WALTERS' TVGATE DOESN'T PASS SMELL TEST!

 Weekly Opinion Editorial

SETUP OR SHENANIGANS?

by Steve Fair

Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters is being investigated after two Oklahoma state school board members claimed to see images of naked women on his office’s TV screen during a closed-door executive session.   

The two board members — Becky Carson and Ryan Deatherage — are recent appointees to the board. Deatherage, appointed in February, is the director of 911 and emergency management for Kingfisher County and serves as Associate Director of Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief. Carson, appointed in April, is a retired special education teacher from Edmond. Both replaced board members who were more supportive of Superintendent Walters than they have been. Three observations:

First, the images were likely there. The two people who say they saw them appear to be credible and trustworthy. Walters says he did not see them but immediately turned the set off when they pointed out nudity was on the screen. Some of Walters’ supporters are accusing Carson and Deatherage of lying about what they saw, but whatever they saw was disturbing to them.

The real question is: if porn was on the TV screen, how did it get there? Also, are Oklahoma taxpayers paying for erotic channels? Was the state school board TV hacked? And if so, who did it and how? Those are the questions Oklahoma taxpayers deserve to know the answers to.

Walters’ supporters point out Carson and Deatherage are critical of Walters. It is true the duo has challenged Walters during state school board meetings but so have other board members. It’s premature to claim Carson and Deatherage were in on a setup, but if one exists, they should pay the price.

Walters’ political enemies claim he may be using this bizarre incident to deflect attention from the recent educational outcome rankings. The Sooner State is dead last in the country. Not likely the superintendent would use this type of ‘Wag the Dog’ distraction tactic if that were true.

Second, an in-depth investigation should be conducted. How porn got on a taxpayer-owned TV during a state school board meeting needs explanation. If Walters is watching smut on the taxpayers’ dime, he should face the music, which would include resigning from office. Conversely, if Walters is innocent and is being set up, whoever is framing him should be exposed and punished.

Immediately after the incident, Oklahoma House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, urged Walters to “unlock and turn over all relevant devises.” The question is, turn over to whom? Last Sunday Senate Pro Temp Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, and Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, released a joint statement saying Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services will investigate the incident.

OMES is the bloated oversight state agency created by Republicans in 2011. The governor appoints an OMES director with the approval of the Oklahoma State Senate.

After singing off the same sheet of music for two years, Gov. Stitt and Supt. Walters have been ‘on the outs’ in recent months. No one at OMES is elected by the people; they are appointed. Can OMES oversee a fair, unbiased, impartial investigation since they report to the governor? Not likely. 

Third, Walters is his own worst enemy. His policies are controversial, but it is his self-promoting, polarizing personality is the real issue. Walters is constantly in the news. He is drawn to a TV camera like a moth to a flame. He openly expresses his opinion and is steadfast, unmovable, and stubborn — rare characteristics for an elected official. But Walters is not always right and everyone else wrong. The flipside is he is not always wrong and the education establishment right. No matter your views on his policies, Walters was elected by the people of Oklahoma. He should be considered innocent until proven guilty.

Walters would be stupid to play a sexploitation film on a conference room TV during a state school board meeting. That would take some gall. His critics believe he is that dense and insolent. His allies say this is an elaborate attempt to falsely incriminate.

Apparently, OMES handed the investigation off to Oklahoma County Sheriff Tommy Johnson. An elected partisan shouldn’t be doing the investigation. An independent counsel should be appointed by the Legislature. Walters should willingly cooperate with an independent investigation. No one should want to know the truth more than Ryan Walters. Any peep of predetermined outcome should be squelched. If Walters is pulling shenanigans, he should resign. If he is being set up, those responsible should be prosecuted.