Let's Pod This

It seems that once a decade, a major state agency has a mysterious budget crisis. In 2012 it was OKDHS, in 2018 it was OSDH, and in 2025 it's ODMHSAS. What is going on? And what can we do about it?

Sure, the stock market's in free fall and the First Amendment is under attack, but sometimes you gotta pull back from that and focus on the good stuff - like when a regular, everyday woman decides to run for city council. We visit with Valerie Moore, recent candidate for Harrah City Council, to hear what she learned along the way.

When people show you who they really are, believe them. Especially if they can't work a group chat.

Ryan Walters pays the piper, politicians don't want Oklahomans to propose ballot initiatives, and we discuss how well the parties are (or are not) connecting with voters.

Links mentioned:

• Walters settled with Ethics Commission for social media violations
• But…a lawmaker, Ellen Pogemiller, has asked the Attorney General to weigh in on Walters’ connection to a new “professional association” called “Teacher Freedom Alliance.“ She asked AG Drummond to “clarify the legality” of Walters’ conduct concerning the new “Teacher Freedom Alliance.” She also asked Drummond to “investigate the financial ties and contacts (Walters) has with TFA.” 
• A law passed last year creating a new penalty for what it called “impermissible occupation” has been mostly cleared for enforcement by the US DOJ. A federal judge put a stay on the bill under Biden, but now the Trump Administration has dismissed it. 
• Speaking of changes to federal policy, the Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner, Glen Mulready, who most of us forget exists, has issued a warning or a heads up to Oklahomans who have health insurance through the Marketplace (aka Obamacare) that their premiums will likely increase dramatically for 2026 if the federal enhanced Advanced Premium Tax Credits aren’t extended by December. 
• David Shor, head of data science at Blue Rose Research, was on The Ezra Klein Show this week, and it’s fascinating to hear / watch. 

Supt. Ryan Walters is facing his third ethics violation in as many years, the future of the Judicial Nominating Commission is again uncertain, and Governor Stitt wants to have a say in federal funding decisions.

Oklahoma Labor Commissioner Leslie Osborn returns to the show to discuss childcare, maternal health care, and how Oklahoma can - and should - properly invest in the future of our state's workforce.

We're joined by Rep. Andy Fugate (HD94-Del City) to discuss his priorities this session and the lawsuit he recently filed against Governor Stitt regarding his executive order that all state employees must end remote work and return to the office.

Every day I get asked "Wtf are we supposed to do?!" Thankfully, our friend, Eric Liu, with Citizen University, has a helpful framework: the "Five P's." Let's talk through them.

Andy discusses what happens when DOGE cuts federal programs AND DOGE-OK wants to cut state programs AND Governor Stitt wants to cut revenue. With all those cuts, Oklahoma will bleed out. We plead again: discuss the state budget more than one year at a time.

Governor Stitt delivered his State of the State, which calls for tax cuts and dipping into the state's savings account again. Haven't we been here before? Also, a reminder that elections occur all year, every year.

• Governor gave annual State of the State address, called for $1.4B in tax cuts
• Legislative leaders not so sure
• Sen. Dusty Deevers retracts bill in response to public pressure
• Great op-ed from former intern Preston Salameh on the value of Open Primaries
• But the civic action isn’t just at the federal and state level Next week, municipal elections abound! OKC Wards 3 & 7, Edmond & Norman Mayoral races. Also OK County Commissioner primary elections. 
• And February is just the start! The next election will be April 1st, which will be the general elections for some of these (like OKCC) and could be the run-off for municipal races. April 1st will also be the general for other municipal races, like Harrah - I don’t know why those weren’t in February, too, along with the other municipal ones. 
• April 1st will also be the primary election to fill two vacant seats in the state House - HD71 and HD74. 
• HD71 is in Tulsa, just south of downtown and along the east side of the river, and was held by Rep. Amanda Swope who left the House to work for Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols. Seven candidates have filed, 4 Dems and 3 Republicans, so there will be primaries for both major parties.
• HD 74 is northeast of Tulsa, basically Owasso and the surrounding area. It was previously held by Mark Vancuren who resigned to accept a position as deputy county commissioner, working with another former house member, Lonnie Sims. Six candidates filed for HD74, five Republicans and one Democrat.
• So the primary election for these seats is on April 1st, it will be followed by, likely, a primary run-off on May 13 and then a general election on June 10th. But it could be different…if each primary has one winner who gets more than 50% of the vote, then there won’t be a run-off and the general will be held on May 13th. Why do we have so many elections?
• Talk about what we can do about *all this*
• Former State Rep. Ryan Kiesel passed away at age of 45