Question: What expenditure contributed to the impeachment and removal of a former governor?
Answer: An extravagant purchase of chicken salad and punch by Gov. James Ferguson. Ferguson signed a bill in 1915 that authorized the state to pay for utilities of up to $2,000 at the governor’s mansion, but he also tried to get reimbursed for personal expenses.
Ferguson continued the practice even after the state Supreme Court ruled the expenses were unauthorized. Ferguson was ultimately impeached and convicted for misapplying funds in what became known as the Chicken Salad Case.
