.Politics » Michael McNutt

Meeting notice problems irk House Democrats

Michael McNutt — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 23:11:44 +0000

Aggravated House Democrats called on Republicans to follow their rules Tuesday to provide the required 24-hour notice of a committee meeting that decides which measures will be heard on the Oklahoma House of Representatives floor.
They especially are irked that two key bills — cutting the personal income tax rate and changing how the state pays for building repairs — that are part of a deal with the Republican governor and the GOP legislative leaders were added Tuesday to the agenda less than an hour before the House Calendar Committee met.
House Minority Leader Scott Inman, D-Del City, and other Democrats pleaded with Rep. Gus Blackwell, who was presiding over Tuesday’s session, to be fair and have the Calendar Committee meet again Wednesday so proper 24-hour notice could be given.
“They could have given us the 24-hour notice,” said Inman on the House floor where Republicans outnumber Democrats 72-29, “instead of using the majority’s power to once again throw aside the rule book and stick it to the minority.”
Blackwell, R-Laverne, said emails about Tuesday’s Calendar Committee were sent out Friday afternoon. But a glitch in the House email system resulted in only two of the 101 members — Reps. Marian Cooksey, R-Edmond, and Ed Cannaday, D-Porum — receiving the notices on their BlackBerry mobile phones, Inman said.
Inman said the emails did not show up on iPhones, the state-issued laptops for legislators or the desktop computers of the legislators’ executive assistants.
“When they restored the glitch, those emails didn’t come back,” he said.
A reminder about the Calendar Committee meeting was sent out at 8:49 a.m. Monday, which for many members was the first notice of the 8:30 a.m. Tuesday meeting, Inman said.
Blackwell said later that notice of the meeting was posted on the House website during the weekend and that committee members have a responsibility to check on meeting dates.
“While you may not have got it on your email, there were plenty of postings to show it was out there,” Blackwell said.
House Speaker T.W. Shannon, R-Lawton, met after the session for his weekly meeting with Inman. Afterward, Joe Griffin, Shannon’s spokesman, said the emails are a convenience to members and that members should check the House website for meeting times.
Inman said members received an email at 7:42 a.m. Tuesday stating five measures were added to the Calendar Committee’s agenda. He said that gave members about 50 minutes notice, which was less than the hour notice established by the committee chairman, Floor Leader Pam Peterson, R-Tulsa, to add or remove bills.
“It demonstrates bad form and lack of openness and transparency from an administration that tries to do their best to present otherwise,” Inman said.
The committee voted to recommend that both House Bill 2032, which contains the cut in the personal income tax effective in 2015, and HB 1910, Shannon’s long-term plan to deal with state property maintenance and improvements, be heard on the House floor.
Griffin said Peterson’s one hour notice for bills to be added or taken off the agenda is her policy, and not part of House rules. The chairman doesn’t have to follow that policy, he said.
Blackwell didn’t take up the question about that issue. A motion to adjourn already had been made and that took precedence, he said.
Inman said House Democrats will raise the issue again Wednesday. If successful, debate on HB 2032 could be delayed until next week.
“Giving enough notice and giving enough time to study the issue and debate the issue is what we’re here for,” Inman said. “I don’t know why we’re in such a hurry to rush the process.”

– Michael McNutt, Capitol Bureau

Santorum rally site changed

Michael McNutt — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:22:55 +0000

The site for the rally for Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum has changed.

It will be at the Magnuson Hotel and Meridian Convention Center, 737 S. Meridian Ave. It’s just south of Interstate 40.

The venue was changed because of the overwhelming response, according to the Oklahoma Republican Party’s website. It originally was scheduled at the nearby H&H Shooting Sports Complex.

The time remains the same at 9 a.m. There is no charge to attend the rally.

Santorum’s visit today comes two days after he swept victories in Minnesota, Missouri and Colorado. The sweep of the three contests again puts the former senator from Pennsylvania in position to contend for the Republican nomination, analysts say.

His Oklahoma visit today is arranged by the Oklahoma Republican Party, which is not endorsing any contender. It has invited all GOP residential candidates to the state.

After his Oklahoma City visit, Santorum will go to Tulsa. He is scheduled to appear at 1:30 p.m. at the Mabee Center at Oral Roberts University.

- Michael McNutt, Capitol Bureau

Governors make bet on OU-Florida State game

Michael McNutt — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 13:17:52 +0000

Gov. Mary Fallin hopes she will soon be eating Florida’s official state pie.
The governors of Florida and Oklahoma are wagering a pie over Saturday’s University of Oklahoma-Florida State University football game.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott and Fallin made the friendly wager over Twitter and Facebook.
If the Sooners win, Scott will be sending a Florida-made Key lime pie to Fallin while if the Seminoles come on out on top Fallin will send a Field’s pecan pie, which is made in Pauls Valley.
Key lime pie, named Florida’s official state pie in 2006, is named after the small Key limes that are naturalized across the Florida Keys. The pecan pie is part of Oklahoma’s official state meal.
Two other officials from both states will be exchanging gifts, not making a wager on the game’s outcome.
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt and his family and Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi are attending the game in Tallahassee, Fla., featuring the No. 1-ranked Sooners and No. 5 Florida State.
Bondi is giving Pruitt fresh Florida oranges and Pruitt is giving Bondi an Oklahoma gift basket filled with Made in Oklahoma products, such as barbecue sauce and Shawnee Mills biscuits.

- Michael McNutt, Capitol Bureau

Oklahoma lawmakers: Social media being used more

Michael McNutt — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 13:39:13 +0000

Several legislators who use social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter say they are effective ways to communicate with constituents.
Some said they were apprehensive when U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., said last week that his Twitter account had been hacked and someone sent a lewd photograph of himself to a woman. Weiner admitted Monday that he had sent the picture.
In Oklahoma, several officials or their staff frequently change passwords and monitor the accounts to delete any inappropriate names of followers or content posted by followers. Several post personal and government items on their personal accounts, but some have political pages on Facebook where they put information about governmental issues and events.
Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman, R-Sapulpa, has a personal Facebook page where he posts personal and Senate information, but he’s not an avid user, said Jarred Brejcha, Bingman’s spokesman.
Brejcha and other staff members oversee and update a Facebook page and a Twitter account for Senate Republicans, which mostly contain information about legislation.
Brejcha said “a good portion” of the 48 senators have a Facebook or a Twitter account.
“To my knowledge, they all update their own accounts,” he said Tuesday.
Senate Minority Leader Andrew Rice, D-Oklahoma City, mixes personal and legislative messages on his Twitter account. He also has a political Facebook page where he posts campaign and legislative events. He also maintains a personal Facebook account, which is aimed mostly for family members and friends.
“I try to keep them somewhat separate, but it’s hard to,” he said. “Anybody who’s in a public position should always be concerned about having control over what you’re putting out there … but I don’t have too much of a concern that there are political opponents on either side are trying to hack into social networking sites.”
Rep. Joe Dorman, D-Rush Springs, said he posts mostly legislative matters on his Twitter account and tries to restrict personal comments to his personal Facebook page and legislative matters and his weekly column on his Facebook political page.
“Everything becomes a blurred line when you’re in politics,” he said. “People don’t really see the difference unless you yourself are isolating it completely and then people think you’re hiding something. So with mine, everything’s an open book.”
During the December 2009 blizzard, he used his social media accounts to post information on power outages and where residents could seek shelter.
“People were charging their cellphones in their cars and following my updates to get information because all of the power was out,” Dorman said. “That is just the best example of how you can help people through social networking.”
House Speaker Kris Steele, R-Shawnee, does not use any social media for personal or legislative matters, said John Estus, the speaker’s press secretary.
The subject of social media use to stay in touch with constituents and report what is happening at the state Capitol was addressed briefly with freshman House members during last year’s orientation session, Estus said.
“All Oklahoma House members are fully aware that in this day and age, they need to exhibit the same good judgment in their use of social media as they would with any other form of communication, public or private,” Estus said.

- Michael McNutt, Capitol Bureau

Former state lawmaker to head Oklahoma Democrats

Michael McNutt — Sun, 15 May 2011 07:10:08 +0000

Oklahoma Democrats, whose candidates received a shellacking at the polls in November, stumbled in their efforts Saturday to elect new leadership.

Former state Rep. Wallace Collins, one of many Democrats defeated last year, was elected chairman of the state Democratic Party in what started out as a six-way race.

Todd Goodman, elected two years ago, did not seek re-election. He was at the party’s helm when Republicans last year captured every statewide post on the ballot and made historic gains in the state House of Representatives and state Senate. For the first time in the state’s 104-year history, a Republican governor is in office at the time Republicans control the Legislature.

“In many ways some people compared my chairmanship to getting the keys to the Titanic after it had already hit the iceberg,” said Goodman, who plans to do consulting work and spend more time in his duties as vice chairman of the Caddo Nation.

Unofficial results Saturday showed Collins, of Norman, winning a majority of votes in the first round of balloting, but the six candidates received nearly 100 more votes than there were delegates eligible to vote. It brought back to longtime delegates memories of 1999 when Mike Mass – a state representative from Hartshorne backed by Gene Stipe, a state senator from McAlester — beat state Democratic Party Executive Director Pat Hall in the chairman’s race by two votes. More votes than delegates – 702-670 — were cast, but the results were allowed to stand.

Saturday, 568 votes were cast, but there were only 473 qualified delegates to vote, announced Tim Reese, who served as convention chairman. Unofficial results showed Collins winning a majority of votes and Mannix Barnes receiving one more vote than Dana Orwig to finish second and qualify for a runoff with Collins.

Convention officials decided to check the credentials of each delegate, a process that took more than 2 ½ hours. The revote started after 4:30 p.m., more than an hour after the one-day convention was scheduled to end.

Before voting on the second election started, two contenders – Jed Green, an Oklahoma City campaign consultant who ran unsuccessful Democratic attorney general candidate Jim Priest’s race last year, and Troy Green, who unsuccessfully opposed Rep. Randy Terrill, R-Moore, three times – dropped out of the race and endorsed Collins.

Collins in the second election received 249 votes and it was announced Barnes, who served as chief of staff to former Democratic Labor Commissioner Lloyd Fields, finished second to Orwig, who unsuccessfully last year ran against state Rep. Jason Nelson, R-Oklahoma City. Barnes was reported as having received 159 votes and Orwig 157. But convention officials then announced an error had occurred in the calculation and that Barnes had received 16 more votes than he should have. That gave Barnes 143 votes and put Orwig instead of Barnes in a runoff with Collins.

Collins won the runoff, 326-213, over Orwig.
Many delegates grumbled about the election missteps. A Muskogee County delegate said when announcing his county’s vote totals that he had seen better-run student council elections.

“The first thing we’ve got to do is work on organization,” Collins said. “We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us but I think we can do it. This was a fiasco today, but we hung in there and got it completed. Everybody had a chance to vote and make their voice known.”

Convention rules require the vice chairman to be the oppose sex of the chairman. Orwig decided to oppose the party’s vice chairman, Christine Byrd, who was the only announced contender. Orwig defeated Byrd, who was seeking a second two-year term, by a vote of 281-231.

Orwig said she would work to get Democrats elected in 2012, saying a battle is under way between Republican social conservatives and business conservatives in the Legislature.

“That puts us in a prime position to take advantage of that,” she said.

- Michael McNutt, Capitol Bureau

Governor to speak out against SQ 744

Michael McNutt — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 21:12:23 +0000

Gov. Brad Henry, who earlier has said he can’t support State Question 744, is expected Tuesday to make it clear he opposes the passage of the proposal which would require Oklahoma increase its per-pupil expenditure to the average of surrounding states.

The governor is to make his announcement during a news conference set for 11 a.m. Tuesday at the state Capitol.

Henry’s news conference was announced by the spokeswoman for the One Oklahoma Coalition, the campaign working to defeat SQ 744. The issue is one of 11 state questions on the Nov. 2 general election ballot.

Henry has been a leading supporter for public education since he was elected governor eight years ago. However, he could not support SQ 744, a spokesman said earlier.

“Governor Henry does have major concerns about tying the hands of future state leaders by amending the Oklahoma Constitution with specific budget mandates that limit their ability to effectively respond to emergencies and address needs in other areas,” said his spokesman, Paul Sund, in June.

- Michael McNutt, Capitol Bureau

Calvey baby arrives

Michael McNutt — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 02:46:08 +0000

Kevin Calvey, involved in a GOP congressional runoff race that will be determined in two weeks, is a new dad.

Thomas Calvey was born Tuesday evening at an Oklahoma City hospital.

He weighed 8 pounds, 8 ounces and is 21 inches long, a campaign spokesman said.

Calvey’s wife, Toni, and Thomas are doing fine, the spokesman said. Thomas is their second child; Anastasia is about 22 months old.

Calvey, of Oklahoma City, faces James Lankford, of Edmond, in the Aug. 24 Republican primary for the 5th Congressional District seat being vacated by Mary Fallin, who is running for governor.

- Michael McNutt, Capitol Bureau

Governor still on the job hunt

Michael McNutt — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 10:29:19 +0000

Gov. Brad Henry remains uncertain what he will be doing when he leaves the Governor’s Mansion early next year when his second and last four-term expires.

“I have no idea,” the governor said Monday when asked about his job plans.

Henry, who is term limited and cannot run for re-election, and his wife, Kim, recently bought a home in northeast Oklahoma City near NE 122 and Bryant.

The governor said the first lady will continue to work as executive director of the Sarkeys Foundation in Norman.

“Hopefully I’ll find something around here that won’t cause any problems,” said Henry, a lawyer who served 10 years as a Democratic state senator from Shawnee before being elected the state’s chief executive in 2002.

Henry said there are no plans for the family to have just one wage-earner.

“I don’t think so, she doesn’t think so either,” the governor said. “I suggested that – maybe I could just go into retirement. She doesn’t appreciate that one bit.”

Henry said this past legislative session was the toughest during his nearly eight years in office as he and legislative leaders tackled revenue shortfalls both in the current fiscal year and in the upcoming 2011 fiscal year. The national recession, which hit the state nearly a year ago, helped cause Oklahoma’s worst fiscal crisis since the Great Depression.

“I would love to have a year or two off, but I don’t think Kim would stand for that,” the governor said.

- Michael McNutt, Capitol Bureau

House passes home brewing bill

Michael McNutt — Wed, 05 May 2010 16:16:31 +0000

A measure that would allow Oklahomans to brew their own beer at home is on the way to the governor.

The House of Representatives today passed House Bill 2348 by a vote of 76-20.

A clause that would let the bill become law when the governor signed it failed to get the required two-thids support. It needed to get at least 68 votes; the vote on the emergency clause was 58-31.

According to the measure, home brewers would be required to have a permit from the Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission.

Beer enthusiasts could not sell their brew and could not make more than 200 gallons in a year under the proposed law.

It currently is against the law to make beer at home in Oklahoma.

- Michael McNutt, Capitol Bureau

Watts endorses Lankford in 5th District race

Michael McNutt — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 18:50:55 +0000

J.C. Watts, a former Oklahoma congressman from Norman who decided a year ago not to run for governor

this year, threw his support today behind a political newcomer in the 5th Congressional District GOP

primary.

Watts, who lives in Washington and operates the J.C. Watts Cos., endorsed James Lankford of Edmond.

Political figures usually stay out of primary battles, but Watts, a former University of Oklahoma football star

who served in the 4th Congressional District from 1995-2003, said. “This is the moment we must send

someone to Congress who will represent the ideals and values of Oklahomans.

“James Lankford shares my Christian principles and my commitment and passion for reform in Congress,”

Watts said.

Lankford, who resigned as director of the Falls Creek youth camp near Davis to run for Congress, is “cut

from the same cloth” as U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee, Watts said.

“I trust James to go to Washington and work hard to restore wisdom, values and common sense to our

government,” Watts said.

Other Republican contenders for the seat are state Reps. Shane Jett of Tecumseh and Mike Thompson of

Oklahoma City, former state Rep. Kevin Calvey of Del City, Rick Flanigan of Bethany and Dr. Johnny Roy

of Edmond.
Democratic contenders are Tom Guild of Edmond and Billy Coyle of Oklahoma City. Clark Duffe, an

independent from Edmond, is also in the race.
- Michael McNutt, Capitol Bureau