Oct
31
FREE Candidate Training for Community Leaders from American Majority
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American Majority, a national organization training local leaders in individual freedom through limited government and the free market, is hosting two training seminars for school board and city council candidates.
These training sessions will educate candidates on running a successful campaign, win their election, immediately step into public office, and become effective leaders in their local school board or city council.
The Tulsa training session is schedule for Friday, November 14th at the Embassy Suites located at 3332 South 79th East Avenue.
The Oklahoma City training session is schedule for Saturday, November 15th at the Crowne Plaza located at 2945 NW Expressway.
The first session in each seminar will begin at 9:00 a.m. and will conclude at 5:15 p.m. In addition, a continental breakfast and lunch will be provided at no cost to attendees.
For more information, please click on the flier below or contact Seth Brown at (405) 605-6338 or seth at americanmajority.org.
Oklahoma City Candidate Training Flier (PDF)
Tulsa Candidate Training Flier (PDF)
Oct
30
The folks at SunshineReivew.org (a wiki site dedicated to evaluating the degree of transparency of local governments) recently posted an article to their blog on the transparency of Oklahoma schools.
The post addresses the HOPE petition, but notes several discrepancies with the OEA.
… Oklahoma does not currently require transparency in education dollars, leaving taxpayers in the dark on how their money is spent now. No new transparency will be required with the new proposal- just more money.
Before any additional money is appropriated, there needs to be an open and thorough review of ALL school funding for every school district. How do the taxpayers know that schools need more money if they cannot see how their current tax dollars are being spent? School check books should be online so everyone can identify possible wasteful spending. But more importantly, why doesn’t the OEA push for more transparency? Too afraid of what you might find?
Before addressing the issue of a blank check lets see how tax dollars are being spent now, in ALL school districts. Transparency should be priority number one.
Oct
30
OKC Thunder: Wrong Forecast
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We at Oklahomans for Responsible Government were saddened by the loss of the OKC Thunder’s first game last night.
And as serious as we are about holding government accountable, we want to see Oklahoma’s first ever professional franchise win games! Watch out for us coach - going to be a long season…
GO THUNDER!
Oct
29
OFRG Issue Advocacy Calls
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Oct
29
Get Involved in Local Issues
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With the election just around the corner, most voters are already familiar with the candidates. But there are also local issues on ballots all across Oklahoma that often get forgotten until election day. Here is an example of an issue the voters of Edmond will be facing on Tuesday.
Oklahomans for Responsible Government encourages all citizens to take an educated look at their local issues before going to the polls on Tuesday.
Oct
28
Transparent and easily accessible information is vital in determining facts. Oklahomans for Responsible Government works everyday to promote transparency and accountability in government.
A clear example of neglect for these principals is the Broken Arrow School Board decision to fire its Superintendent. As we noted last week, the school board has refused public comments at open meetings, shut down their website with links to previous board meeting minutes, and has started using an audio recorder instead of the installed video recording system for board meetings.
This demonstration of a non-inclusive process should have Broken Arrow residents lining up to make a change.
Much debate has existed regarding the performance of former Superintendent Jim Sisney. It is not our goal to join that fight. However, we believe that open and accessible government is what the people of Broken Arrow and Oklahoma deserve. We will join that fight any day.
A group of parents has made an effort to gain additional information from the school board by submitting Freedom of Information Acts (FOIAs) on a number of items. You can read the FOIA requests at www.BAParentsvsBABOE.com.
Oct
23
John Lare, a local Broken Arrow businessman, filed a petition yesterday against three Broken Arrow school board members to investigate and authorize their possible removal.
The petition alleges that board members Maryanne Flippo, Sharon Whelpley and Shari Wilkins showed “willful neglect, maladministration and gross partiality” in office.
Lare believes the three members were neglegiant by willingly missing a meeting on August 18th. According to Lare, they also showed maladministration by hiring the law firm “Rosenstein, Fist and Ringold in addition to the district’s legal contract with the Center for Education Law.”
Oct
23
As the saying goes, “All politics is local.” Nothing could be more accurate than the first hand difficulties parents and teachers of Broken Arrow are experiencing with their school board.
A lot has happened in Broken Arrow over the past few months. Earlier this spring Dr. Jim Sisney, Broken Arrow Superintendent, discovered improprieties with purchase orders and contract services rendered. After an internal investigation, several individuals were fired. The school board decided that Dr. Sisney’s actions were out of line and suspended him (3-2 vote) on October 6th.
But if think that was a bold move to make, the school board then turned around and passed a resolution that same night banning public comment at school board meetings!!
Oklahomans for Responsible Government is not taking sides in the internal battle between the school board and Dr. Sisney. But we do take a stand for open and transparent government. It is WRONG and even ARROGANT for a public body to silence public comments.
Elected officials – from the President down to local officials – serve at the pleasure of the people, and to cut the hand that feeds you should be a battle cry for concerned citizens.
Finally, more questionable activities are possible, and we encourage everyone to review the facts more carefully on the Broken Arrow school board, Dr. Sisney, and his suspension. If anyone has additional information, we would like to post it online at SunshineReview.org. (Search Broken Arrow Public Schools)
If you live in Broken Arrow you are strongly encouraged to attend tonight’s school board meeting at 6:30 PM. You won’t be able to express your voice, but your presence – and the presence of others – will speak louder than words.
Meeting location: 210 North Main Street, Broken Arrow, OK
Oct
22
Oklahomans for Responsible Government is dedicated to promoting fiscal transparency, especially when talking about campaign contributions. We have heard from several citizens on how to find campaign contributions for candidates in Oklahoma. This post will help you - the concerned voter - find out who is donating to your local candidates and how your candidate is spending your donations.
To begin, go to www.ok.gov/ethics which is the homepage for the Oklahoma Ethics Commission website. Proceed by clicking on the “Public Discloser” link on the left column.
Next, click on the “Continue” button towards the bottom of the page.
If you want to look at a candidate’s contribution, click on “All Candidates Listing.” Or if you want to look at a PAC or other committee donation, click on “All Non-Candidates Committees Listing.”
For an example, let’s review the contributions of Governor Brad Henry. Go to “All Candidates Listing” then go down to the “H’s” and find “Henry, Brad.”
Click on the committee name (Friends of Brad Henry for Governor 2006). There are several different reports to look at, but we want to look at general contributions. So we want to search for the C-1R reports.
The C-1Rs will be divided into quarters. Find which quarter you want, and click on it. Let’s use a report from the middle of his last campaign season: 04/01/2006 - 07/10/2006. By clicking on the period, it will open up the form in a new window.
You will be able to click on different links (within each C-1R form) which take you to a specific donor list for that period. The link for individual donors - line 6, committee donations - line 7, in-kind contributions - line 11, and the expenditures of the campaign - line 14.
The process may seem a little cumbersome, but the transparency of online records for Oklahoma candidate contributions is top notch. You can use the process laid out above to find the financial report for any state candidate.
OFRG works diligently to provide important information to all Oklahomans and make transparency of government a priority. We commend the Oklahoma Ethics Commission for their hard work in making this information open and easily accessible to the public.
Oct
21
The Web of Jeff McMahan
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This past spring, Oklahomans for Responsible Government kept a close eye on the corruption trial against Jeff McMahan (former State Auditor) and his wife Lori McMahan. The web of political corruption in Oklahoma continues to grow as a trial against former State Representative Randy Erwin begins this week in Muskogee.
A grand jury issued a seven-count indictment against Erwin alleging that he received almost $7,000 in kickbacks from Steve Phipps, friend and business partner of Jeff McMahan and former State Senator Gene Stipe.
“Further investigation showed that Erwin steered more than $1.1 million in state funding between 2002 and 2004 to the Rural Development Foundation, a phony non-profit organization Phipps admitted to creating to obtain taxpayer money for his businesses.”
OFRG continues to fight corruption and promote fiscal responsibility while holding elected officials accountable across the state.
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