State Senator "Hey, did you get the Brett Favre number correct? I don't think that's right... You should have been asking tough questions about why this money was misspent in the first place.
The gloves were off as the two politicians traded licks for the next few minutes. The State Senator accused Mr. White of hiding his request to fund a $2 million study for finding waste in Mississippi government. (1:23:30) The State Auditor said finding waste in state government was part of his purview and thus did not require the legislature's permission. He added the study in question discovered over $300 million in wasteful spending by state agencies.
John Polk threw down the gauntlet at his opponent as he said the audit was not an audit. "You say you have the authority without issuing a request for proposals. You alone chose the firm," charged Mr. Polk.
The State Auditor vehemently disagreed with his inquisitor, "We had an RFP process." "No you did not," replied Mr. Polk. A fed up Shad White blasted the State Senator: "You are a liar, you are making this up. We had an RFP process. You're not going to sit here and lie about the state agency." Mr. Polk said the Department of Finance & Administration told him there was no RFP for the study. The State Auditor said his office received five bids for the study as he directed a staffer to send the scoring sheets to Mr. Polk. Mr. White confirmed the firm chosen was Boston Consulting Group. The Chairman said since the company had the word "consulting" in its corporate name, it was not an auditing firm. (KF: Say what?) He concluded by accusing the State Auditor of using "subterfuge" to conduct the study.
The State Senator apparently was engaging in a bit of subterfuge himself as Mr. White's office issued an RFP in 2023 despite Mr. Polk's false accusations. The 32-page RFP is posted below.
Mr. Polk demanded to know why Mr. White kept calling it an audit when the Attorney General said it was a managerial study and not an audit. Attorney General Lynn Fitch issued an opinion last year that stated the State Auditor had no authority to conduct the $2 million audit/study/thingamajig. Mr. Polk requested the opinion.
The State Auditor said he had every right to conduct such audits under state law. His predecessors conducted 400 similar audits over 30 years. "This was an audit that looked for waste, period," said Mr. White. Mr. Polk groused "Your answers are getting too long."
The two public servants saved the best for last. The Pine Belt State Senator asked Mr. White if he knew any employees, principals, or anyone connected with Boston Consulting Group. "Did any of your family members" work on the team or work for the company, started Mr. Polk when the State Auditor erupted: "By the way, if you assert that, I'm going to sue you for defamation. "I'm not asserting anything," replied Mr. Polk. "Multiple people have asserted that my wife worked for Boston Consulting Group which is not true, has never happened," responded Mr. White in kind . (1:32:00)
The State Senator denied he mentioned the State Auditor's wife. "And that's a really good thing for you. Don't assert that anyone in my family worked for that company," said the State Auditor. "I hate your answer that you just gave because I did not mention a family member. You brought that up." responded Mr. Polk. "Keep going, next question," said Mr. White .
State Senator Polk asked if anyone else had any questions.
77 comments:
Shad acting far too defensive. He is desperately running for Governor and I predict he will flame out long before the election year arrives.
Flame out or not, I'm supporting
Shad "The Phoenix" White
He'll do what's right
Misspending brought to light
He stands up to Might
Leads the little man's fight
That Shad "The Phoenix" White
Shad is a blow hard. Hope he crashes and burns.
Damn, Shad looks like a 5-year-old when they are told to go get in the tub. Little Shad is apparently not cut out for this line of work. Maybe he should go work the teacup ride at Disney and be around a like crowd.
Disappointing.
FWIW, I know John Polk and the last thing I would call him is a liar. I have worked with him in the industry for over 13 years and he is as honest and decent a man as you will find.
Polk doesn't need to be told to carry Democrat Delbert's water. He does it automatically and already has lots of experience. Time to push these blue dogs back to the Democratic Party where they belong.
Finally, some action in the midst of a sea of boring appropriations meetings!
Shad is a petulent child and Polk is a grand-standing drama queen. Both are an embarassment.
Bunch of mini Sid Salters in this comment section.
Shad is a whiner.
4:23 you say Polk is not a liar but he claimed White didn't issue an RFP for the study/audit but that turns out is a "LIE".
They deserve each other. Two blowhards.
@4:23, so you work in the sausage--er--pork barrel industry?
Kinda weird to flex knowing another man from that but okay.
The sad state of affairs of Mississippi is apparent when bubba gump Polk in a public committee hearing is saying "Bugh bugh Brett Farve is my friend how did you come up with those numbers that he owed?"
Happy to see bubba gump Polk crushed and called out for not ever having a hearing about misspent DHS funds or using committee time to investigate it. Reading the transcript read like observing a fool who is too much of a fool to realize how embarrassing he is.
The Chairman said since the company had the word "consulting" in its corporate name, it was not an auditing firm. (KF: Say what?) He concluded by accusing the State Auditor of using "subterfuge" to conduct the study.
Senator Polk is correct.
Boston Consulting Group is not an audit firm any more than Auditor White's title makes him a CPA ready to engage in the professional practice of auditing.
An example: BCG is not not a registered firm at the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.
Example: The Mississippi State Board of Public Accountancy requirements to sit for the CPA exam, and the work experience required for licensure are available online.
https://www.msbpa.ms.gov/licensing-exams
Auditor White probably isn't a licensed CPA or he would be telling everybody all about it.
Re: The Chairman said since the company had the word "consulting" in its corporate name, it was not an auditing firm. (KF: Say what?)
Some of y'all have never heard of Deloitte and it shows.
5:37 is correct, and Shad is wrong. A simple Google search reveals BCG is NOT an auditing firm. https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=is+Boston+Consulting+Group+an+auditing+firm&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
Well I want to know why they haven’t cut the funding to these wasteful agencies. $335 million, that’s a lot of waste. Shad u have my vote!!
Shad might be more credible in situations like this if he wasn't on social media all day pumping his legislative agenda.....while he is not a legislator. He is turning into the little spoiled girl in Willie Wonka (the Gene Wilder edition).
4:46 - you and the other folks working over there in the Auditors office ought to understand - there is a difference between a "lie" and a "mistake". Polk evidently was 'mistaken' based on (according to him) information he was given by DFA. My guess is that this RFP was issued direct by Shad's office and didn't go through the Personnel Board's review/process, but I might be 'mistaken' about that assumption.
Whatever - the issue is, one should understand the difference between something being "a line" and something being "wrong".
Good to see Polk has his priorities straight. F those poor people. Brett Vball farve gets his own senator. Polk loves his sausage
After insulting the chairman of appropriations shad can expect a budget haircut and specific language prohibiting him from doing any efficiency "audits" and requiring the auditor's office to only perform financial audits that require rendering an opinion on the financial position of a state or local entity.
Polk: no one wants to see how the sausage is made. Especially that highway 49 select grade
I really don’t know much about Polk or who has the high ground. But Shad needs to stop his obvious self-promotion and learn how to deal with criticism in a mature way if he wants my vote.
Looks like a cat fight
Nice to hear an State Agency Head having enough cajones to push back on a chairman of an legislative appropriations committee who appears to be trying to bully him.
Shad's grandstanding has gotten to be tiresome. That's the last type of personality that this state needs running for governor.
A taxpayer paid pissing contest.
Someone's clearly not ready for prime time.
One of these guys has, a la Jimmy Dean, smoked his own sausage one too many times.
John Polk just personified what people hate about politicians:
using the office for the benefit of one wealthy supporter, completely ignoring the largest public-money fraud in state history, while blithely engaging in character assassination of the person who called it out.
Shad is one of Feel's boys. That's all I need to know.
Both of these no goods need to be put out to pasture.
I hate to say but Shad looked bad.. :( When you see and hear exactly how some people act (and not just read about it), it completely changes your opinion of them.
All Shad had to do was answer the question. It's just relatively simple math. He didn't even have to work the problem, just explain how they do it. But he couldn't.
Tell you what Mississippi doesn't need. An 80 year old Governor comfortable with nibbling around the edges of the status quo and nothing else. We don't move the state forward into the future with an octogenarian executive from Mississippi's past.
@606 - there ain't no $300 million in savings; before you commit to your vote (unless, of course, you are trying to save your job with him) maybe you should look at what he claims could be saved; and the analysis that shows much of his claims wouldn't work
Cry baby cry baby suck your thumb. Big daddy Phil is not around to take care of you anymore!!
I am not fond of Polk but he has a point: how did Shadrack calculate the interest?
Bless Shad's heart, I think he's trying really hard to appear like he has this all under control. I think he may have underestimated his rivals in the party's power seats.
Polk shut up when shad said he’d see his ass at the courthouses. these insinuations by reference of known falsehoods have to stop. “Many people say… Shad let it be known that Polk would get poked if he fed the lie machine to shads detriment. Bam!
This exchange between Polk and White makes me think there could be well-funded support given to someone else when Shad runs for his next office. Careful, Republican infighting could create an opening for a Democrat, be it Presley or someone else.
Proper conduct fears no exposure......the guilty dog barks the loudest. Shad is desperate toast. He could have been the biggest man in the room if he'd perp walked Phil Bryant, but he thought the good ole' boys would prevail. Nope.
Plus, publicly threatening to sue a legislator will not be forgotten.
Well Reagan I don’t work for any one and I bet there is so much waste in our government u would be furious, unless yr elected? R u?
Lot of cuckercatives in this thread. 10:47 your neon conservative false god is no longer the way of Republicans.
Polk displaying his Napoleon Syndrome again.
I wonder how much Farve gave to Polk's campaign for reelection?
Polk defending his millionaire buddies instead of focusing on the misspent funds tells me all I need to know about that jackwagon.
Not saying Shad handled it well, but Polk clearly loses this battle in public opinion.
@6:24, No Democrat is going to win. They have no agenda.
The worst part of this sham is that Shad had his stooge (employee) sitting in the corner of the meeting, that you taxpayers are paying the salary of, to FILM HIMSELF. How narcissistic can you be Shad? I guess that is what Shad's career has come, while on the clock 8-5 M-F, he writes a book, harasses people to donate to him and threatens them that he is watching the campaign reports, and has his employees film his subcommittee meetings. I would not be surprised if he has used his OSA Attorneys to do legal work on his lawsuit. He claimed, "I have attorneys."
Great use of TAXPAYER DOLLARS Auditor. Maybe someone should audit the Auditor.
Polk should stay in Magee.
Shad had no reason to appear before the budget committee in the first place. He already told them to cut his budget. He can’t resist a microphone.
Surely by now, Favre's attorneys have requested the interest calculation. Is Polk his attorney? Why is Polk commenting on pending litigation at all?
Shad spends all day on social media. I can only assume all these defensive posts on JJ are Shad.
Shad: "I would like to ask to reduce our budget by $1 Million"
Shad two minutes later: "WE CANT COMPETE WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND CANT PAY COMPETITIVE SALARIES!!!!!"
Shad, please stop arguing with idiots like Polk. As Mark Twain said, "Never argue with a fool. Onlookers may not be able to tell the difference".
The sad thing is Shad would probably not be a bad governor but he's too eager and it will bite him in the rear if he doesn't tone it down. He is a smart guy and would likely go a decent job but he's trying too hard. Chill out, focus on your current role, stop picking fights, and just watch things play out.
I cannot believe so many of you are defending Polk who so very clearly was grossly ill-informed and ill-prepared. I can only imagine those defending Polk and Favre are worried you will no longer benefit from Mississippi's history of corruption in government and "good old boy" contract lettings.
One comment seems to be missed by everyone that is very telling. Not one time has the legislature called in the Auditor to ask about all the money stolen from the state. The largest fraud n state history.
1) Polk obviously fancies himself an attack dog who has watched too much of John Kennedy (R) Louisiana. He was ill-informed, petty and tripped over his own assertions. The Auditor called his bluff and did so in a forceful manner, time and again. Polk came across as a buffoon.
2) Quoting Lynn Fitch as to whether a consultant can conduct an audit exposes two foolish players, here. Fitch and Polk.
3) Thank you, Kingfish, for finally, for once, putting a decent audio on the blog.
4) State Auditor by TKO in the 12th round.
4) State Auditor by TKO in the 12th round.
Nope. Maybe a judges' decision.
White missed a golden opportunity when Polk pressed about the calculation of interest, etc by not turning it immediately back around by asking Polk how much he and Favre think he [Favre] should pay.
White parries too much.
11:07, Actually, that fact was pointed out at 8:18 this morning and 8:42 last night.
Thank you for again pointing out that the legislature apparently failed to hold hearings on the largest diversion of public money in state history, as it involved a former governor and favorite son Brett Favre.
Does Shad get along with anyone, or does his Napoleon Complex absolutely dominate his life?
Shad is killing his political ambitions with stunts like this. I really liked him until he decided to publish a self-promoting book while he was still in office. As far as the governor's race goes in 2027, I'm not a fan of any of the names being thrown out. The billionaire will be a bust, Delbert is too old and too liberal, Shad is too eager, and Gipson is too country. I would like to see Philip Gunn run for Gov or Lt. Gov, but being out for several years he might be "out of sight, out of mind" for too many constituents.
Those in power within the State of Mississippi don’t want the truth told. It exposes too many people. Neither does Shad, and certainly not Phil. The State is intent on keeping all pleadings under seal and they’ll not hold a public hearing, at least not one where the TANF defendants will be able to speak publicly. Shad’s been able to weave his little yarn because he’s the only person involved who is allowed to speak on topic. It’s really easy to control a narrative when no one else is allowed to talk.
No such thing as 'proper conduct' when it comes to mumbling old men who think they can make a cute point and gain accolades down to the barber shop.
The ole man told a lie and Shad was right to put a finger in his face. Polk thought he'd get high-fives back at the capitol and lost the battle. And then tried to blame it on a department head.
Polk and White usually see eye-to-eye - bada boom bada bing!
Captain Frag, two more questions Shad should have asked on the spot is 'Senator, before or during construction were you aware a new volleyball facility was being built on the USM campus? And Senator, since you are a USM alum and in the know from your job as a State Senator, did you ever ask or were you ever told what was the source funding the construction?'
@2:34 - Gunn is Hood without the (D). We should never elect people who bust hell out of the arrogance meter.
Excellent post
@7:22. If you think Gunn is arrogant, have you ever met Tate Reeves or Delbert Hosemann??
When did Shad come up with the idea of doing a cost study of state government on the scale of $2 million? I’m thinking he was planning this at least a year ago thus should have mentioned it to the legislature in last year’s budget hearings. Why weren’t both appropriations committees made aware and involved in the study? If this was a truly serious study everyone would have been involved. Since they weren’t it makes the whole thing seem to only be for the Auditor’s political future.
What started it was Polk calling out White about communicating and White did tell an employee to quit talking to Polk. True or not White had to jump on that because White was making a political speech for governor.
Shad has been self promoting the one million dollar cut to his budget while Polk pointed out that he didn't cut his budget by a million he is simply moving the funds around and accessing more dollars from special funds- also taxpayer dollars. Shad didn't like this distinction being made. He also should be able to document how his office figures demand notices- if it isn't right on one it likely isn't right on others. The "waste" found has been touted by Shad but the agencies haven't had a chance to respond. There are some things that at just a cursory glance will show shouldn't be listed as waste but that doesn't fit his narrative. And, there is some irony in Shad being anti DEI but then hiring a firm that promotes it and says they were the best in the country to do the job. Hmmmm. . .maybe their policies work if they are the best to be found. Finally, Polk remained calm while White is threatening a lawsuit over something that wasn't said. Shad was most certainly digging for soundbites and he wasn't happy that others have become wise to him. But, if Tommy Duff runs for governor it won't matter anyway.
Appears that Shad was being set up (to fall) for a long line of 'got-cha' questioning. Thought he handled himself appropriately and professionally.
The $2 million paid to BCG and tagged by Shad as Project Momentum (as in I’m running for Governor…like we didn’t see this coming.)felt more like a taxpayer funded campaign ad to me…got him lots of free press. How can Mississippians continue to be duped? It’s laughable and sad all at the same time.☹️🫣🤯
I'm not a huge fan of Shad. I am however a HUGE fan of breaking up the cabal of boomer politicians. Time to shake things up.
Not a fan of Shad, but he took out the Polk. Polk's first question was really about the interest charged to Brett? Out of touch with the everyday Mississippian.
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