WHEN WILL WE EVER LEARN?
By Steve Fair
In 1975, Democrat Oklahoma Governor David Hall was indicted three days after he left office and eventually was found guilty of federal racketeering and extortion. In 1984, Oklahoma had what has been described as the most wide spread political scandal in America. Sixty of the seventy-seven counties in our state had at least one of their county commissioners indicted in a kickback scheme that had been going on for decades, Most of the convictions involved companies supplying road repair equipment or materials. Over 220 convictions resulted from that scandal. The vast majority of those indicted were Democrats. In their book, Bad Times for Good Ol' Boys, Harry Holloway and Frank Meyers said the reason given by the commissioners for their illegal acts varied from-“ the job does not pay enough, to everybody knows about and expects the kickbacks, and they are really part of a commissioner's salary.”
In 1994, Democrat Governor David Walters reluctantly opted not to run for re-election after a grand jury recommended impeachment. Walters eventually pled guilty to a misdemeanor campaign finance violation. In 2003, former Democrat state legislators- Gene Stipe and Mike Mass- were indicted on charges they funneled thousands of dollars illegally to Democrats running for office. Former Democrat Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher resigned from office in 2004 and was convicted of embezzlement and perjury at a 2006 trial on corruption charges. He was sentenced to three years in prison. Once again political scandal hits Oklahoma. Once again political scandal hits Oklahoma.
On Friday January 18, 2008, the federal grand jury in Muskogee returned nine federal indictments against Democrat Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector Jeff McMahan and his wife Lori. The indictments allege that McMahan and his wife used a variety of schemes and straw donotions to funnel over $100,000 into his 2002 campaign. If the Auditor is found guilty on these charges, he and his wife could face millions of dollars in fines and years in jail.
The disturbing thing about this latest indictment is that it involves the office of the state’s watchdog. The office of SA&I is one that audits county government and state agencies. The SA&I require a person who has principles and integrity and will watch out for the taxpayers of the state.
In February of 2003, I wrote an article that appeared in The Duncan Banner entitled Is Big Daddy(Steve Phipps nickname) McMahan’s Sugar Daddy? You can read it on this blog. I re-posted it last Friday after the indictments came down. Back in February 2005, McMahan responded to that article with a vengeance, sending The Banner a full-page rebuttal attacking me. He denied all the allegations and claimed he did not know Steve Phipps. That claim was false- he did know Phipps. That fact, along with all of the allegations in the Big Daddy article printed three years ago were confirmed in the sixteen-page indictment returned on Friday.
Governor Brad Henry, Attorney General Drew Edmondson, State House Minority Leader Morgan, and other leading Democrats have urged McMahan to step down until this matter is off the table. Former Auditor and Inspector Clifton Scott is among those who supposedly counseled his former protégé McMahan to take a leave of absence and turn the operations of the office over to a top deputy.
The associate vice chancellor of finance and budget for the State Regents for Higher Education, Greg Sawyer, confirms he has been approached by a representative of Governor Brad Henry about being appointed auditor and inspector. The Governor’s office has denied that claim and said they have not approached anyone about the Auditor’s job.
I have a suggestion for filling the job- how about McMahan’s opponent in his last two elections? In the 2002 race, acording to the indictment, over $100,000 in straw donor contributions were funneled into the race yet, this person lost by less than 28,000 votes statewide. It clear the 2002 and 2006 races were stolen from this person. If illegal money would not have been used to buy more broadcast media, this person would have been elected.
This person has the qualifications. They are a CPA and a Certified Fraud Examiner. They understand the budget process. They will watch out for the taxpayers money. The person is Gary Jones. The challenge for Henry is that Gary currently serves as Chairman of the State Republican Party. That would require Henry, a Democrat, to cross the aisle and show bi-partisanship to appoint him. In reality, the State Auditor’s job shouldn’t be a partisan one. The SA&I should be someone that understands accounting and is honest. Party affiliation should not matter.
Based on the elections of ’02 and ’06, it’s clear that a large percentage of Oklahomans wanted Jones in the job. I would urge Governor Henry to do the right thing and appoint Jones until the November general election. The SA&I race should be placed on the November 2008 ballot. This would allow voters to choose a permanent replacement instead of allowing a political appointment to serve the remaining three years of McMahan’s term. Bottom line- it’s the right thing to do.
In 1994, Democrat Governor David Walters reluctantly opted not to run for re-election after a grand jury recommended impeachment. Walters eventually pled guilty to a misdemeanor campaign finance violation. In 2003, former Democrat state legislators- Gene Stipe and Mike Mass- were indicted on charges they funneled thousands of dollars illegally to Democrats running for office. Former Democrat Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher resigned from office in 2004 and was convicted of embezzlement and perjury at a 2006 trial on corruption charges. He was sentenced to three years in prison. Once again political scandal hits Oklahoma. Once again political scandal hits Oklahoma.
On Friday January 18, 2008, the federal grand jury in Muskogee returned nine federal indictments against Democrat Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector Jeff McMahan and his wife Lori. The indictments allege that McMahan and his wife used a variety of schemes and straw donotions to funnel over $100,000 into his 2002 campaign. If the Auditor is found guilty on these charges, he and his wife could face millions of dollars in fines and years in jail.
The disturbing thing about this latest indictment is that it involves the office of the state’s watchdog. The office of SA&I is one that audits county government and state agencies. The SA&I require a person who has principles and integrity and will watch out for the taxpayers of the state.
In February of 2003, I wrote an article that appeared in The Duncan Banner entitled Is Big Daddy(Steve Phipps nickname) McMahan’s Sugar Daddy? You can read it on this blog. I re-posted it last Friday after the indictments came down. Back in February 2005, McMahan responded to that article with a vengeance, sending The Banner a full-page rebuttal attacking me. He denied all the allegations and claimed he did not know Steve Phipps. That claim was false- he did know Phipps. That fact, along with all of the allegations in the Big Daddy article printed three years ago were confirmed in the sixteen-page indictment returned on Friday.
Governor Brad Henry, Attorney General Drew Edmondson, State House Minority Leader Morgan, and other leading Democrats have urged McMahan to step down until this matter is off the table. Former Auditor and Inspector Clifton Scott is among those who supposedly counseled his former protégé McMahan to take a leave of absence and turn the operations of the office over to a top deputy.
The associate vice chancellor of finance and budget for the State Regents for Higher Education, Greg Sawyer, confirms he has been approached by a representative of Governor Brad Henry about being appointed auditor and inspector. The Governor’s office has denied that claim and said they have not approached anyone about the Auditor’s job.
I have a suggestion for filling the job- how about McMahan’s opponent in his last two elections? In the 2002 race, acording to the indictment, over $100,000 in straw donor contributions were funneled into the race yet, this person lost by less than 28,000 votes statewide. It clear the 2002 and 2006 races were stolen from this person. If illegal money would not have been used to buy more broadcast media, this person would have been elected.
This person has the qualifications. They are a CPA and a Certified Fraud Examiner. They understand the budget process. They will watch out for the taxpayers money. The person is Gary Jones. The challenge for Henry is that Gary currently serves as Chairman of the State Republican Party. That would require Henry, a Democrat, to cross the aisle and show bi-partisanship to appoint him. In reality, the State Auditor’s job shouldn’t be a partisan one. The SA&I should be someone that understands accounting and is honest. Party affiliation should not matter.
Based on the elections of ’02 and ’06, it’s clear that a large percentage of Oklahomans wanted Jones in the job. I would urge Governor Henry to do the right thing and appoint Jones until the November general election. The SA&I race should be placed on the November 2008 ballot. This would allow voters to choose a permanent replacement instead of allowing a political appointment to serve the remaining three years of McMahan’s term. Bottom line- it’s the right thing to do.
No comments:
Post a Comment