Here are excerpts from recent editorials in Oklahoma newspapers:
The Oklahoman. Dec. 29, 2016.
In the weeks since felony charges were filed against state schools Superintendent Joy Hofmeister regarding allegedly illegal campaign contributions from special interest groups, only a few politicians have said much about it. Many Republicans’ ties to Hofmeister’s consultant, who also faces charges, may help explain that fact. But recent history suggests legislative timidity in these cases is also par for the course in Oklahoma.
In 2007, when reports suggested State Auditor and Inspector Jeff McMahan was under investigation, Rep. David Dank, R-Oklahoma City, drafted a resolution calling on McMahan, a Democrat, to temporarily step aside. Dank said McMahan’s credibility had been tarnished and public trust in the government jeopardized.
A McMahan spokesperson blithely responded, “There is absolutely no evidence whatsoever that the grand jury is investigating Jeff McMahan. Why would he resign?”
In 2008, McMahan and his wife, Lori, were convicted on three felony corruption-related counts.
Then-Gov. Brad Henry, a Democrat, didn’t call on McMahan to resign until after the conviction. The House speaker at the time, Chris Benge, R-Tulsa, did appoint a committee to study potential impeachment of McMahan, but little came of it.
In 2004, criminal charges were filed against Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher. Yet Democrats, who controlled the Legislature at that time, did little in response until two Republican House members forced the issue by filing a resolution to launch impeachment proceedings.
Fisher, a Democrat, responded that he was “disappointed that the Republican legislators would not have given me the courtesy of a call and would just believe what they’ve read in the paper.” Fisher was soon impeached, and resigned before a Senate trial. He was found guilty in 2006 of embezzlement and perjury.
Henry did call for Fisher’s resignation before conviction, but only after impeachment proceedings had been endorsed.
Mary Fallin, then serving as lieutenant governor, called for Fisher’s resignation after several charges were filed, saying the situation was “becoming an embarrassment” and Oklahoma was “starting to look like a joke to people who choose places to invest and add jobs.”
When Rep. Randy Terrill, R-Moore, was charged with bribery, the Oklahoma House established a special investigative committee. That group eventually reported it did “not discount any of the statements” presented by witnesses and “assumes they are true,” but still recommended against disciplining Terrill in any way. Terrill was convicted of felony bribery in 2013.
Time and again, the response of state lawmakers and politicians when major officials are charged with corruption has been . silence or apathy. The relative few who do raise their voice tend to be members of the opposition party. Meanwhile, the officials under scrutiny argue the whole thing is driven by political animus and declare they won’t be distracted from public service.
We’ll see how this latest case plays out. Our legal system presumes one is innocent until proven guilty. What history has shown is that the silence of many lawmakers in response to such charges doesn’t signal that prosecutors don’t have a solid case, but instead that many legislators lack political courage.
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Lawton Constitution, Jan. 1, 2017.
Lawton leaders are currently working to hire a new economic development director during the first quarter of this year, and that is right on target for what could be major changes that might be implemented by the Trump administration. The new director’s emphasis will be to grow private sector development and jobs in Lawton.
President-elect Donald Trump is a highly successful real estate developer in the New York City area and elsewhere. Based on some of his appointments, it would appear that growing the private sector will be a top priority.
Some widely distributed press reports note that Trump has appointed members who disagree with him on policy issues. Good. It’s better for the nation if the president is not surrounded by a group of “YES men.” Disagreement and debate will be good for developing the best economic policy for the country.
Now, the best local economic policy needs to be developed for Lawton and Southwest Oklahoma. What is it? For instance, the business section recently featured a story about the huge cotton crop here. Do we add value to it or do we ship it out for others to add value?
Some of the local leaders were upset after a “60 Minutes” TV program segment aired about the “Golden Triangle” - West Point, Starkville and Columbus - in Mississippi. It featured an economic development director - an Arkansas native and son of a sheriff - who out-researched and out-lobbied other communities to attract a Japanese (Yokohama) tire plant, a Russian (Severstal) steel plant and a Eurocopter (a part of Airbus) helicopter plant.
An article in the Atlantic Monthly magazine in 2014 estimated that Joe Max Higgins over the previous decade brought in $6 billion in new capital and created 6,000 high-paying jobs in highly automated facilities to the Golden Triangle.
After viewing the TV segment, some Lawton leaders wondered how to make Lawton more successful.
Retired Great Plains Technology Superintendent Tom Thomas, who is interim economic development director, said that new light manufacturing businesses have expressed interest in Lawton, but the community has some major infrastructure challenges.
One firm wanted to locate in east Lawton near a natural gas transmission line, which is available, but it also wanted railroad access, which is unavailable. The railroad is available in west Lawton, he said, but the volume of natural gas is not. The cost to buy the right of way and to construct a rail spur to the east Lawton site were seen as difficult, as is finding a funding source.
Another firm wanted a large amount of water and another needs high-speed internet, which are not available at the property lines.
Where the money would come from to address the shortfall of economic development infrastructure is an important question. In a few weeks, Lawton voters will be deciding if they want to pass a property tax-backed bond issue to repair city streets.
Don’t look to 23rd Street and Lincoln Boulevard in Oklahoma City, because every agency of state government demands more money in a year when the revenue shortfall will likely to be over $1 billion. State officials are talking about tax increases.
A possible source - one to get ready for - is a promised but yet to be unveiled infrastructure program being massaged by the incoming Trump administration. Perhaps it will be unveiled as part of Trump’s inauguration speech on Jan. 20.
The economic development team has some interesting challenges. Once a plan is outlined to the public, we all need to get behind it to bring more private sector jobs to Lawton.
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Tulsa World. Jan. 2, 2017.
Once again state lawmakers are sniffing around the idea of getting rid of one of state government’s most powerful and successful ventures - the Grand River Dam Authority - and for no good reason.
Sen. Greg Treat, R-Edmond, the second ranking member of the Senate; and Rep. Leslie Osborn, R-Mustang, incoming chairwoman of the House Appropriations and Budget Committee, have proposed removing legal impediments to divesting the state-owned electrical utility that serves much of north and east Oklahoma.
Their only argument for doing so seems to be philosophical: The state doesn’t have any business selling electricity.
There’s lots of arguments against doing it. It would be extraordinarily complicated, which would undoubtedly lead to wasted time, money and energy. Other states’ experiments with privatization have been disastrous. It would save the state not one penny, because the GRDA doesn’t receive any state appropriations. And the “sale” would not rightly produce any money for the state, because the utility’s biggest assets were not paid for by the state, but by the federal government and the rate-paying customers, who would rightly have first claim on the sale value.
The state of Oklahoma has a lot of problems on its plate. There’s no reason to divert legislative energy to fixing a public utility that isn’t broken. As if the people in Oklahoma City who brought us four-day school weeks and prisons bursting at the seams could fix it if it were broken.
The GRDA is doing just fine. It serves its customers well, doesn’t cost the state anything and should be left alone.
The enemies of the GRDA seem to be driven by ideology over sense. You don’t throw away decades of successful user fee-driven progress just because you can.
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