Let's Pod This

Scott and Andy discuss the recent rash of allegations of corruption among state legislators, gubernatorial appointees, and other public officials, as well as the recently-launched Clean Up Oklahoma campaign that has been tracking and highlighting these reports. A few pertinent links:

• Clean Up Oklahoma [timeline of corruption]
• Brent Swadley in 2018: "Wouldn't be where I am today if I followed the rules." (NonDoc)
• O'Donnell indictment could have far-reaching consequences (Tulsa World)

Candidate filing winds down and there are roughly 200 fewer candidates than there were in the 2018 gubernatorial cycle. Andy & Bailey sort through the filings and discuss what impact this may have on voters' experience at the ballot box and Oklahoma's representation for the next cycle.

Sometimes bills die for very obvious reasons; other times they go away quietly, often so quietly that no one knows why. We discuss new reports about how former Attorney General Mike Hunter killed a bill that would have impacted (and increased scrutiny of) his ability to hire private law firms to assist with state lawsuits. We also chat about the surprising number of legislators who are not seeking re-election this year, a new primary challenger for the Governor, and SCOTUS' newly-seated Justice, Kentanji Brown Jackson.

The Tourism Dept. has to answer some questions (and is now being investigated) concerning the $13 million they paid to a private business to open restaurants at rural state parks during the pandemic, the Oklahoma Pandemic Center cost $30 million but isn't doing the testing they promised, and, as a treat, Andy and Scott take a trip down memory lane to discuss their first cars, gas prices in the 90s, and the finer notes of power washing.

Links mentioned:

• State Parks Management Questioned (NonDoc)
• OSBI launches investigation of Oklahoma Tourism Department (The Oklahoman)
• 538 Politics podcast "How education became today's wedge issue" (FiveThirtyEight)
• Oklahoma House rings up $500 million in proposed tax cuts (Tulsa World)
• Gov. Stitt taps businessman with no college degree for board overseeing higher education (Tulsa World)

The Oklahoma legislature passed the first floor deadline this week, and per usual, that meant some contentious bills made it further through the process while others died an early death. (Or did they...?) Andy & Scott discuss the politics and procedures surrounding three big issues: restrictions on transgender students playing sports, school vouchers, and managed care.

Oklahoma House Rep. Merleyn Bell and Norman City Councilmember Lauren Scheuler join us for an important and enlightening conversation about women in government, what it takes to run (and serve) in elected office, and the power of authenticity in our world.

Links & bios:

• Former Congresswoman Kendra Horn has officially entered the race for US Senate
• CBS News reported that Scott Pruitt may be contemplating a run for Senate
• NonDoc reported that OK Dept of Veterans Affairs director Joel Kintsel may be contemplating a run for Governor and has all but accused Governor Stitt’s staff or campaign team of accessing his computer without authorization. 
• The Oklahoman is reporting that Former Teacher of the Year, Jena Nelson, is entering the race for State Superintendent of Public Instruction. She will be running as a Democrat; there are currently three Republicans vying for their party’s nomination: 
• Ryan Walters, who is Stitt’s Education Secretary, 
• April Grace, who is superintendent of Shawnee Public Schools, and
• John Cox, who is superintendent of Peggs Public Schools. Cox previously ran for state superintendent in 2014 and 2018, both times as a Democrat.
• NonDoc also has a fascinating article about alleged corruption and millions of dollars of embezzlement in western Oklahoma involving two county commissioners, one from Kiowa County and one from Tillman County. 
• It’s too complicated to really talk about in this episode, but I strongly encourage you to read it and then to go listen to the most recent episode of “The Very OK Podcast,” produced by the Oklahoma Historical Society and hosted by current OHS Executive Director Trait Thompson and former director Bob Blackburn. The episode is entitled “At War with Corruption” and it details the major corruption scandals from the 1960s to 1980s involving county commissioners, the political climate in which they happened, and an interview with Bill Price, who was the former US Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma who prosecuted the county commissioners. It’s absolutely wild. There’s a claim in there that some of the county commissioners estimated - openly admitted - that 50% of the materials reported as received by the county government in Oklahoma between statehood and the 1960s were never received!
• Every March is nationally designated as Women’s History Month, a time in which we celebrate the contributions women have made to the United States and recognize the specific achievements women have made over the course of American history in a variety of fields. Since this is a podcast about government and civic engagement, we thought it would be most appropriate to talk to some of the female leaders in those fields, Oklahoma House Representative Merelyn Bell and Norman City Councilmember Lauren Schueler.

Representative Merleyn Bell is a fifth-generation Oklahoman and an art director with over 15 years of experience in publication design. She was first elected in 2018 to represent House District 45, which is east Norman, and is the first woman of color to ever represent her hometown. 

Lauren Schueler is the director of N.E.W. Leadership and civic engagement at the Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center. She coordinates the N.E.W. (National Education for Women’s) Leadership program that seeks to address the historical under-representation of women in politics and public service, as well as civic engagement more broadly on campus. In addition, she helps organize and advise other programs housed the Carl Albert Center: Pipeline to Politics, Civic Engagement Fellows and Oklahoma Votes, a student organization focused on voter registration, education, and mobilization. Lauren also represents Ward 2 on the Norman City Council and serves on the Community Planning and Transportation Committee and the Oversight Committee.

The legislative debate over education vouchers continues to heat up, and this week OEA released some polling numbers which indicated that a majority of Oklahomans do not support the use of public tax dollars for private education. Also, more big names enter the race for Inhofe's US Senate seat.

With the legislature's first committee deadline in the rearview mirror, Andy & Scott discuss some of the bills that are still alive as well as the down-ballot implications of Senator Inhofe's retirement and what those shifts may mean for Oklahoma voters.

One of Oklahoma's US Senators, Jim Inhofe, announced he is retiring from the Senate at the end of the year, just two years into his six-year term. While the state legislature recently changed the law to permit the Governor to appoint a replacement, the timing of Inhofe’s resignation - before March 1st in an even-numbered year - means that Governor Stitt will NOT get to appoint someone. Instead, a special election will be held this November, meaning that both of Oklahoma’s US Senate seats are up for election, one with incumbent James Lankford seeking reelection and the other now an open seat. In this episode, we discuss possible candidates for the seat and what the implications are for Oklahoma's political landscape.

A voucher bill narrowly passes committee, the Governor's cronyism rears its head again, a representative displays questionable ethics, a party is being audited by the IRS, and a candidate makes a bad decision.

Links to articles discussed:

• SB 1647 (vouchers) advances on a close vote 
• Bill that would switch up school board election dates resurrected at the Capitol
• Governor Stitt appointed his former employee who is also the daughter of a state legislator to the State Board of Education. 
• How A State Lawmaker’s Day Job Tiptoed into Lobbying
• OK GOP has paid over $14,000 in fines to the IRS & FEC for improper filings.
• Abby Broyles allegedly got drunk and verbaly accosted teenage girls at a Valentine’s Day party