After He Was Exposed for Lying About Being an Engineer, Jay Ashcroft Calls for Eliminating Engineer Licenses

After He Was Exposed for Lying About Being an Engineer, Jay Ashcroft Calls for Eliminating Engineer Licenses 

After being exposed in a complaint alleging he committed “fraud and dishonesty” for his campaign’s central claim that he is an engineer despite not having a license, Republican candidate for governor and Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s new tactic is advocating for the elimination of the licensing process for engineers, a completely dangerous suggestion that could potentially create countless unsafe hazards.

During last night’s GOP primary debate, when asked about the controversy, Ashcroft claimed: “I’m an engineer, but it’s none of the government’s business. We need to get rid of this red tape. We need to allow people to live their lives the way they see fit, instead of kowtowing to faceless bureaucrats.”

In addition to wanting to dismantle the engineering profession, Ashcroft has also called for the removal of benefits for veterans. This comes after Ashcroft was scorched in a new op-ed from an actual professional engineer in the Missouri Times, who outlined the danger and potential criminality of Ashcroft’s false claims, stating: “Jay Ashcroft’s dishonesty not only smears the engineering profession but also endangers the public and the public trust for our occupation,” and that “if someone falsely claims to be an Engineer, as Jay Ashcroft has repeatedly done, it is a direct violation of our Constitution. Jay Ashcroft swore an oath to uphold the Missouri Constitution, and he violates that oath every time he falsely claims to be an Engineer.”

“Jay Ashcroft wants the government to stay out of his lies about being an engineer and giving veterans’ benefits, but is all for forcing survivors to carry their rapist’s baby,” said DGA States Press Secretary Emma O’Brien. “As Ashcroft continues to lag in every poll and struggles with fundraising, he’s desperate, doing and saying anything to win over the most extreme members of his party, even by endorsing a policy overhaul that would put Missouri families in danger. Ashcroft and his fellow Republican candidates in this primary continue to prove they are too dangerous and extreme to be Missouri’s next governor.”

Read more reporting on Ashcroft’s latest scandal: 

• Kansas City Star: Missouri candidate for governor says he’s an engineer. Why doesn’t he have a license?“An engineer intern is not a licensed professional engineer, according to state law. Missouri law specifically bans individuals without engineering licenses from ‘indicating or implying that such person is or holds himself or herself out to be a professional engineer.’”

• KSDK: Complaint alleges Ashcroft committed ‘fraud and dishonesty’ in campaign ad because he is ‘not licensed as an engineer‘“A state review of Ashcroft’s credentials revealed he was “originally enrolled as an Engineer Intern” in the mid-1990s, but that he ‘is not now, nor has he ever been, licensed as an Architect, Professional Engineer, Professional Land Surveyor, or Professional Landscape Architect in the State of Missouri.’”

• Missouri Times: Engineer files a complaint against Ashcroft“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 claiming 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.”

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