We discuss the quarterly polling data from Amber Integrated (mentioned last episode), the state threatening to sue the feds, and how the contract signing event with Canoo was a bit of a publicity stunt. Links discussed: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/60099f1f6ffad96a2d94bf98/t/6160626094852806944ad325/1633706593494/Toplines_Oklahoma+Statewide+Poll_Septmeber+2021.pdf (Polling from last week that we said we’d cover) https://www.kgou.org/politics-and-government/2021-10-15/oklahoma-attorney-general-oconnor-calls-for-employers-to-disregard-president-bidens-vaccine-mandate-requirements (Can the Governor spell Constitution? Governor Stitt’s AG tells business to ignore the federal vaccine mandate) http://algerhart.blogspot.com/2021/09/why-republican-party-needed-to-be-sued.html (Oklahoma Tea Party is at war with the OKGOP leadership) Is this Canoo taking on water? Frontier has some information on the states deal with electric vehicle manufacturer Canoo https://tulsaworld.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/gov-kevin-stitt-taps-appeals-court-judge-as-new-general-counsel/article_c5a42352-2de1-11ec-b390-bbd0495a8719.html (New General Counsel for the Governor’s office: Trevor Pemberton ) https://kfor.com/news/local/worlds-tallest-fresh-cut-christmas-tree-arrives-in-oklahoma/ (Everyone has their Christmas decorations out - Target, Amazon…and the city of Enid ) Support this podcast

Let's Pod This

A blank sheet of paper

Joy Hofmeister enters the the race for Governor...as a Democrat! Also some other stuff happened, but that's most of what we discuss. Links discussed in episode: First, the public affairs software company https://quorum-media.s3.amazonaws.com/media/blog/2021-09-30T100446.981267_Quorum_2021USStateLegislatureReport_R4-web.pdf (Quorum recently released a report) summarizing information about state legislatures during 2021. Some interesting takeaways: In general, the larger a state's population, the more bills their legislature filed.  No correlation to the number of bills enacted, though. Oklahoma’s 149 state legislators filed 3,057 bills, of which 582 were enacted.  That averages out to 20.5 bills filed and 3.9 bills enacted per legislator, which is the 11th highest rate in the country.  Health and Education were far & and away the most popular topics for bills nationwide.  Oklahoma state Senator Mary Boren is the most active Oklahoma legislator on social media with 3,600 posts on Twitter & FB this year.  https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2021/10/07/group-wants-oklahomans-vote-recreational-marijuana-petition/6041574001/ (Advocacy group “Oklahomans for Responsible Cannabis Action” filed two initiative petitions this week.) One would basically fully legalize recreational marijuana for anyone age 21 or older, including growing, buying, transporting, preparing and consuming it. The measure would double  the excise tax on marijuana sales, from 7% to 15%. It would also allow anyone serving time for a marijuana-related conviction to request that conviction be dismissed. (Which seems like it violates the single subject rule.) The second initiative would eliminate the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority, which is a part of the state dept of health, and create a standalone state agency called the Oklahoma State Cannabis Commission, which would also have a seat in the Governor’s cabinet. It would also remove the cap on the number of cannabis-related business licenses and allow for home delivery of marijuana products.  (Again, seems like a violation of the single subject rule.)  Election Board Secretary Paul Ziriax https://oklahoma.gov/content/dam/ok/en/elections/letters-from-the-secretary/lettertolegislature-20211005.pdf (sent a letter to lawmakers) debunking allegations of election hacking by MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell Support this podcast

Hofmeister bets on blue

Bailey's back! Also, US Senator James Lankford now has three opponents - two conservative Republicans and a newcomer Democrat. We discuss the dynamics of that race, down-ballot races, and the racial disparity in police shooting (a data point for which Oklahoma ranks #1 in the nation). Links mentioned: https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/investigations/police-shootings-database/ (Oklahoma has highest rate of people killed by police) Support this podcast

Race for US Senate heats up

More than six weeks since the 2020 Census data was released, but the Oklahoma legislature has yet to release any maps. What's up with that? Also—a breaking news announcement happened during recording! Outline & Links State Fair is underway! And tonight: Ginuwine! Oklahoma passes 10,000 Covid deaths Stitt’s removal of two OHCA board members over the Labor Day weekend has ruffled the feathers of some lawmakers from both parties. His ability to do that, of course, stems from the legislature’s decision in 2019 to grant the Governor broader authority over state agencies. https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2021/09/19/oklahoma-gov-kevin-stitt-firings-spur-debate-gubernatorial-power/8339729002/ (According to The Oklahoman,) Representatives Marcus McEntire & Mark McBride expressed some reservations or regrets about how it happened. Rep. Monroe Nichols has pre-filed legislation to change the Governor’s role with the OHCA board specifically by requiring the governor to appoint to the board at least one licensed physician, two Medicaid recipients and several people who have experience in health care fields. The Governor would be able to pick appointees only from a set of three candidates nominated by the board, appointees would have set term limits and the governor would not be able to remove them without cause.  https://nondoc.com/2021/09/23/oklahoma-county-sheriffs-office-new-body-camera-policy/ (Oklahoma County Sherrifs will now be equipped with body cameras) and they released their policy for them. https://nondoc.com/2021/09/24/oklahoma-special-session-date-set/ (Special session begins Nov 15th! ) Support this podcast

Show Us the Maps

There's been considerable trouble in the Western Heights school district over the last couple of years...and "trouble" doesn't begin to describe it. Thanks to strong journalism by the folks at NonDoc and others, we were able to put together a pretty comprehensive timeline for you, which we'll detail in this episode (it is included below with links to all the stories). Remember: local elections matter. Timeline for Western Heights In October 2019, https://kfor.com/news/15-employees-resign-at-western-heights-school-board-meeting/ (15 employees resigned), ranging from bus drivers to the assistant superintendent, citing ongoing issues of mismanagement at all levels of the district. Two weeks later, still in October 2019, https://www.news9.com/story/5e346e6c527dcf49dad6e133/parents-call-for-investigation-of-western-heights-superintendent (parents in the district requested an investigation) into the district for these issues, and specifically wanted an investigation into Superintendent Mannix Barnes, his $220,000 per year salary, and the fact that the chair of the WH school board, Robert Everman, is his former employee when they worked at a casino. (Which is obviously directly useful knowledge for running a school district, right?) Before we go on, you’ve got to hear about the compensation package superintendent Mannix Barnes had at the time. And, again, remember that he had no experience as a superintendent when he was hired by the district just a couple of years ago. Barnes’ contract with Western Heights included: A $220,000 base salary with a $75,000 retention bonus effective June 15, 2022; 20 days of unpaid leave for outside activities; Reasonable time off and pay for professional growth and community involvement; 25 semester credit hours annually to further education; Membership for community organizations including the Chamber of Commerce; 40 vacation days per year; 20 sick days per year; 20 personal business leave days per year. We’ll do the math for you: that’s a minimum of 100 days of paid leave. The district only has 167 instructional days. Anyway, in April 2020, the WH district got into hot water with the state board of education when the district unilaterally https://www.oklahoman.com/article/5659613/mayor-disagrees-with-western-heights-food-service-suspension (decided to suspend the free meal )program during the pandemic, despite the fact that 90% of the distinct’s students qualify. The superintendent said some pretty inflammatory things about state superintendent Joy Hofmeister and OKC Mayor David Holt, including using the phrase “I double dare those two to come down here” and threatened to sue the state board. Nearly a year later in March of this year, the state board of education expressed “utmost concern” about the operation of Western Heights Public Schools https://nondoc.com/2021/03/25/state-board-accreditation-western-heights-schools/ (and threatened to end their accreditation), mentioning multiple issues, including: failure to provide in-person instruction since March 2020; a decision in the spring of 2020 not to provide nutritional services to students; an audit report showing violations of state law, including the use of 2018 bond proceeds meant for contracting and repairing facilities to pay off debt instead; a board member consuming alcohol during a public meeting; a 23 percent drop in student enrollment, from 3,365 to 2,597 in the past year, and a loss of more than 100 staff members in the past two years; disharmony in the school environment and community. In April the state board https://nondoc.com/2021/04/09/state-board-hands-out-probation-for-western-heights-district-and-sovereign-school/ (placed the district on probation) and giving them 90 days to remedy the situation or face being annexed by the state board. As you might have guessed, the district didn’t comply and instead they filed suit against the state board, So, in June the state board... Support this podcast

The Wild, Wild Western Heights

We discuss the far-reaching implications of Texas' new abortion law with attorney Melanie Rughani and then catch up on the latest developments from the OK Dept of Labor with Commissioner Leslie Osborn. Support this podcast

Legal Expert & Labor Commissioner

We accidentally took last week off and getting back into the swing of things amidst a pandemic means we wax poetic about where we're been and where we're headed next. Everything is terrible; please keep going. Support this podcast

Honestly, a bit of a ramble

Oklahoma schools started their year without the ability to mandate masks, and as Covid predictably spreads through staff and students, some districts are finding ways around the law so that they can mitigate the pandemic's spread. Also, Sara Jane Rose and Alyssa Fisher from https://sallyslist.org/ (Sally's List) join the pod to discuss how they're preparing progressive female candidates for the 2022 election cycle. Support this podcast

School's in session for students...and candidates?

Despite mounting pressure from voters, especially parents, Governor Stitt continues to refuse to issue a "state of emergency" declaration, a decision that has negative consequences for Oklahoma's ability to respond to the pandemic far beyond mask mandates in school. We're joined by state Senator Julia Kirt (D-SD30) to discuss that and more. Newly appointed attorney General John O’Connor has filed a formal petition with SCOTUS asking them to overturn their McGirt ruling. Good luck with that, General.  Cherokee Nation chief Chuck Hoskin Jr issued a statement, saying “With today’s ruling in Bosse v Oklahoma, they have made it clear that this was never about protecting victims or stopping crime, but simply advancing an anti-indian political agenda.” OKGOP chairman John Bennett issues a truly terrible statement equating vaccination records with the Star of David patches the Nazis forced the Jews to wear during the Holocaust...and then he doubled down on it the next day, AND THEN HE tripled-down.  At the same time, the head of OK2A, the second amendment association, issued a statement equating vaccine mandates to rape.  Covid update Sooner Survey  Interview with Julia Kirt  https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2021/08/02/oklahoma-democrats-call-for-special-session-repeal-school-mask-ban-covid-19/5459317001/ (Democrat’s letter to Governor Stitt requesting special session to allow mask mandates) Belated session recap Interim studies - plenty to talk about there in terms of value, process and all the potential we leave on the table for robust public participation. “https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/publication/documents/2021-05/21-04-51_FaultLInes_pov.pdf (The Fault Lines of America)” report Support this podcast

Undeclared Emergency (with Julia Kirt)

As we prepare to enter the third school year affected by Covid, we're joined by OEA's Amanda Ewing to discuss what's on the mind of teachers and how the government could (or should) respond. Support this podcast

The third school year with Covid (with Amanda Ewing)

This week: A bogus witch hunt in public education. The Governor ended his McGirt panel due to protesters. Power struggle in Western Heights school district. A former Cherokee chief will be featured on the quarter. Episode outline: The State Board of Education https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/education/state-education-board-adopts-temporary-rules-on-teaching-race-gender-in-oklahoma-public-schools/article_117d56b4-e1bf-11eb-b493-336e22605c9d.html#tracking-source=home-trending (adopted rules following passage of HB1775).  Western Heights school district fired superintendent, appointed a new one, then SBE said no and appointed their own, THEN https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/education/2021/07/15/western-heights-school-district-appoints-superintendent-continues-fight-oklahoma-authority/7986555002/ (this week Western Heights said no to the state and again appointed their own.) We mentioned in our last episode that Governor Stitt was going to hold a “community impact panel” this week about the McGirt ruling. Well, he did...but https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/residents-voice-concerns-at-panel-discussion-on-mcgirt-supreme-court-ruling/collection_29e1694a-e447-11eb-ad0e-b3a5303301ea.html#tracking-source=home-the-latest (it did not go well for him). On a related note, the https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2021/07/16/mcgirt-v-oklahoma-ruling-thousands-new-cases-fbi-director-christopher-wray/7979571002/ (FBI anticipates 7500 new cases) in federal court next year as a result of the McGirt ruling  The board of Epic Charter Schools shared information about https://www.readfrontier.org/stories/how-oklahomas-largest-virtual-charter-school-decided-to-cut-ties-with-its-founders/ (why they distanced themselves from the founders), and it’s kind of fascinating.  Let’s end on a good note: the US Mint https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/design-candidates-set-for-wilma-mankiller-quarters-coming-next-year-from-u-s-mint/article_a039e680-e3f2-11eb-9d87-e75a44d3377e.html#tracking-source=home-top-story-1 (announced) the designs for the new quarters featuring Cherokee Nation Chief Wilma Mankiller that will be released next year. Support this podcast

They're teaching times tables, not Critical Race Theory

Update on the prison closure, Congressional redistricting, and the one year anniversary of the McGirt ruling. Full description with links: Last week we discussed the closure of the prison in Ft. Supply, and this week Senator Casey Murdock has https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2021/07/08/oklahoma-lawmakers-ask-gov-kevin-stitt-delay-fort-supply-prison-closure/7890020002/ (asked Governor Stitt to delay closing the prison). Senator Murdock has raised concerns that closing the prison would cost the state money...which seems to be at odds with what DOC has indicated, since keeping open a half-empty prison is not exactly without cost. On Thursday this week the legislature held their first town hall meeting about congressional redistricting, it went about like you’d expect. Twenty-ish people, roughly 10 or 12 of whom gave public comment or asked questions. Video is available on the https://sg001-harmony.sliq.net/00282/Harmony/en/PowerBrowser/PowerBrowserV2/20210709/-1/50480 (Senate website) so you could go watch it, but also People Not Politicians was there andhttp://twitter.com/pnp4ok ( live-tweeted it), you can go back and read  Today is the one-year anniversary of the famous McGirt ruling, so naturally, yesterday a court overturned a https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2021/07/09/kevin-tyler-foster-murder-conviction-tossed-eve-mcgirt-anniversary/7902883002/ (murder conviction) due to the ruling. Despite the fear-mongering headlines, the guy isn’t getting out of prison, as he was also convicted of arson, desecrating a corpse and possessing a firearm during the commission of a felony, all of which are not affected by the McGirt ruling. ALSO the murder will be re-tried in federal court and a grand jury was already empaneled for that reason back in March.  Also, next week https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/mcgirt-v-oklahoma-community-impact-forum-set-for-tuesday-tribal-leaders-irked/article_0a383592-e037-11eb-8e17-8b66ba6843f4.html (the Governor is holding a “community impact forum)” in Tulsa about the McGirt ruling and its implications. His guests will be the Tulsa County sheriff, several district attorneys (districts attorney?), and...none of the tribes. Tribal leaders say they weren’t invited; Tulsa County DA says they were. Three tribal AGs acknowledged they got an email about it that said “you and your chiefs” are invited and that a “formal invitation will follow,” but that was never received. The tribes, of course, feel this forum is political theater. Support this podcast

Community Impact Theater

The Oklahoma Dept of Corrections is closing a prison in Ft. Supply and, well, it's a complicated matter. We break down how it may affect the town and the state. Plus, Effie Rorke joins Scott and Andy to discuss her experience of variations in voting from state to state. A few notes: Prison being closed in NW Oklahoma has several implications...but it’s a mixed bag. Fewer incarcerated people saves the state money and, presumably, more people in the workforce. (~5000 fewer than 2 years ago) Except… The closure means fewer job opportunities for prison employees, and they generally live  in an area of the state that has limited opportunities as it is. (142 jobs; population of the town where it’s located is only 350) DOC board is now advisory in nature, but DOC still falls under the Executive branch, and we all know how much Governor Stitt wants to run this state like a business. Well, DOC is a loss leader for the state to an exceptional degree, so if nothing else, closure of this facility makes good business sense. However, the legislative branch isn’t thrilled with it, especially those from that part of the state, like Senator Casey Murdock from Felt. So, this  week https://nondoc.com/2021/06/29/state-leaders-discuss-significant-impact-of-closing-william-s-key-prison/ ( lawmakers had a meeting) about it.  Discussion between Sen. Casey Murdock (R-Felt) and DOC Director Scott Crow: Murdock asked, “The day that you made this decision, when you went home that night. How much sleep did you lose?” “Sir, I lose sleep on nearly a daily basis because of the problems in the correctional system around the state of Oklahoma,” he said. “It’s not limited to one facility or community.” Also has negative impact on local hospital, which isn’t great  Also discussed the historical value of the prison, which seems...weird, right? Support this podcast

The trickle-down economics of closing a prison

Covid is up, tuition is up, TSET effectiveness is in question, Canoo incentives are secret, and we still don't have an Attorney General. Let's talk about it. https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2021/06/25/oklahoma-covid-cases-rising-possible-delta-variant-trend-alarming-health-leaders/7781208002/ (COVID cases are increasing in Oklahoma) and around the country. OK has roughly doubled the number of new diagnoses since the beginning of June. Likely due to Delta variant (as there is an outbreak in Missouri), but we can’t know for sure because Oklahoma is dead last for genomic sequencing, with just 0.19% of total cases sequenced. So, they’re working on that.  Good news is, vaccinated folks are not contracting the virus. OK only at 37% vaccinated, though, so there’s a lot of people out there who are “eligible to get the virus” https://nondoc.com/2021/06/22/regents-advance-tuition-increase-ou-health-merger/ (OU increases tuition) (NonDoc) (avg of $248 per year for in-state, $671 per year out-of-state) Timing is just coincidental, but also not great given last week’s news about NonDoc suing OU to release two reports from Jones Day law firm, one of which has to do with misreporting or fabricating of fundraising data...which impacts the university budget, even if just a little. https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2021/06/22/oklahoma-legislative-watchdog-office-questions-tobacco-settlement-endowment-spending/7770584002/ (LOFT report questions the effectiveness of TSET )and says some of its impact cannot be measured. OK is Top 10 for tobacco cessation spending...but despite that, we’re also still Top 10 for number of adults and youth who use tobacco But is part of the blame on lawmakers? They could increase the tax on tobacco products and e-cigarettes—in fact, TSET asked them to do it—but they haven’t. But remember, last year the legislature sent a state question to the ballot (SQ814) asking voters to give them [the legislature] more access to TSET funds. Voters rejected the measure...and now the legislature is coming after TSET again. If nothing else, this seems suspicious. Oklahoma chosen as site for new Canoo electric vehicle production facility https://www.oklahoman.com/story/business/2021/06/24/canoo-oklahoma-tax-money-incentives-secret-electric-car-factory-jobs/5306567001/ (Incentives still secret, at least for now.) Apparently agreements haven’t yet been signed, which means there’s still time for talks to break down? https://tulsaworld.com/business/local/auto-makers-development-in-pryor-gets-assist-from-former-oklahoma-u-s-senator/article_185494fe-d35d-11eb-ab7a-a3bdc06cc160.html (Tulsa World reports) that former US Senator Don Nickles tipped off Oklahoma to the possibility of the deal https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2021/06/23/oklahoma-attorney-general-search-still-ongoing-governor-kevin-stitt-says/5304700001/ (Governor still mulling candidates for Attorney General). Names supposedly on the short list: Ryan Leonard, currently Stitt’s special counsel for Native American affairs,  Tim Downing, Stitt’s counsel for Sec of State until Trump bumped him up to US Attorney, but he resigned once Biden took office (weird) Tricia Everest, formerly Stitt’s Sec of Public Safety, then chair of OK County jail trust Greg Mashburn & AJ Ferate, both attorneys with strong ties to OK GOP and big oil and of course there’s Gentner Drummond (ran in 2018, narrowly lost in primary to Hunter who was the incumbent) https://www.eventbrite.com/o/people-not-politicians-31941585843 (Legislature’s Congressional redistricting  town halls) start July 8th.  6 p.m. July 8 in Oklahoma City at the state Capitol, Room 535 6 p.m. July 13 Virtual 6 p.m. July 20 in Enid at the Autry Technology Center 6 p.m. July 22 in Tulsa at the Tulsa Technology Center 6 p.m. July 27 in McAlester at the Kiamichi Technology Center 6 p.m. July 29 at Lawton City Hall 6 p.m. August 3 Virtual Support this podcast

Paddle Your Own Canoo

Relatively slow week in Oklahoma political news, which leaves Scott and Andy to ponder the questions "What would ALEC do?" and "Do Oklahoma Republicans have any notable policy agenda items remaining?" Support this podcast

What Would ALEC Do?

Let's Pod This is the official podcast of grassroots organization Let's Fix This, Inc., where we talk with policymakers, advocates, elected officials, and regular folks from across Oklahoma to explain how our government works and provide context for the pressing issues facing our state.

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Let's Pod This

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