Rep. Tom Cole Praises Selection of House Speaker Designate
U.S. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Moore, praised the selection of state Rep. T.W. Shannon, R-Lawton, as the House speaker designate. If all goes as planned, Shannon would be speaker of the state House of Representatives in early 2013.
Cole and Shannon are both citizens of the Chickasaw Nation. Shannon once served on Cole’s staff.
“I am enormously pleased and proud that the Oklahoma House of Representatives has selected T.W. Shannon as their next Speaker,” Cole said in a prepared statement.
“As someone who knows and has worked closely with T.W., I am not surprised that his colleagues have recognized his character, integrity and leadership abilities.…
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Oklahoma lawmakers: Social media being used more
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.…
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GOP presidential hopefuls set up state PACs in Oklahoma
Sure, it’s two years away, but it’s never too early to set up political action committees if you’re considering a run for president. So far, three potential Republican candidates have started Oklahoma PACs that are tied to the national ones they’ve already established at the Federal Elections Commission. The state PACs allow them to donate to various candidates or issues in Oklahoma.
A look through the registered PACs at the Oklahoma Ethics Commission website shows that former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee (who came in second in the state’s presidential primary vote in 2008) set up his Oklahoma PAC earlier this year.…
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Elections 2010: Tracking tweets about the Oklahoma governor candidates
The New York Times has an interesting interactive on its website that lets you compare tweets by and about various candidates for the U.S. Senate and governor. Here’s the one for Oklahoma’s gubernatorial race:
–Paul…
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Calvey baby arrives
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.…
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Watts endorses Lankford in 5th District race
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.…
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OK Senate workers have additional time to decide on buyout plan
The deadline for Senate employees to decide whether they will take advantage of an early retirement plan has been extended.
Senate had until today to decide if they would accept a buyout package. Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn Coffee, R-Oklahoma City, said that deadline was extended because of a series of bills that passed the Senate on Wednesday. Those measures outline a voluntary buyout plan for state employees and allocate funding to pay for the early retirement package that includes $5,000, cash to pay for 18 months of health insurance premiums and a longevity check.…
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DOB bill compromise attacks spirit of Open Records Act
A floor amendment to Senate Bill 1753 was posted late Monday night by Rep. Randy Terrill. That means a vote on what Terrill calls compromise language for the disclosure of birth dates of public employees could come by Wednesday or Thursday on the House floor. A previous version of the bill passed unopposed in the [...] To Read more go to Data Watch
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OPEA mailer lands in mailboxes
It’s been a couple of weeks since we wrote about the Oklahoma Public Employees Association and its special mailing list deal set up by a state lawmaker last year.
This week, the second of OPEA’s two mailings have begun arriving the mailboxes of more than 30,000 state employees. OPEA has said that the second mailing was [...] To Read more go to Data Watch
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House strengthens ban on texting while driving
House members have revived efforts to ban texting while driving. As reported Thursday by the Capitol Bureau’s Micheal McNutt, Rep. Sue Tibbs, R-Tulsa, put language into a Senate bill that would prohibit a person from driving and using an electronic device to write, send or read a text.
They could be fined up to $1,000, if ticketed under this version of the bill.
The new language to Senate Bill 1908 is much harsher than the Senate version of the bill.…
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