House District 66 candidates focus on education at Sand Springs Chamber forum

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Left to right: Jadine Nollan, Angela Graham, Brian Jackson, Emily Delozier. Not pictured: Rusty Rowe.

All five candidates for Oklahoma House District 66 spoke at a forum sponsored by the Sand Springs Chamber of Commerce Monday afternoon at the Tulsa Tech Sand Springs campus. 

Three Republicans and two Democrats spoke on issues ranging from infrastructure to mental health, but the focal point of the luncheon was the state of public education funding. 

Democrat Angela Graham is a Pre-K teacher, lifelong Sandite, and Charles Page High School graduate. 

"We have a broken legislature...that has chosen to stop fighting for us," says Graham, who is running on a heavy education platform and hopes to bring raises to Oklahoma teachers and support staff.

Additionally she wants to see all Oklahomans with health insurance, and wants to reduce statewide incarceration particularly among the female population. A big point for Graham is to undo Oklahoma’s “right-to-work” status and strengthen labor unions.

Democrat Rusty Rowe is a former restaurateur, owning and operating Mod's Coffee and Crepes in downtown Tulsa for seven years before closing shop in December of last year. He lives with his wife of ten years and two children in northwest Tulsa. 

"I decided to run because I feel like our current group of legislators have been given opportunities to invest in teachers, students, working class people, and small business owners like myself, and it seems like they often put the needs of their donors before the needs of their people," said Rowe. "I want someone who's listening to the entire district. Not just the Republicans, not just the Democrats - everybody."

"I've been talking to a doctorate of economics...a mayor, city officials, the chief of police, city planners, teachers, school administrators - to make sure that when I say something, it's been researched and I have some teeth to it. I'm not just armchair quarterbacking things."

Current Sand Springs City Councilman and former Senate District 37 candidate Brian Jackson is running as a Republican. Jackson is the Development Manager at Junior Achievement of Eastern Oklahoma and his wife is a public school teacher in Sand Springs. His daughter also attends Sand Springs Public Schools. 

"We need a representative that doesn't give up, that will go against the political parties and remember it's about the people," says Jackson.

Jackson was censured by the Republican Party of Tulsa County during the 2016 Senate race for vowing to support Democratic candidate Lloyd Snow against Republican incumbent Dan Newberry, who Jackson considered to be anti-education. The Oklahoma Republican Party's State Central Committee voted in May to uphold a ban preventing Jackson from accessing the OKGOP Datacenter Program.

Republican Emily Delozier is a fourth generation Sandite with a Bachelor's degree in business from the University of Tulsa and three Associate of the Arts degrees from Tulsa Community College. 

Delozier spoke in opposition of raising taxes, and in favor of consolidating school districts to eliminate administrative overhead and return education dollars to the classroom. 

Incumbent Republican Jadine Nollan is a lifelong Sandite and former Sand Springs Board of Education member. She spoke regarding her past eight years in office and the difficulties the legislature has overcome during her tenure.

"When I was elected in 2011, our country was in a national recession...Oklahoma went into an oil bust...we had pensions that were failing...we had crumbling roads and bridges...we had a worker's compensation system that was one of the most expensive in the nation, we had a capitol building that had been neglected and was unsafe," said Nollan. "We were not tracking any of our tax credits, evaluating them, measuring them, or monitoring them at that point...We had a revenue problem and we were not going to be able to cut our way out of it, though a lot of people still believe that we could."

Nollan pointed to the Oklahoma Incentives Commission, the Energy Stabilization Fund, the Governor's Closing Fund, a revamp of the worker's compensation system, the rainy-day fund, an eight-year plan for transportation, and the Capitol remodel as legislative successes.

According to Nollan, State pension funds are all nearing solvency and the Oklahoma Tax Commission is developing a real-time dashboard to measure and monitor tax credits online. 

Nollan holds a 93% rating from the Research Institute for Economic Development, a 100% rating from the National Federation of Independent Businesses, a 50% rating on The Oklahoma Constitution conservative index, a 100% rating from Oklahomans for Life, a 59% rating from the American Conservative Union, a "Pro-Public Education" assessment from Oklahoma Parents and Educators for Public Education, an "F" on the Sierra Club environmental scorecard, and an "A" on the Oklahoma Second Amendment Association scorecard. 

All candidates but Delozier vowed not to sign the Oklahoma Taxpayers United referendum petition overturning a historic revenue bill passed this past legislative session to fund teacher pay raises. If the petition garners 42,000 signatures by July 18, a State Question will appear on the November ballots asking Oklahoma voters to veto the package. 

HB1010xx is expected to raise $447 million in annual revenue by increasing the gross production tax to 5% on all new oil wells, increasing the cigarette tax by $1 per pack, increasing the gasoline tax by three cents, and increasing the diesel tax by six cents. The money is intended to fund pay raises averaging more than $6,000 for Oklahoma public school teachers.

An opinion published by the Oklahoma Attorneys General states that if HB1010xx is overturned, teacher pay raises will remain intact, but the funding mechanism will be removed and legislators will have to find other ways to back the raises. 

Not only has Delozier signed the petition she is also an active member of Oklahoma Taxpayers Unite and has copies of the petition available for signatures. 

"You don't want something that's going to raise the price of all goods," said Delozier. "It's not good for Oklahoma. We still have people trying to get on their feet and get a job. You can't raise the price of hauling everything and not expect to raise the price of everything."

The primary election will be held June 26th with the deadline to request absentee ballots set for June 20th at 5:00 p.m. Early Voting will be the 21st-22nd from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and the 23rd from 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. 

Senator Mike Schulz releases Senate GOP budget plan

OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma Senate President Pro Tempore Mike Schulz on Monday released the Senate Republicans' plan to address the $215 million hole in the Fiscal Year 2018 state budget.

“This plan not only addresses the immediate need of $215 million for critical health care agencies that was struck down in court, but it also provides recurring  revenue streams to help us address the long-term stability of the budget and prevent further cuts to core government services,” said Schulz, R-Altus.

“Oklahoma Senate Republicans have proven our willingness to address the state's long-term budget problems by passing a similar revenue package during the regular session. The elements of this plan for special session were fully vetted by the Senate during the regular session, and all received the necessary votes to pass constitutional muster. I’m confident Senate Republicans, if given the chance, again will put Oklahoma’s interests first and will be able to pass this responsible revenue plan that ensures education, public safety, transportation and other core services avoid further cuts.”

The Senate plan is as follows:

• $1.50 per-pack increase in the cigarette tax, which generates $128.9 million in Fiscal Year 2018 and leaves $122.4 million for FY’18 appropriation;
• a six-cent increase in the motor fuels tax, which generates $71 million in FY’18 and leaves $67.45 million for FY’18 appropriation; and
• the elimination of the wind manufacturer sales tax exemption, which generates $10.97 million in FY’18 and leaves $9.87 million for FY’18 appropriation.

Because FY’18 collections are for less than a full fiscal year, the Senate plan also calls for a drawdown of $15.2 million from the Rainy Day Fund to entirely plug the hole in the FY’18 budget.

The governor’s call for special session included other issues like a teacher pay raise and finding more efficiency in government spending. Schulz said while the immediate need is addressing the FY’18 budget hole, Senate Republicans were open to considering those issues during the special session.

“Senate Republicans have said all along we must first address the short-term budget issues before acting on a teacher pay raise plan. Once we take care of the budget, Senate Republicans would consider a teacher pay plan that includes a permanent funding source,” Schulz said. “Additionally, Senate Republicans will keep working on making government more efficient and effective. We’ll keep pouring over agency spending and look at options like consolidation to improve the quality and delivery of services. There’s no doubt agencies can be more efficient in spending taxpayer dollars, and Senate Republicans will keep working on behalf of Oklahomans to make sure that happens.” 

Senate Judiciary Committee Moves on Slate of Judicial Reforms

Oklahoma City – The Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday approved a series of bills aimed at reforming the judiciary, including a series of legislative referendums that would reshape the way judicial appointments are made.

“These are important reforms that would shift the balance of power in the judicial appointment process in Oklahoma away from trial lawyers and back to the people. The governor and the members of the Oklahoma Senate are directly elected by the people and on behalf of the people should have more say in which judges are appointed to the bench. These measures, which now move on to the full Senate for consideration, present a variety of common-sense options to implement much-needed judicial reform,” said Pro Tem Mike Schulz, R-Altus.

Sen. Anthony Sykes, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, was author of several of the judicial reform bills.

“Oklahomans have been reminded countless times of the need for judicial reform in Oklahoma. If we don’t have these discussions about judicial reform, then we’re putting ourselves at the mercy of a system that puts too much power in the hands of trial lawyers instead of the hands of the duly elected representatives of the people of Oklahoma,” said Sykes, R-Moore.

Among the measures authored by Sen. Sykes:

• Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 42, which, if approved, would allow voters to decide whether to change the Oklahoma Constitution to require a partisan election of Supreme Court justices and Court of Criminal Appeals justices.

• SJR 43, if approved, would allow voters to decide whether to amend the judicial appointment process to model the federal system. Under this proposal, the governor would nominate candidates to fill judicial vacancies and the Oklahoma Senate would confirm or deny the governor’s appointment. The Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC) would rate the governor’s judicial nominees as either “qualified” or “not qualified.”

• SJR 44, if approved, would allow voters to decide whether to amend the Constitution to modify the judicial nominating process. Under this proposal, the JNC would provide the governor with five qualified nominees to fill a judicial vacancy, instead of the current recommendation of three nominees. The governor would be allowed to reject those nominees and request five new nominees. The governor would then select one nominee, whose name would be forwarded to the Oklahoma Senate for confirmation.

Additionally, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the following measures:

• SB 699, by Sykes, would require all appellate justices and judges to retire when their combined age and years of service equaled 80.

• SB 700, by Sykes, which allows the President Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma Senate and Speaker of the Oklahoma House to appoint three attorney members each to the JNC board.

• SB 702, by Sykes, which adjusts the counties included in the Supreme Court judicial districts.
   
• SB 708, by Sykes, which requires a district judge to have served as lead counsel in at least three jury trials before being elected or appointed to serve on the bench.

• SJR 14, by Sen. Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, would allow Oklahoma voters to decide whether to amend the Constitution to require 60 percent of voters approve the retention of a judge.

• SB 213, by Dahm, which would change the boundaries of Supreme Court judicial districts to correspond with the number of congressional districts in Oklahoma plus adding at-large positions.

Oklahoma Senate Republicans announce 2017 legislative agenda

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Senate President Pro Tem Mike Schulz and members of the Senate Republican Caucus announced their 2017 legislative agenda Thursday at the state Capitol. 

OKLAHOMA CITY – President Pro Tempore Mike Schulz and the Senate Republican Caucus on Thursday unveiled a 2017 legislative agenda with a focus on long-term solutions to build a more prosperous Oklahoma.

“This agenda is our vision of how we’ll make an already great state even better. Because the decisions we make at the Capitol have a long-term impact, it’s important we have a plan of where we want to guide Oklahoma in 5, 10 and 20 years. Senate Republicans are united in our desire to implement ideas and policies that will help our state’s economy grow and put us on a long-term path to prosperity. Helping our economy grow means more good-paying jobs for Oklahoma families and more resources to fund core government services without raising taxes,” said Schulz, R-Altus.

Senate Republicans unveiled the agenda at press events in Tulsa and Oklahoma City.

“With a bold vision and leadership, our state can be a model that shows free-market, conservative ideas can empower the individual and foster a thriving economy. There are challenges ahead in the short term, but we want Oklahomans to know we are planning for the long-term and are working on policies that will benefit Oklahoma families and businesses,” said Majority Floor Leader Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City.

The 2017 Senate Republican Agenda:

 A MORE PROSPEROUS OKLAHOMA

• Streamline and eliminate excessive regulations to stimulate job creation and economic growth.
• Provide more stability, reliability and transparency in the state budgeting process.
• Promote economic development and the diversification of the state’s economy.
• Support transportation infrastructure including the eight-year plan.
• Identify job-creating tax incentives, and eliminate ineffective tax incentives by supporting the work of the Incentive Evaluation Commission.

 INVESTING IN FUTURE GENERATIONS

• Respect and support teachers by removing obstacles that interfere with a teacher’s ability to help students learn and achieve.
• Reduce administrative costs and overhead in an effort to increase teacher salaries.
• Allow parents, taxpayers, and local school boards to more closely direct and increase the quality of education in the classroom.
• Ensure accountability measures provide parents and taxpayers a useful and accurate reflection of school performance and student achievement.

A SAFER OKLAHOMA

• Support law enforcement officers and the rights of the citizens they are sworn to protect.
• Monitor the implementation of criminal justice reforms.
• Provide oversight of law enforcement agencies and promote cooperation to eliminate duplication.

A HEALTHIER OKLAHOMA

• Promote access to quality health care services especially for rural and underserved areas of Oklahoma.
• Encourage “block grant” programs from the federal government that empower Oklahoma to infuse free-market principles into health care plans.
• Reduce waste and duplication at health care agencies, and utilize innovative health care delivery methods.
• Work with private and public sector partners to address mental health and substance abuse issues.

PROTECTING CHILDREN AND SUPPORTING FAMILIES

• Improve foster care and adoption services in Oklahoma, and strengthen support for foster families.
• Reform social service programs so they offer economic mobility and help end dependency on government assistance.
• Eliminate restrictions on non-profits and faith-based organizations that help fill the gaps in social services.
• Continue Oklahoma’s commitment to defending the sanctity of life.

SUPPORTING VETERANS AND MILITARY FAMILIES

• Work to minimize licensing challenges for military spouses due to relocation.
• Support public-private partnerships to develop a comprehensive health care system.
• Ensure Oklahoma veterans are connected with existing mental health and social service programs.
• Increase protection of service members’ financial and contractual rights when mobilized or deployed.

Senator Ron Sharp files $5,000 teacher pay raise bill

OKLAHOMA CITY – Sen. Ron Sharp has filed legislation for the upcoming legislative session to boost teacher pay.  Senate Bill 8 would modify the minimum salary schedule beginning with the 2017-2018 school year to allow for a $5,000 increase in salary and/or benefits.

“Oklahomans made it very clear by getting State Question 779 on the ballot that they believe teachers deserve a raise. As a retired teacher, I know and I’ve authored legislation for an increase every year since being elected,” said Sharp. “The difficulty the legislature is facing, however, is lack of revenue. Our economy has struggled in recent years providing us no money for new expenses like raises. We’ve been fighting just to keep our state agencies afloat with the revenue shortfalls we’ve faced and next year will be no better. We have to create new sources of revenue through some kind of tax increase, which will be difficult with so many Oklahomans struggling; modify tax preferences or take money from other areas to pay for the raises.”

Tax increasing measures require a three-fourths vote by the legislature. Sharp explained that possible new revenue sources could include modestly increasing the general sales tax; taxing selected services, which most state do within general sales tax; or increasing the motor fuel tax (Oklahoma is 47th in the nation at 17 cents per gallon). Other options could include eliminating, reducing or deferring tax credits, exemptions and incentives but the Shawnee Republican noted that any changes must keep Oklahoma competitive with other states and not cause jobs to be lost. He pointed out that Indiana increasing their tax credits this year kept major employer Carrier Heat and Air from relocating to Mexico. The last option would be to reallocate money from other areas of state government to fund the pay raises.

“We’re in a bind. There’s no easy solution when our economy is so weak,” said Sharp. “It won’t be easy and it will require bipartisan support in both chambers but this session we must find a solution and give our teachers the raise they deserve.”

The legislative session will begin on Monday, February 6. 

Libertarian Party grows by leaps and bounds in 2016 election, sets sights optimistically on 2018

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Libertarianism is on the rise.

The 2016 election has been arguably the most successful election in the history of the Libertarian Party (LP), and not just on the Presidential level. While the unpopularity of both major party candidates sent Gary Johnson to 3% with more than 4 million ballots, general disaffection for establishment politics helped the 45 year old party to record performances in the House, State, and Gubernatorial elections as well.

In Oklahoma specifically, the LP made its way onto the ballot for the first time since 2000 and will retain ballot access into 2018 after Johnson achieved 6% of the Oklahoma vote. 

Sixteen Oklahoma libertarians ran for office in this week's election, and though none won, they polled at an average of 10%. Oklahoma County Clerk candidate Chris Powell had the best performance with 36% of the vote, followed by State Senate District 35 candidate Frank Grove with 35%. House District 39 candidate Clark Duffe carried 23%. At the national level, U.S. Representative District 4 candidate Sevier White carried 4% and District 5 candidate Zachary Knight won 6%. U.S. Senator candidate Robert Murphy won 3% in a five-way race challenging popular incumbent Republican James Lankford.

With incumbent Republican Governor Mary Fallin term-limited, the Libertarians will need to secure at least 2.5% of the vote in 2018 to remain on the ballot for the next Presidential election.

“Looking forward, we don’t really see that 2.5% mark as a barrier to future success. In 2018 and beyond, we’ll be running to win. The Libertarian message has resonated with voters in Oklahoma, and we will work tirelessly to ensure citizens have the opportunity to support principled libertarian candidates seeking office at every level of state government," said Party Chair Tina Kelly in a press release this week.

The LP was officially formed on December 11, 1971 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. By 2016 the LP was the third largest political party in the United States with 411,250 registered voters. The party currently claims to hold 147 local elected offices across the country.

Presidential Campaign History

John Hospers was the first presidential nominee of the LP and Theodora Nathan was selected as VP. Though the 1972 ticket only gained 3,674 votes for tenth place in the general election, they received one electoral vote from a faithless elector, marking the first time in U.S. History a female has received an electoral vote.

In 1976 the party nominated Roger MacBride, the faithless elector from 1972, with running mate David Bergland. The ticket brought home 172,553 votes and finished fourth.

The 1980 ticket set the LP record for the next three decades as Ed Clark and billionaire David Koch brought in 921,128 votes and finished in fourth place. They broke 1% of the popular vote for the first time, a feat that would not be repeated until 2012.

The LP saw massive decline in 1984 with only 228,111 votes for David Bergland and James Lewis, but unsurprisingly due to the funding cut of not having a billionaire on the ticket. It was still an improvement over 1976 and should be considered a victory for the LP.

1988 saw the arrival of Ron Paul on the ticket, arguably the most famous Libertarian (among non-Libertarians) to date. Paul and running mate Andre Marrou took in 431,750 votes. Marrou took over the ticket in 1992 and saw the first legitimate decrease in LP support with 290,087 votes. The rise of the party stagnated from there as Harry Browne headed the ticket in both 1996 and 2000, with Michael Badnarik taking over in 2004.

The LP’s presidential campaign has only grown since 2000 as Badnarik finished with 397,265 and 2008 candidate Bob Barr brought in 523,713.

In 2012 former Republican New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson and Justice Jim Gray waged the most successful campaign to that point, finishing with 1,275,821 votes and 1%, a feat that Johnson shattered in 2016. In a year with declining voter turnout that saw the eventual victor Donald Trump attain less votes than the second place finisher of the last two elections; by the time polls had closed, Johnson and former Republican Governor of Massachusetts William Weld had broken 3% with 4,058,500 votes and third place for the second-straight election. They fell short of their 5% goal, but successfully waged the most successful LP campaign to-date by a wide margin.

U.S. House Campaign History

The party also made their first attempt at the House of Representatives in 1972 and finished 18th with 2,028 votes. That number ticked up to 71,791 in 1976 for seventh place, 64,310 in 1978 for sixth place, and by 1980 was officially the third party with 568,131 votes. Since then, the LP has only slipped to fourth place three times, always behind independent candidates, and has maintained third place in every election since 1996. They broke the 1% mark in 1998 and have done so numerous times since.

To-date, the LP has still not won a house seat, but beat their 2000 record in House campaign votes with 1,713,220 this year. Most successful among the LP were three Arkansas candidates. Kerry Hicks took 25% of the vote in Congressional district 4. Mark West and Steve Isaacson took 23% each in districts 1 and 3, respectively. Of the 75 candidates to run, 42 grossed 5% or more of the vote, twelve took 10% or more, and seven took 15% or more. The all-time best performance for an LP House candidate was Joel Balam who took 31.5% of the vote in Kansas in 2012.

U.S. Senate Campaign History

The first Libertarian attempt at the Senate was waged in 1976 with candidates in nine of the 33 contested seats. In 1994 Scott Grainger attained 6.8% of the vote in Arizona, smashing the previous record of 3.9% set by Montana candidate Larry Dodge. His record was undone in 2000 by Massachusetts candidate Carla Howell with 11.9%. Massachusetts was favorable for Libertarians again in 2002 when Michael E. Cloud brought in 16.6% which stood as the most successful LP Senate campaign till 2016. That year, the LP brought in 1.739% of the vote.

2016 was a record breaking year for the LP with 20 candidates running for Senate attaining 1,700,969 votes. Alaska candidate Joe Miller brought in 30% of the vote, trailing Republican victor Lisa Murkowski by 14%. Miller beat the Democratic candidate by 19%. Two other Libertarians broke 5% in senate elections.

U.S. Gubernatorial Campaign History

The first ever Libertarian attempt at a governorship was in 1976 as Arlan Andrews drew 0.29% of the vote in North Carolina. In 1978 seven candidates competed in gubernatorial elections and Mabel Everett took home 4.6% in New Hampshire. Dick Randolph led seventeen libertarian candidates in 1982 and won 14.9% of Alaska. Randolph owns the most successful LP gubernatorial campaign to-date. Since then, only one other LP candidate has broken 10%; Wisconsin’s Ed Thompson in 2002. This year the LP had candidates in ten out of twelve races and averaged 2.6% of the vote. New Hampshire candidate Max Abramson led the most successful campaign of the season with 4.3%.

It remains to be seen if the Libertarian Party will continue its growth in the next midterm election, but with more Americans identifying as politically independent than at any point in the country’s history, both major parties will likely have their eyes on the Libertarian Party in the years to come.

Senate Democratic Leader John Sparks Issues Comments On Governor’s Call for a Special Session to Spend “Extra Money”

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OKLAHOMA CITY – Senate Democratic Leader John Sparks (D-Norman) issued the following comments in response to the report that Governor Fallin is considering calling the Legislature into special session to use “extra money” to fund a pay raise for public school teachers:

“Once again, Governor Fallin and the Republican majority in the legislature are showing how bad they are at public finance and how good they are at election year political pandering – because that is all this proposal for a special session on teacher pay raises is.

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: a special session to figure out what to do with the $140.8 million in ‘extra money’ the Governor’s finance team found back in June is unlawful and unnecessary. We don’t need to spend taxpayer dollars we don’t have to pass a new law to determine how and where this money should be spent. We passed a budget in May of 2015 which directed how this money was to be spent. The Governor’s finance team needs to simply re-allocate this money back to the agencies to which it was originally appropriated.

“In addition, I find the timing of this call for special session curious. To suddenly want to come to the table to pass a teacher pay raise plan in the midst of a heated campaign season where educators and parents are not only concerned but motivated and active wreaks of political pandering.

“Finally, the idea that using one-time ‘extra money’ to fund an ongoing expense like teacher salaries is fiscally unsound. To use one time money for a recurring budget item is short sighted at best and sets our teachers up for serious disappointment in the future when there isn’t more one-time money to keep funding their new, higher salaries.

“We need to address the issue of teacher pay and our ongoing teacher shortage. But, this isn’t the way to do it. If the Republicans in the legislature really cared about teachers, they would have passed a pay raise bill during the regular session. But to spend $30,000 a week for a special session to address this issue now using one-time funds is unlawful, unnecessary, inappropriate, and pandering fiscal mismanagement.”