Oklahoma Election 2020: June 2020 Archives

I'll be on Talk Radio 1170 KFAQ Wednesday morning at 8:35 with Pat Campbell to discuss the primary election results. Tune in on your AM dial, listen live online, or catch up later with the Pat Campbell podcast. UPDATE: Here's a direct link to the podcast.

A few notes, now that all the results are in.

The passage of SQ802 by such a slim margin -- 6,518 votes out of 674,040 cast -- is amazing, given that there was no organized opposition until about a week ago.

In Tulsa County races, Josh Turley will get a second chance against Democrat County Commissioner Karen Keith in November. By winning the GOP primary, Don Newberry was re-elected County Court Clerk in a rematch with Ron Phillips; no Democrat filed. Sheriff Vic Regalado and County Clerk Michael Willis, both Republicans, won reelection with out drawing an opponent.

Two candidates who pledged to replace Tulsa Public Schools Superintendent Deborah Gist won seats on the board: John Croisant won the open Office 5 seat and Jerry Griffin defeated 24-year-incumbent Ruth Ann Fate. Last week, the incumbent board, perhaps knowing this result was likely, voted to give Gist a three-year contract extension, which gives the establishment time to shore up their majority on the board. Accountant Jeromy Burwell defeated incumbent Memory Ostrander in Collinsville. Challengers in Union and Berryhill ran strong races but fell short.

There were several upsets by conservative challengers of Republican incumbents who had accumulated a RINO voting record: In House 11 in Bartlesville, Derrill Fincher was defeated by homeschool mom Wendi Stearman. Lundy Kiger lost to Randy West in House 3. In Senate 3, incumbent Wayne Shaw, who announced support for the idea of social impact bonds, was beaten by Blake "Cowboy" Stephens. Former State Rep. Shane Jett will have a runoff in Senate 17 with incumbent Ron Sharp.

Conservatives had some success in open seats, too. Gerrid Kendrix won House 52 in southwestern Oklahoma, winning the seat. Max Wolfley defeated former Oklahoma County Republican Chairman Daren Ward. 85-year-old Margie Alfonso, a conservative activist since the 1970s, made it into the House 79 runoff with Clay IIams.

Conservative names tarred by the big-money special interests two years ago didn't have any success coming back this year. George Faught was defeated in his rematch with Chris Sneed in House 2014, and Angela Strohm lost her House 69 battle with Sheila Dills, who defeated her husband Chuck Strohm in 2018.

Fair-deal conservatives continue to have an organizational and fundraising disadvantage to wheeler-dealer RINOS. It's the classic problem of concentrated benefit and diffuse costs: Those who want special deals from government have a greater interest in fundraising and organizing than those who simply want good government for all.

August 25th is going to be an interesting day for the Kaiser System. Despite massive fundraising from Tulsa's establishment, Kyden Creekpaum, fell well short of an outright primary win in the open Senate 35 seat. He will have a runoff against conservative grassroots Republican Cheryl Baber. The same day will see former GKFF lobbyist GT Bynum IV trying to hold on as mayor, despite seven challengers from across the political spectrum.

MORE:

Big partisan difference in the use of absentee ballots this year.

In 2018, SQ 788, medical marijuana, was on the primary ballot, along with competitive races for governor in both major parties. 3.28% voted absentee by mail, 5.31% voted early at the election board, 91.41% voted at their precincts. Partisan variation was miniscule: 3.39% of Republicans voted absentee by mail vs. 3.14% of Democrats, while 5.07% of Republicans voted early at the election board vs. 5.71% of Democrats.

In 2020, SQ 802, Obamacare expansion, was on the primary ballot. There were statewide primaries for U. S. Senator, but not competitive for either party. Overall, 13.84% voted absentee by mail, 6.45% voted early at the election board, 79.71% voted in person at their precincts. The partisan breakdown of mail-in ballots is striking: 9.01% of Republicans voted absentee by mail vs. 21.00% of Democrats. There wasn't much difference in early voting at the election board: 4.93% of Republicans vs. 5.47% of Democrats. 86.03% of Republicans voted in person at their precincts, vs. 73.53% of Democrats.

Does this simply represent a partisan difference in fear of CCP Bat Virus? A push by the Oklahoma Democratic Party to get people used to voting by mail? Or a push by the Yes on 802 forces to lock in votes before voters had the chance to hear both sides of the issue?

For what it's worth, John Tidwell of Americans for Prosperity Oklahoma filed a Statement of Organization for the VOTE NO ON 802 ASSOCIATION with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission on June 5, 2020; the organization was incorporated on the same day. OKLAHOMA DECIDES, INC., the "vote yes" organization, filed its paperwork as a PAC on April 20, 2020. It was incorporated on May 22, 2019. The domain YesOn802.org was registered on April 19, 2019, and was online by September 4, 2019. I am not aware of a "vote no" website or social media presence.

Polls are open today until 7 p.m. The Oklahoma State Election Board's online voter tool will let you know where to vote and will show you a sample of the ballot you'll see.

Click the link above to download a printable ballot card listing the candidates I'm recommending and (if in the district) voting for in the Oklahoma primary elections on June 30, 2020. Below I'll add more detailed information on issues and candidates. (This entry will change as I decide to add more detail, link previous articles, or discuss additional races between now and election day. The entry is post-dated to keep it at the top.) The ballot card is now at Revision 2, as I have added recommendations in three suburban school district races and modified my recommendation in Senate 37.

As I posted this late Thursday night, there were races I had planned to write about in detail, but time was short, people were voting, and many have asked for a summary of my recommendations, so I've started by posting my printable ballot card, filling in some details as I have had opportunity.

Below you'll find some links to websites I found helpful in learning about candidates, their values, backgrounds, and political opinions.

When in doubt, I look at campaign contributions, which often tell a story about a candidate's ideological leanings or close ties with local power brokers. Campaign expenditures can be telling, too: Certain consulting firms have strong associations with the pay-to-play culture that makes our Republican supermajority legislature more crony-infested than conservative. Then there are principled conservative consultants; their presence on a campaign team is always a hopeful indication that the candidate is also a principled conservative.

In addition to the usual federal, statewide, legislative, and county races on the ballot, many school districts will hold the general elections for school board that were postponed from April. Two of the seven seats on the Tulsa school board will be filled: I'm supporting Shane Saunders in the open Office 5 seat and challenger Jerry Griffin in Office 6. I'm recommending challengers in the suburban school board races as well (see below).

There are a large number of legislative races this year with Republican primaries. In 2018, lobbyist groups working with the leftist Oklahoma Education Association succeeded in ousting a number of principled conservative legislators. These senators and representatives were guilty only of insisting that the state's voters should have the final say on tax increases, in accordance with Oklahoma's constitution. Many were defeated by RINOs in the primary, a few were defeated by Democrats in the general election.

In 2020 many of those RINOs are being challenged by conservatives in the primary. In districts that were won by Democrats, we have a Republican primary to pick a challenger. A few races are for open seats. All told, 33 of 101 House seats and 11 of the 25 Senate seats up for election this year have a Republican primary, so the outcome will have a massive impact on the character and quality of the Republican supermajority for the next two years. I discuss a few of the Tulsa-area races below.

Oklahoma Democrats also have a primary election on Tuesday, with fewer offices on the ballot. I'm not making any recommendations in those primaries, but I have to give a special mention to Maria Barnes, who is challenging the incumbent Democrat Monroe Nichols in State House District 72. Maria and I served together in the Midtown Coalition of Neighborhood Associations for many years, and she served honorably as a Tulsa City Councilor for District 4. We disagree on many state and national issues, but we found common cause on local matters of neighborhood conservation and public transparency, and I'm proud to call her a friend. One Republican filed in the heavily Democrat district: Ismail A. Shan, on the ballot simply as "Shan," who was not on the voter registration list as of the beginning of this month. He was disqualified, and the Democratic primary will decide the election.

NOTES ON SPECIFIC BALLOT ITEMS:

SQ 802: NO. This would place the Obamacare Medicaid expansion, an unfunded entitlement mandate, permanently into Oklahoma's state constitution. It is a fiscal time bomb and will starve other state responsibilities for funds while squeezing taxpayers tighter every year, while making no real improvement in access to healthcare.

Corporation Commissioner: Todd Hiett. The incumbent, who was the first Republican State House Speaker since the 1920s, is opposed by an 85-year-old perennial candidate.

U. S. Senate: Jim Inhofe. Inhofe's position as Senate Armed Services Committee chairman is important for Oklahoma's four military bases, and he can be counted on to vote as a conservative, even when many of his fellow Republicans stray.

U. S. House, District 2: Markwayne Mullin. Mullin has become a conservative stalwart, to the point that even his erstwhile opponent, Jarrin Jackson, has endorsed him.

U. S. House, District 4: James Taylor. Taylor, a conservative African-American pastor and public school history teacher, is once again challenging longtime incumbent Tom Cole, who was cited as an example of the legal "pay-to-play" system in the "Congressional Favor Factory" report by American Transparency (OpenTheBooks.com).

U. S. House, District 5: David Hill. Winner of this primary will go on to try to win back the seat taken two years ago by Kendra Horn, Oklahoma's lone congressional Democrat. Hill, owner of an auto parts manufacturing company and founder of the Academy of Classical Christian Studies, has been endorsed by the Family Research Council PAC. One of the other leading GOP candidates, State Sen. Stephanie Bice, voted to raise taxes on Oklahomans in 2018, bypassing a vote of the people.

Senate 35: Cheryl Baber. Baber is a known quantity among conservatives in state and local conservative circles. Creekpaum's strong backing from "the Kaiser System" should worry conservatives, and former Judge Morrissey's conversion to conservatism is dubious. Baber is the only candidate in the race who is wise enough to oppose SQ802.

Senate 37: No endorsement. This is a change. I have trustworthy conservative friends supporting each of the candidates. Both candidates have foolishly endorsed SQ802, even though both have indicated it would hurt Oklahoma's budget if it passes. Some of the names on Chris Emerson's list of donors give me pause, as do some of the names on his campaign team, and that's why I initially recommended voting for Cody Rogers. Both campaigns have presented misleading information to voters. (UPDATE: I'm hearing claims that both candidates really oppose 802 but were misquoted. Here's a tip: If the newspaper inaccurately ascribes to you a view on a controversial issue, don't just quietly tell people. Make a public correction on your website and Facebook page and push the paper into issuing a correction. Otherwise it looks like you're trying to have it both ways and can't be trusted.)

House 11: Wendi Stearman, a mom who organized her own homeschool coop in Bartlesville, is a solid conservative challenging an incumbent with a weak voting record.

House 12: Justin Dine. Dine has the universal support of conservative groups and commentators. Charlie Meadows writes that he was blown away by Dine's moral principles, well-developed thought on political principles and communication skills. Incumbent Kevin McDugle has been hanging out with National Popular Vote lobbyists, and his divorce trial hinted at some strange proclivities.

House 14: George Faught is seeking to return to the State House, where his principled refusal to cave to lobbyist pressure put a big target on his back two years ago. We need him back in the Legislature.

House 69: Angela Strohm. Strohm is a conservative challenging the special-interest backed RINO incumbent. Strohm's husband Chuck held the seat previously, but was targeted for his principled opposition to raising taxes without a vote of the people.

House 70: Taylor Woodrum is a conservative, pro-life, pro-2nd-Amendment college student challenging Carol Bush, one of the most liberal members of the Republican House caucus. Woodrum has the support of conservative groups. Bush showed her true colors in an interview with old friend Barry Friedman, then threw him under the bus when her remarks got her in hot water with her Republican colleagues.

House 71: Beverly Atteberry. The candidates in this race to challenge Democrat incumbent Denise Brewer have been very reluctant to share their opinions in candidate surveys, but Atteberry did earn an AQ for her response to the NRA's candidate questionnaire.

House 74: Brad Peixotto. Peixotto owns a medical marijuana dispensary. This is a rematch from two years ago. The incumbent, a Republican, gets poor ratings from conservative groups for his voting record on fiscal issues.

House 79: Margie Alfonso has a long history of conservative activism on behalf of the unborn, serving as president of the Tulsa Eagle Forum and delegate to the Republican National Convention.

Tulsa County Court Clerk: Don Newberry. Newberry is running for re-election four years after defeating the outgoing clerk's preferred successor. He is credited with improving customer service and efficiency in the Court Clerk's office.

Tulsa County Commissioner, District 2: Josh Turley. Turley ran a strong race against incumbent Democrat Karen Keith four years ago, and he had the endorsement of County Assessor Ken Yazel, who saw Turley as someone who could provide much-needed transparency in the county budget process. Turley served as a crime scene investigator for the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office and then creating the first risk management program for TCSO, which succeeded in reducing car accidents involving deputies and tort claim payouts, and independently developed policies and procedures to be used by smaller sheriff's offices and county jails to improve performance and minimize risk. Turley wants Tulsa County to follow an open data policy -- by default, data used and generated by county officials would automatically be made available to the public, without the need for an open records request. Turley's primary opponent, Eddy Barclay, is currently Director of Road Operations for Tulsa County. While either would be preferable to Keith, Turley looks like he would be the most effective at making needed moves toward transparency in Tulsa County government.

Tulsa School Board, Office 5: Shane Saunders. Saunders is a Republican businessman with two daughters in the TPS system, running for an open board seat.

Tulsa School Board, Office 6: Jerry Griffin. Griffin is a professor in higher education with an earned doctorate, a Republican with some ideas for improving the district running against a 24-year Democrat incumbent who is a rubber stamp for the administration.

(Here's the video of the League of Women Voters virtual candidate forum for TPS Offices 5 and 6, held on June 17, 2020.)

Berryhill School Board, Office 5: Allisha Craig, a public school teacher with Epic, with children in the Berryhill system, would bring a critical eye to "the way things have always been done," and experience in remote instruction that may be crucial in the coming years.

Collinsville School Board, Office 5: Jeromy Burwell is a corporate finance controller with children in the upper elementary and middle school and experience in accounting for government contracting.

Union School Board, Office 5: Brandon Swearengin has a master's in accounting and is pursuing a law degree. He wants to stop the undemocratic practice of rushing through important financial and policy decisions on the board's consent agenda without debate. The incumbent, Ken Kinnear, is VP and treasurer of George Kaiser's Kaiser-Francis Oil Company. During a February 10, 2020, board meeting, Kinnear delivered a cringe-inducing speech that was effectively a campaign commercial, which was recorded in the minutes (see page 10).

MORE INFORMATION:

Here are some blogs, endorsement lists, candidate questionnaires, and sources of information for your consideration.

• Talk Radio 1170 Pat Campbell podcast archive
• iVoterGuide: Candidate responses to a detailed questionnaire written from a conservative Christian point-of-view
• Muskogee Politico news, questionnaires, and analysis
• Muskogee Politico 2020 primary election tips and picks
• Charlie Meadows's picks
• Oklahomans for Life candidate surveys
• Oklahoma Constitution newspaper's Oklahoma State Senate ratings and Oklahoma State House ratings.
• Endorsements from Tulsa Area Republican Assembly and other Tulsa conservative groups
• NRA-PVF endorsements and grades
• Oklahomans for Public Education 2020 voter guide: This is a kind of reverse-psychology voter guide. The red apple next to a candidate's name probably means he or she supports higher taxes, no reduction in school administrative bloat, and no meaningful educational choice for our children and their parents. You should treat a yellow triangle as a gold medal -- this is likely a candidate who will defend taxpayers' interests and work for school choice and educational efficiency.

TIP JAR: If you appreciate the many hours of research that went into this guide, and if you'd like to help keep this site online, you can contribute to BatesLine's upkeep via PayPal.

State Sen. Gary Stanislawski is term-limited, and there are three Republicans and three Democrats who have filed to replace him as District 35 State Senator. Sen. Stanislawski, and his predecessor, former Sen. Jim Williamson, have endorsed Cheryl Baber to be their successor, and I concur.

Cheryl Baber is semi-retired as an attorney, volunteering with Tulsa Lawyers for Children. She served from 1998 to 2009 as a Law Clerk for Federal judges in the U. S. Northern District (based in Tulsa). In 2001, Baber published a law review article on Alternative Dispute Resolution in the Federal courts; at the time she was law clerk to Federal Magistrate Judge Claire Eagan, who was appointed as a Federal District Judge by George W. Bush. She then served about five years as an Assistant U. S. Attorney here in Tulsa; OSCN records show her representing the IRS in many foreclosure cases. She is a graduate of Columbia Law School, has a master's degree in international history and politics from the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, and her bachelor's degree is from Midwestern State in Wichita Falls, Texas, not far from her hometown of Walters, Oklahoma. She has been in Tulsa since completing her law degree in 1993.

In 2015, Baber was chosen by Republican activists to represent Tulsa County on the Oklahoma Republican State Committee for a two-year term, during which she was also elected as a delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention. In 2018, she ran for the open House District 71 seat, winning the Republican nomination in a runoff, but lost to former TV personality Denise Brewer in the general election. She has the joint endorsement of several local conservative groups, including the Tulsa Area Republican Assembly.

Baber is active in the First Baptist Church of Tulsa. I encourage you to read Cheryl Baber's eloquent responses to the iVoterGuide survey.

Baber is opposed by retired District Judge Linda Morrissey and attorney Kyden Creekpaum.

Cheryl Baber is the only candidate in the race with the good sense to oppose SQ802, while Morrissey supports embedding Obamacare in the state constitution, and Creekpaum gave a non-committal answer.

Morrissey was a registered independent until re-registering as a Republican sometime in 2011 or 2012 (according to voter registration records available to me), but her husband, John Nicks, was chairman of the Tulsa County Democratic Party and a Democratic canddate for Attorney General and Tulsa County Commissioner. Everyone else registered to vote at her address was registered as a Democrat as of June 9, 2020. In 1992, Morrissey and her husband were listed by the political director of the Oklahoma Democratic Party as expected guests at Bill Clinton's 1993 inaugural gala, an honor typically given to the most fervent supporters of Slick Willie.

As a district judge, Morrissey had a history of being reversed on appeal. Morrissey answered only four questions of the dozens in the iVoterGuide questionnaire. (Their summary rating of "somewhat conservative" is puzzling and without any apparent basis. Should you get credit because you avoided giving a liberal answer by not answering at all?)

Morrissey has the smallest bankroll of the three Republicans, has no history of involvement in the Republican Party or conservative causes, and I suspect she will not survive the primary. Morrissey's major donors include Stuart Price, an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for Congress in the 1990s, and Clark Brewster, a Tulsa attorney who is a generous donor to Democrat candidates and the lawyer for "adult entertainer" Stormy Daniels in her lawsuit against President Trump.

Kyden Creekpaum is an attorney who grew up in Tulsa and moved back to Tulsa in 2017 after eight years in Paris and Washington with Hughes, Hubbard & Reed. His parents were public school teachers; his father Eddie Creekpaum ran for City Council as a Democrat in 2000 and is a prolific writer of letters to the editor.

Kyden Creekpaum has an impressive educational background: Double major in political science and piano at OU, master's in public health from Johns Hopkins, law degree from Georgetown, master's in law from Sciences Po (the Paris Institute of Political Studies).

When I was introduced to Creekpaum at the Tulsa County Republican Convention, I said, "Ah, the Kaiser candidate!" which elicited a sheepish response. Creekpaum is an attorney with the Frederic Dorwart law firm. Dorwart is president of the George Kaiser Family Foundation (GKFF) and, until Tuesday, chairman of the University of Tulsa Board of Trustees. (Dorwart is stepping down as chairman as of June 30, but will remain on the board's executive committee.) The Dorwart firm handles legal matters for many branches of what Michael Mason has labeled "the Kaiser System," including Kaiser-Francis Oil Company, GKFF, the Tulsa Community Foundation (TCF), and the Bank of Oklahoma.

For religious conservatives, the involvement of the Kaiser System in a Republican primary is worrisome, as donations may be used as leverage to get elected officials to devote taxpayer dollars to Kaiser's preferred policy prescriptions. Kaiser's "giving statement" reveals him to be a materialist: Given enough money applied scientifically to education, nutrition, and health care, poverty and misery will vanish. Moral and spiritual aspects are absent from his analysis of the cause of societal problems. However pure his intentions, Kaiser's approach is bound to fail because it fails to address the fundamental problem facing humanity: fallen human nature.

As Mason documents, the Kaiser System's approach to charitable giving is one of control and "strings attached." Mayor G. T. Bynum IV, who posed as a conservative when he first ran for City Council in 2008, and who served as a federal lobbyist for GKFF, began working to impose leftist views of sexuality on Tulsans shortly after his first re-election in 2009 -- right about the time he became a GKFF lobbyist.

Creekpaum has the biggest warchest of any candidate in the race, $145,750.00 in contributions, plus $5,398.48 in in-kind expenditures. He filed his statement of organization with the ethics committee on March 19, 2019, and within 12 days had amassed $50,100. Baber has raised about $35,000, a decent amount for a State Senate campaign, and she has loaned her campaign $100,000 to try to keep up with Creekpaum.

A good chunk of Creekpaum's money has come from people in the George Kaiser orbit, including $1,000 from Kaiser himself, $1,000 from Kaiser-Francis CFO Don Millican, $1,500 from GKFF board member Phil Frohlich, and maximum $2,800 donations from Frederic Dorwart, his wife Nanu Dorwart, and several of the firm's partners. Elizabeth Frame, daughter of former Mayor Kathy Taylor and CEO of the Taylor Lobeck Family Foundation, and former Democratic Congressman Dan Boren, now president of corporate development for the Chickasaw Nation, have each contributed $1,000 to Creekpaum.

Creekpaum has used his money to run television ads attacking Cheryl Baber because her service as an Assistant U. S. Attorney fell during the Obama administration. Baber has responded:

One of my opponents is misleading voters by calling me a hypocrite because I was an Assistant U.S. Attorney during the time that Obama was President and Holder was the Attorney General. EVERY person who works for a federal administrative agency works for whomever is President or Commander-in-Chief at the time! That includes postal workers, park rangers, ALL military, and about 2 million employees throughout the world! There are 94 U.S. Attorney's Offices, employing thousands of people who are from every political party or none. Further, I actually worked as a federal law clerk when President George W. Bush was President! And I chose to leave the U.S. Attorney's Office, in part, because Obama won re-election in 2012.

Kyden Creekpaum is the candidate spreading lies, not me. He is the one supported by donors who gave $404,000 to Obama, Biden, and Hillary. He is the one whose current law firm sued to block President Trump's voters from rallying at the BOK Center. Those are documented, verifiable facts which informed voters deserve to know if they do not want a legislator who will likely vote to advance a liberal agenda. I am the one who has been active in, and endorsed by, Tulsa area conservative Republican organizations.

I haven't verified Baber's math, but I do recognize many names on the Creekpaum campaign reports whom I know to be generous donors to Democrats.

Creekpaum claims to be a conservative, pro-life Christian, and he may well regard himself as such. I can't find any indication online that he has ever taken a public stand on any political issue prior to running for office. Creekpaum did not complete the iVoterGuide survey. He did give "yes" answers to all the questions on the Oklahomans for Life survey.

Baber answered four of the 12 Oklahomans for Life survey questions with a "no": She would allow rape and incest exceptions to a ban on abortion, disagrees with Oklahomans for Life's proposal for $1 million in annual funding for a state-funded guardianship system "to advocate for vulnerable persons at risk for denial of life-preserving care," disagrees on assisted suicide, and disagrees with a proposal for a mandatory retirement age for Oklahoma Supreme Court justices. She does however support Oklahoma's existing strong legal protections against the imposition of euthanasia on the elderly and disabled. I disagree with her on those "no" answers, but her answers to the iVoterGuide survey suggest she would be persuadable to a more consistent pro-life position.

It may well be that these wealthy progressives who give consistently to Democrat candidates for President are backing Creekpaum because they think he's a wonderful, smart guy who would serve the State of Oklahoma well, and they don't mind that he will apply his intelligence and energy to advancing a socially conservative, anti-abortion, free-market agenda. I doubt it. To me, he looks like a politically ambitious young man who has come home to start his climb, and he has found the people who can fund that ascent. My bet is that his loyalties, if elected, would incline to the Kaiser System, not to the conservative voters of Senate District 35.

RESEARCH:

I went through the very tedious process of downloading each of the campaign reports filed by each of the Republican candidates from the Oklahoma Ethics Commission's Guardian website, and I have compiled all the reports into a single file for each candidate:

• Cheryl Baber campaign ethics reports
• Kyden Creekpaum campaign ethics reports
• Linda Morrissey campaign ethics reports

Before Oklahomans foolishly enshrine a new, unfunded and unlimited entitlement into our state constitution (SQ802), we ought to heed the experience of our neighbors to the east.

On May 13, 2020, when the Oklahoma legislature was debating a Medicaid expansion bill, Arkansas State Representative Josh Miller, a Republican, wrote a letter to Oklahoma leaders urging them to reject Medicaid expansion. Arkansas adopted a "private option" program in 2013, using new federal funds to purchase private medical coverage for the newly eligible (able-bodied and below income limits). Arkansas requires recipients in the expansion pool to work if able in order to receive these benefits, but Federal courts have stayed that requirement. Oklahoma SQ802, the Obamacare Medicaid expansion on the ballot next Tuesday, would prohibit the state from requiring that able-bodied recipients work or pursue education and training to receive benefits -- that ban would be written into the state constitution.

Miller writes that Arkansas is worse off because of its decision to expand Medicaid: "Greater costs are being shifted to the remaining Arkansans who pay higher private insurance premiums. More Arkansans are trapped in welfare dependency. And the truly needy--like those with physical and developmental disabilities who require home-based care--face long waiting lists and reduced services while able-bodied, working-age adults move to the front of the line."

Here's the complete letter:

Dear Leader David, Speaker McCall, Leader Echols, and other Republican Members of the Oklahoma Legislature,

In light of Oklahoma's consideration of Medicaid expansion, I write to briefly share Arkansas' experience. I will be candid--and hope to convey my sense of urgency. I cannot stress enough my primary takeaway from Arkansas' Medicaid program in recent years: expanding Medicaid to able-bodied adults is a raw deal. Let me explain.

Those who supported Medicaid expansion made lots of promises: increased federal funding to support our state budget, greater access to care for the needy, and relief for rural hospitals. But Arkansas is in a worse position today than before because these grand promises were built on the broken foundation of ObamaCare.

Instead, enrollment and costs shattered projections. Waste and fraud is more difficult to detect. Some of our rural hospitals are still struggling and a few have even closed. Greater costs are being shifted to the remaining Arkansans who pay higher private insurance premiums. More Arkansans are trapped in welfare dependency. And the truly needy--like those with physical and developmental disabilities who require home-based care--face long waiting lists and reduced services while able-bodied, working-age adults move to the front of the line.

In short, expansion was a big mistake for Arkansas.

In times of uncertainty like the COVID-19 pandemic, knowledge is power. And I know the experiences of neighbors, who have had to learn from their mistakes, can provide the most useful knowledge. Arkansas and Oklahoma share more than a border. Our cultures, economies, and enduring public policy challenges have much in common. If you want to avoid the mistakes of our state, I urge you to reject Medicaid expansion.

Sincerely,

Josh Miller
AR State Representative Dist. 66

Hat tip to OCPA President Jonathan Small for Rep. Miller's letter.

MORE: Former Governor Frank Keating urges Oklahomans to vote no on 802. Here's an excerpt:

What about all that "free" federal money? Here's the truth: State taxpayers must also come up with hundreds of millions in extra funding for Medicaid expansion--up to $374 million based on the estimated 628,000 able-bodied who will be made eligible. Not only that, but those able-bodied adults would take priority over the truly needy--such as the elderly and disabled--forcing them onto long waiting lists to get the care they need.

Last year Governing Magazine found 13 states had to raise taxes, fees, or cut provider rates to cover the state portion of expansion costs. More are expected to follow suit.

Here's another fact. Medicaid is already diverting resources from areas like education--without expansion. Since 1998, when I was governor, Oklahoma's population has increased 18 percent. But our Medicaid enrollment has increased 126 percent and the taxpayer cost of Oklahoma's Medicaid program has increased 254 percent.

Paying for Medicaid is already a financial challenge for Oklahoma. Expanding Medicaid doesn't solve that financial challenge; it puts it on steroids.

In addition to all the usual federal, statewide, legislative, and county races on the Oklahoma ballot next Tuesday, June 30, 2020, this is also the school board general election, which was postponed from April due to the CCP Bat Virus. Two of Tulsa's seven school board offices are on the ballot -- Office 5 is an open seat, and Office 6 features a challenge to a 24-year-incumbent.

Last time I posted campaign contributions and expenditures for school board races, before the February primary, I had to go to the Education Service Center, to the school district clerk's office, and take photos of the reports. This time, that wasn't going to be possible or advisable, given everyone's desire to minimize contact, so I filed an open records request through the Tulsa Schools website and sent an email directly to district clerk Sarah Bozone. I have yet to receive a reply.

UPDATE 2020/06/29: At 9 a.m. the day before the election, TPS has responded to my open records request. I will not have time to turn these PDFs into a tabulated account of campaign contributions, so you will have to look at them yourselves. I have taken the files provided, given them more meaningful file names, and run them through OCR, but that's it. Each file contains all of the ethics reports filed by the candidate during this campaign.

*Pendleton finished third in the primary. He was the only candidate not advancing to the general who managed to raise and spend enough money to be required to file ethics reports.

I shouldn't even have to ask: When the clerk receives a report, it ought to be immediately scanned in and posted on the district website. Better yet, let's fix the law so that all candidates and campaign committees in the state use the Oklahoma Ethics Commissions's electronic filing system. Currently, county candidates file ethics reports with their county election board, school board candidates file with the district clerk, municipal candidates file with the city clerk. Having one system with a consistent interface and electronic records would serve everyone better -- except perhaps for candidates with something to hide.

Which brings me back to the topic. Knowing that I was unlikely to get a timely reply from the district clerk, I emailed the candidates directly on Tuesday, requesting their ethics reports, asking who had endorsed their campaigns, and asking for their opinion on the plan to extend Superintendent Deborah Gist's contract for an additional three years in a snap vote one week before new school board members would be elected.

All four candidates responded, but only two, Shane Saunders, candidate for Office 5, and Jerry Griffin, the Office 6 challenger, both Republicans, sent me their campaign contribution reports. Office 5 candidate John Croisant and 24-year Office 6 incumbent Ruth Ann Fate, both Democrats, said that they had filed their reports with the district clerks -- a very passive-aggressive response.

Three of the four objected to the school board voting to extend Gist's contract right before the election; Fate, the incumbent, wrote, "I will be making my decision tonight." Only two of the seven school board members, Jennettie Marshall and Stacey Woolley, voted against the contract extension. Next week that vote might have been 4-3 against extension.

Endorsements reported to me by the candidates:

• Tulsa World: Croisant, Fate
• Tulsa Regional Chamber: Saunders, Fate
• Tulsa County Republican Party: Griffin
• American Federation of Teachers: Griffin

Griffin has also been endorsed by John Remington, the third-place candidate in February's primary.

Notable contributors during this reporting period: Shane Saunders received contributions from his erstwhile boss, former Congressman John Sullivan (Saunders served as Sullivan's press secretary), and from former Tulsa Mayor Robert J. LaFortune. Jerry Griffin received a contribution from the Tulsa County Republican Party; parties are allowed to help candidates running in non-partisan elections. Griffin also received a donation from the American Federation of Teachers.

Please read my previous report on the pre-primary contributors to all of the Tulsa School Board candidates, including the two who are refusing to provide BatesLine with copies of their pre-general reports.

Contributors and vendors are from Tulsa unless otherwise noted. If you're reading this on the home page, the lists for each candidate are after the jump.

The only state question on the June 30, 2020, primary ballot is Oklahoma State Question 802. This would create a new Constitutional Amendment, Article XXV-A, requiring the State of Oklahoma to offer Obamacare Medicaid expansion coverage to anyone below a certain income, regardless of the person's work or family status. While expansion brings in some additional federal funds, it also brings in heavy long-term liabilities that the state must meet, which would result in higher taxes, cuts in other state-funded services (e.g. education), or both.

Oklahoma's governor and legislature have rightly rejected Obamacare Medicaid Expansion until now because of the fiscal time bomb it would create. SQ802 was an initiative petition backed by supporters of greater government control and by those who expect to profit from the mandated increases in government payments to healthcare providers. The proposal will drive up medical costs without providing real access to quality care.

OCPA has a Quick Facts on Medicaid Expansion that notes that "Expanding Medicaid in Oklahoma could divert state resources away from Oklahoma's traditional Medicaid population--children, pregnant women, the elderly, and the disabled--and instead favor the newly eligible population of 628,000 able-bodied, working age adults." The second page of the handout offers 10 suggestions for how to expand access to health care without installing a budgetary doomsday machine in Oklahoma's State Constitution.

Oklahomans should also reject SQ802 because a constitutional amendment is not the appropriate vehicle for this type of legislation. A constitution is deliberately difficult to change, and its content ought to be limited to fundamental rules and rights. (I raised this issue in 2016 with regard to SQ792.) This proposed constitutional language is tied to specific sub-sub-subsections of Federal law and regulations, which could change and render this state constitutional amendment a confusing mess. If this language were in state statutes, the legislature could quickly respond to federal changes that might affect Medicaid; SQ802 doesn't permit that flexibility. In all likelihood, courts would step in to reinterpret the amendment, virtually rewriting it to make the mess make some sort of sense. (The severability clause in Section 4 is practically an engraved invitation for judicial interference.)

Currently children, adults with children in the home, the blind and disabled, and senior citizens are eligible for Medicaid in Oklahoma if their income is below a certain level. SQ802 would make anyone below the income threshold eligible for Medicaid, even able-bodied adults who refuse to work. As you'll see below, Section 2(B) doesn't allow Oklahoma to impose more stringent requirements, such as a requirement for able-bodied, young recipients to be working or studying in order to receive this benefit.

Here is the language that would be added to the Constitution of Oklahoma if SQ802 passes.

SECTION 1. Definitions

As used in this Article:

A. "Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services" or "CMS" refers to the agency responsible for administering the Medicaid program at the federal level, including review and approval of State Plan Amendments.

B. "Low Income Adults" refers to those individuals over age 18 and under 65 whose income does not exceed one-hundred thirty-three percent (133%) of the federal poverty level, as described by and using the income methodology provided in the federal Medicaid statute at 42 U.S.C. § 1396a(a)(10)(A)(i)(VIII), and who meet applicable non-financial eligibility conditions for Medicaid under 42 CFR Part 435, Subpart E.

C. "Medical assistance" means payment of part or all of the cost of the care and services, or the care and services themselves, or both, as provided in the federal Medicaid statute, 42 U.S.C. § 1396 et seq.

D. "Oklahoma Health Care Authority" refers to the single State agency responsible for administering the Oklahoma Medicaid program pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1396(a)(5).

E. "State Plan Amendment" refers to the document(s) the State submits to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for review and approval before making a change to the program policies, including setting forth the groups of individuals to be eligible for medical assistance.

Section 2. Medicaid Expansion

A. In addition to those otherwise eligible for medical assistance under Oklahoma's Medicaid program, the State shall provide medical assistance under Oklahoma's Medicaid program to Low Income Adults.

B. No greater or additional burdens or restrictions on eligibility or enrollment shall be imposed on persons eligible for medical assistance pursuant to this Article than on any other population eligible for medical assistance under Oklahoma's Medicaid program.

Section 3. Implementation

A. Within 90 days of approval of this Article, the Oklahoma Health Care Authority shall submit a State Plan Amendment and all other necessary documents to seek required approvals from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to include Low Income Adults as a coverage group in Oklahoma's Medicaid program beginning no later than July 1, 2021.

B. The Oklahoma Health Care Authority shall take all actions necessary to maximize federal financial particpation in funding medical assistance purusant to this Article.

Section 4. Severability

The provisions of this Article are severable, and if any part or provision hereof shall be void, invalid, unconstitutional, the decision of the court so holding shall not affect or impair any of the remaining parts or provisions hereof, and the remaining provisions hereof shall continue in full force and effect.

The Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs has a great deal of research and analysis on the fiscal hazards of Obamacare Medicaid Expansion. Most recently, OCPA policy research fellow Kaitlyn Finley points to tax increases in 13 other states to fund Medicaid expansion:

According to a tally by Governing Magazine last year, 13 states have had to raise taxes, fees, or cut provider rates to fund their state portion of expansion costs. North Dakota cut payment rates to Medicaid providers. California passed a provider tax on hospitals and cigarette sales. Oregon put another tax on health insurance plans and hospitals. Other states like Kentucky and Arkansas have pursued charging premiums and implementing work requirements to make up for program shortfalls.

Although these states' plans to tax hospitals to pay for expansion may seem like an additional financial drain on emergency care providers, in reality, many "nonprofit" hospitals have jumped at the chance to take on this financial "burden" because hospitals may increase their profits thanks to the tax.

Note that while some states have "pursued... implementing work requirements" to reduce the fiscal damage of Obamacare Medicaid Expansion, the authors of SQ802 want to cut off that possibility for Oklahoma.

MORE: State Rep. Mark Lepak sets out the fiscal dangers that Medicaid Expansion would bring, increasing the burden on a budget already strained to its limits by CCP Bat Virus:

Proponents point out that we will bring our federal dollars home with a 9-to-1 federal-to-state match. True statement. However, they also claim the expansion population will be about 200,000 people, costing about $200 million. Actually, up to 628,000 will be eligible, with a price tag over $370 million. When "free health care" is advertised, what should we anticipate from the eligible? And those numbers are just first-year expenses that don't contemplate the rising costs of health care, nor the federal government's habit of shifting costs to the states.

Consider our experience with the existing Medicaid program. From 2003 to 2018, Oklahoma's share of Medicaid expenses grew from $715 million to $2.2 billion. At the same time, we went from 649,000 enrollees to more than a million. We're spending three times as much for less than twice the people. Furthermore, in 2003, Oklahoma was responsible for 29.9% of its Medicaid costs. In 2018, that number was 41.8%. With that track record, the 9:1 match from the feds will become 8:2, then 7:3, and so on. With an increasing federal debt and deficit spending, does anyone think they won't continue to shift more and more costs to the states in the future?

MORE: Both Republican candidates for Senate District 37 are saying they'll vote yes, but SQ 802 will damage budgets for both the Federal Government and the State of Oklahoma. Wish they could both lose:

Emerson, who is married with nine children, is voting for State Question 802, Medicaid expansion, which also appears on the June 30 ballot.

But he said it is important to note that it will increase the federal deficit.

Rogers, who is married with five children, also is supporting SQ 802, but said he doesn't see how the state will be able to afford it, especially given the current budget situation in which state revenues are on the decline.

RELATED: Ray Carter of the Center for Independent Journalism reports that some voters are receiving mailers with a subtext that the voter will be named and shamed if they don't vote in the upcoming election. I have read comments on social media that so far only Democrats and Independents have received these mailers. I surmise that backers of SQ802 are afraid that, with few interesting Democrat primaries on the June 30 ballot, pro-big-government voters who would be inclined to vote yes on 802 won't bother to go to the polls.

I will be updating this entry as new information becomes available.

MIDDAY UPDATE:

Two more candidates have filed for mayor this morning: Gregory Robinson II, a Democrat, who was introduced at his Election Board press conference by Dr. Tiffany Crutcher, and Craig Immel, an Independent, who was the lead plaintiff in the battle to keep park land on Riverside Drive from being turned into a shopping center that might possibly someday have an REI-type store in it.

As previously announced, incumbent Democrat District 1 City Councilor Vanessa Hall-Harper has filed for re-election. She has one opponent so far, Jerry Goodwin, also a registered Democrat.

Auditor Cathy Champion Carter and City Councilors Jeannie Cue, Crista Patrick, Cass Fahler, and Phil Lakin remain unopposed as of noon Wednesday.

No other new filings as of noon today. Candidates must file a notarized declaration of candidacy along with a $50 cashier's check or 300-signature petition at the Tulsa County Election Board, 555 N. Denver Ave., by 5 pm, today, Wednesday, June 10, 2020.

CLOSE OF FILING:

Two more candidates, Republican Ty Walker and Democrat Ricco Wright, filed for Mayor Wednesday afternoon, bringing the total number of candidates to eight.

City Auditor Cathy Champion Carter and two city councilors, Jeannie Cue (District 2) and Phil Lakin (District 8), failed to draw an opponent and have been reelected to another two-year term.

Two previously unopposed incumbents now have opposition. Paul Eicher, a Democrat, will face District 3 councilor Crista Patrick. Republican District 5 councilor Cass Fahler drew four opponents during the final hours of filing, all of them Democrats in their 30s, including 2018's second-place finisher Michael William Arthrell-Knezek aka Mykey Arthrell.

Kathryn Lyons, a Republican, filed in District 4, and Cheyenna Morgan, a Democrat, filed in District 6. Both districts have Democrat incumbents.

The names, ages, and addresses below are from the Tulsa County Election Board's official list of Monday filings. I've added incumbent status, registered voter name in brackets if it differs from the name used for filing, and party affiliation, which I checked against the current voter registration database.

Mayor
GT Bynum, 42, 3607 S. Florence Ave, Tulsa, OK 74105, incumbent, Republican
Paul Tay, 57, 415 W Archer, Tulsa, OK 74103, Independent
Ken Reddick, 37, 5008 S 85th East Ave, Tulsa, OK 74145, Republican
Zackri Leon Whitlow, 39, 2951 W 66th St, Tulsa, OK 74132, Democrat
Craig Immel, 44, 1739 West Newton Street, Tulsa, OK 74127, Independent
Gregory C. Robinson II, 30, 2307 E 29th Pl N, Tulsa, OK 74110, Democrat
Ty [Tyron Vincent] Walker, 54, 8538 E 24th St, Tulsa, OK 74129, Republican
Ricco Wright, 38, 1913 N Santa Fe Place, Tulsa, OK 74127, Democrat

Council District 1
Jerry [James G] Goodwin, 57, 2406 W. Pine Pl., Tulsa, OK 74127, Democrat
Vanessa Hall-Harper, 48, 2020 West Newton Street, Tulsa, OK 74127, incumbent, Democrat

Council District 2
Jeannie Cue, 5313 S 32 Pl W, Tulsa, OK 74107, incumbent, Republican

Council District 3
Crista Patrick, 46, 1918 N. Joplin Ave., Tulsa, OK 74115, incumbent, Democrat
Paul Eicher, 31, 509 S 76 East Ave, Tulsa, OK 74112, Democrat

Council District 4
Kara Joy McKee, 41, 1119 S Quebec Ave, Tulsa, OK 74112, incumbent, Democrat
Landry Miller, 26, 221 N Union Ave, Tulsa, OK 74127, Democrat
Casey Robinson, 38, 1260 E 29th Pl, Tulsa, OK 74114, Republican
Kathryn Lyons, 53, 2831 E 28th St., Tulsa, OK 74114, Republican

Council District 5
Cass [Cassidy G] Fahler, 47, 7383 E 24th St, Tulsa, OK 74129, incumbent, Republican
Mykey Arthrell [Michael William Arthrell-Knezek], 35, 1747 S Erie Pl, Tulsa, OK 74112, Democrat
Justin Schuffert, 35, 2216 S. 78th E. Ave, Tulsa, OK 74129, Democrat
Rachel Shepherd, 30, 5719 E. 30th St, Tulsa, OK 74114, Democrat
Nat Wachowski-Estes, 34, 1213 S 87th E Ave, Tulsa, OK 74112, Democrat

Council District 6
Christian Bengel, 52, 13173 E. 29th Street, Tulsa, OK 74134, Republican
Connie Dodson, 53, 13302 E. 28th St., Tulsa, OK 74134, incumbent, Democrat
Cheyenna Morgan, 29, 9 South 185th East Avenue, Tulsa, OK 74108, Democrat

Council District 7
Chad Ferguson, 40, 6751 S. 71st East Avenue, Tulsa, OK 74133, Republican
Justin Van Kirk, 29, 10709 E 100 Pl, Tulsa, OK 74133, Republican
Lori Decter Wright, 45, 8706 E 86th St, Tulsa, OK 74133, incumbent, Democrat

Council District 8
Phil [Philip Lawrence] Lakin Jr., 52, 9808 S. Knoxville Avenue, Tulsa, OK 74137, incumbent, Republican

Council District 9
[Bobbie] Leeann Crosby, 36, 3845 South Madison Ave, Tulsa, OK 74105, Democrat
Jayme Fowler, 61, 5601 S Gary Ave, Tulsa, OK 74105, Republican

City Auditor
Cathy Champion Carter, 65, 4120 E 22nd Place, Tulsa, OK 74114, incumbent, Democrat

UPDATED to include Justin Van Kirk and Jayme Fowler, whose names I overlooked when initially composing this report. UPDATED again to include information from Zackri Leon Whitlow and Landry Miller about their voter registration.

I've made this plea repeatedly on social media, on Pat Campbell's show on 1170 KFAQ, and here on this blog. And yet I look at the list of candidates after two of the three days of the filing period, and I am amazed to see so many unopposed candidates. Four of the city councilors do not have opponents, nor does the city auditor.

It's especially surprising after a fortnight that has put the spotlight on the importance of city government. Questions of law and order, police protocols and accountability are at the top of everyone's minds, and these questions are answered by our city council and mayor. Providentially, while we're all thinking about the importance of municipal policy, we have the greatest opportunity to make a difference, because it's filing period for city offices.

We only get to choose a new mayor once every four years, and now is the time to make sure there's someone on the ballot that you'd be happy to vote for. We only get to choose a new auditor and councilors every two years. There seems to be a lot of discontent, from across the political spectrum, with Tulsa City Hall, and I'd have thought that that discontent would burst forth this week in an outpouring of candidates for city office.

Do people still believe in elections? It looks like the protesters that blocked interstates and arterial streets don't. Instead of trying to elect a new mayor and councilors who are in agreement with their aims, to have a real seat at the table, it appears that the protesters' plan is to continue to protest, presumably in hopes that the existing mayor and council, whatever they may personally believe, will be inspired or intimidated by the protests into adopting the protesters' platform.

Perhaps because the news media loves the drama of protest and civil (or uncivil) disobedience more than the slog of legislation and debate, mass protests caught the public imagination as the way to effect change. Even the venerable Atlantic magazine is talking about "toppling" President Trump, as if we didn't have a presidential election in five months. Protesters in the US and the UK are defacing monuments and demolishing statues, as if it were impossible to enact the removal of offensive monuments through the ordinary processes of representative government.

You've heard the marchers' chants: "This is what democracy looks like!" No, this is what ochlocracy looks like. Democracy looks like people knocking doors for candidates, casting ballots, and sitting around committee tables poring over budget books.

In February 2020, the City Council voted 5-3 against putting a charter amendment on the ballot to create an Office of Independent Monitor (OIM) to review use of force cases by the police. Councilors Vanessa Hall-Harper (District 1), Kara Joy McKee (District 4), and Lori Decter Wright (District 7) were the only votes in support of putting Mayor Bynum's proposal on the ballot. All three have drawn opponents.

Councilors Jeannie Cue (District 2), Crista Patrick (District 3), Connie Dodson (District 6), Phil Lakin (District 8), and Ben Kimbro (District 9) voted against the OIM charter change, and Cass Fahler (District 5), who was absent, had voiced opposition to the proposal. Kimbro isn't running again, but only one of the other five (Dodson) has drawn an opponent. Only two candidates have bothered to file for the open District 9 seat.

Marlin Lavanhar, senior pastor of All Souls Unitarian Church, has drawn a couple of scathing cartoons critical of Mayor Bynum's response to the protests. So where is the challenger to Bynum from the left side of the spectrum?

I've checked a few names prominent in the protests and found that some of them are registered to vote in these districts whose councilors are opposed to their goals. If I dug further, I suspect I'd find that there's a leading protester in each one of these council districts. Why aren't they using their youth, enthusiasm, and energy to run for a real seat at the table, instead of being satisfied with scraps?

So who are the candidates who have already filed? Let's start with a look at the mayoral candidates.

GT Bynum is running for a second term. A professional schmoozer in one form or another for his entire career (Senate staff assistant, public relations, corporate communications, governmental affairs, lobbyist), Bynum IV is clearly in over his head, particularly now that the job demands tough decisions, not just ribbon-cutting and pious virtue signalling. Michael Mason has documented Bynum's deep ties to billionaire George Kaiser. In the words of New York Times writer Cassidy McDonald, "Kaiser has turned Tulsa into 'beta city,' U.S.A," a guinea pig for his social experiments, which are grounded in the materialistic worldview set out in his "Giving Pledge." However noble, Mr. Kaiser's intentions, Tulsans should not give him carte blanche to direct city resources to carry out his private philanthropic aims. Tulsans need elected officials who are not beholden to a billionaire who seems to see us as lab rats.

Ken Reddick is running as a conservative Republican and has already been campaigning for a few months. After many years as a manager for an electrical utility contractor and as an electrician, Reddick now has his own business managing projects for contractors in the utility and electrical fields, helping them to streamline processes and find efficiencies. Reddick ran a credible special election race for District 7 City Councilor in November 2018, but conservative support was divided among several candidates.

Paul Tay, who has run many times for mayor and city council, and made an infamous cameo appearance at the 2016 RSU-TV mayoral debate between incumbent Mayor Dewey Bartlett and challenger GT Bynum, was released Monday after five months in the Tulsa County Jail for outraging public decency. I won't repeat the specifics of his crime, for which he was convicted in a jury trial in January, but the state's witness list and the judge's instructions to the jury will tell you more than you wanted to know. Tay also has felony charges pending for possession of a stolen vehicle and violation of a protective order. When I first met him, way back in 1998, he had some cogent thoughts on urban planning and bicycles, but there's nothing cogent about his increasingly bizarre behavior. On his declaration of candidacy, Tay listed the Day Center for the Homeless as his place of residence, contrary to his voter registration address.

The fourth candidate, Zackri Leon Whitlow, doesn't appear in the voter registration database at all. Whitlow shows up on LinkedIn, Facebook, and IMDb. It appears that he is an insurance agent and broker, and that his agency may have been located in California, in Langley, Oklahoma, and now in Tulsa. It appears that he served as a butler at the Playboy Mansion, credited with an appearance on the reality series based there, "The Girls Next Door." I haven't found anything indicating his views on city issues.

City Auditor Cathy Champion Carter (formerly Cathy Criswell) is still unopposed. She has held the post without a challenger since her first election in 2013, when she defeated appointed incumbent Clift Richards and Josh Lewis. If the listing of internal audit reports on her City Auditor website is complete, Tulsa hasn't had a sensitive payments audit since FY 2017, and the pace of internal audits in general has slowed considerably over the past few years. It was the intention of the framers of our City Charter that the city auditor should be an "anti-mayor," acting as a whistleblower on abuse and corruption. Instead, Carter continues to follow the pattern set by Phil Wood, the first city auditor under the 1989 charter, quietly churning out reports but doing little or nothing to call attention to her team's findings, findings that might uncover inefficiency, waste, or even corruption.

If you're wondering whether or not to file, go for it. Every councilor should have a challenger. After filing closes at 5 pm Wednesday afternoon, you've got two days to investigate and speak with the other candidates who have filed, and if you'd rather back one of the other candidates you can withdraw by 5 pm Friday and take your name on the ballot. But let's at least make sure that every voter has good choices in every office and district.

At the end of the second of three days of candidate filing for the 2020 City of Tulsa elections, the incumbent mayor, auditor, and seven of the nine incumbent city councilors have filed for re-election, with Mayor GT Bynum IV drawing three opponents and incumbent Democratic Councilors Kara Joy McKee (District 4) and Councilor Lori Decter Wright (District 7) each drawing two opponents. Five council seats and the auditor's office have only one candidate each. Incumbent Democrat councilors Connie Dodson (District 6) has also drawn a Republican opponent. Republican District 9 councilor Ben Kimbro is not running for re-election; two candidates have filed thus far for that seat. Democrat District 1 Councilor Vanessa Hall Harper has confirmed to BatesLine that she will file tomorrow; Jerry Goodwin has already filed as a challenger for the seat.

Three candidates may have issues with their voter registrations, or lack thereof. District 4 candidate Landry Miller is not in the current state election board voter registration database as of noon today. Perennial mayoral candidate Paul Tay is registered to vote at 6104 N. Boulder, which does not match the residential or mailing address (both 415 W. Archer St., the Day Center for the Homeless) he supplied on his declaration of candidacy. The voter registration database also does not have a record for mayoral candidate Zackri Leon Whitlow; there is someone with a similar name and age registered to vote at a different address.

(UPDATE 2020/06/10: Zackri Whitlow responded to my inquiry about his voter registration: "I just submitted my Tulsa Voter Registration on Friday. I am an Oklahoma Native but had moved to California back in 2006. I was last registered in Riverside County and that should be in the process of them transitioning my new Voter Registration to Tulsa County." Whitlow says he has registered in Oklahoma as a Democrat. Landry Miller responded to my inquiry: "I am registered in District 4, under my current address. This was only recently changed because I hopped around Tulsa for a while trying to find the perfect spot to live. So therefore my previous registration was in Rogers County, where I waited to update my registration until March, so I could still vote in the presidential primaries (in Rogers County).")

In addition, four candidates -- Jerry Goodwin, Cass Fahler, Phil Lakin, and Leeann Crosby -- have filed under names that do not match their voter registration records. While state law permits a candidate to specify a ballot name that differs from their legal name, both of which are specified on a declaration of candidacy for state office, the Tulsa City Charter does not. In the past, I can recall a number of occasions where a city candidate's full name (including middle name and suffix) appeared on the ballot, even if it differed from the name by which the candidate was popularly known. This 2009 City of Tulsa primary ballot for Mayor and Council District 8 has middle names for almost all of the candidates.

This name-matching requirement seems to have motivated candidates to change their voter registration. For example, the mayor is registered as last name "Bynum," first name "G T," which allows his name to appear as "G T Bynum" on the city ballot, even though that would appear to be in violation of the section of law (26 O.S. 4-112) that requires each voter to register with his full name, in his case, George Theron Bynum IV.

The Tulsa City Charter, Article VI, Section 3.1, requires, "Any person who desires to be a candidate for a City office shall file with the Election Board of Tulsa County or its successor a Declaration of Candidacy which shall contain: A. The name and residence street address of the person as it appears on the voter registration records;...." A candidate who has provided a name and address combination that doesn't match a voter registration record for an address in the City of Tulsa would be in violation of that charter provision.

A candidate with an invalid declaration of candidacy could have his candidacy contested by an opposing candidate or, if no other candidate has filed, by any eligible voter registered to vote for the candidate. Contests must be filed by 5 p.m. Friday with a $250 deposit. Contests are governed by Title 26, Chapter A1, Article V of Oklahoma Statutes, sections 118 to 131. Section 117 states that the relevant election board can reject a Declaration of Candidacy "which on its face shows that the candidate does not meet the qualifications to become a candidate for the office set forth as contained in the Oklahoma Constitution, statutes or resolution calling the election."

Filing continues for one final day, tomorrow, Wednesday, June 10, 2020 at the Tulsa County Election Board, 555 N. Denver Ave., Tulsa, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. More about the filing and election process here.

The names, ages, and addresses below are from the Tulsa County Election Board's official list of Monday filings. I've added incumbent status, registered voter name in brackets if it differs from the name used for filing, and party affiliation, which I checked against the current voter registration database.

Mayor
GT Bynum, 42, 3607 S. Florence Ave, Tulsa, OK 74105, incumbent, Republican
Paul Tay, 57, 415 W Archer, Tulsa, OK 74103, Independent
Ken Reddick, 37, 5008 S 85th East Ave, Tulsa, OK 74145, Republican
Zackri Leon Whitlow, 39, 2951 W 66th St, Tulsa, OK 74132, Democrat

Council District 1
Jerry [James G] Goodwin, 57, 2406 W. Pine Pl., Tulsa, OK 74127, Democrat

Council District 2
Jeannie Cue, 5313 S 32 Pl W, Tulsa, OK 74107, incumbent, Republican

Council District 3
Crista Patrick, 46, 1918 N. Joplin Ave., Tulsa, OK 74115, incumbent, Democrat

Council District 4
Kara Joy McKee, 41, 1119 S Quebec Ave, Tulsa, OK 74112, incumbent, Democrat
Landry Miller, 26, 221 N Union Ave, Tulsa, OK 74127, Democrat
Casey Robinson, 38, 1260 E 29th Pl, Tulsa, OK 74114, Republican

Council District 5
Cass [Cassidy G] Fahler, 47, 7383 E 24th St, Tulsa, OK 74129, incumbent, Republican

Council District 6
Christian Bengel, 52, 13173 E. 29th Street, Tulsa, OK 74134, Republican
Connie Dodson, 53, 13302 E. 28th St., Tulsa, OK 74134, incumbent, Democrat

Council District 7
Chad Ferguson, 40, 6751 S. 71st East Avenue, Tulsa, OK 74133, Republican
Justin Van Kirk, 29, 10709 E 100 Pl, Tulsa, OK 74133, Republican
Lori Decter Wright, 45, 8706 E 86th St, Tulsa, OK 74133, incumbent, Democrat

Council District 8
Phil [Philip Lawrence] Lakin Jr., 52, 9808 S. Knoxville Avenue, Tulsa, OK 74137, incumbent, Republican

Council District 9
[Bobbie] Leeann Crosby, 36, 3845 South Madison Ave, Tulsa, OK 74105, Democrat
Jayme Fowler, 61, 5601 S Gary Ave, Tulsa, OK 74105, Republican

City Auditor
Cathy Champion Carter, 65, 4120 E 22nd Place, Tulsa, OK 74114, incumbent, Democrat

UPDATED to include Justin Van Kirk and Jayme Fowler, whose names I overlooked when initially composing this report. UPDATED again to include information from Zackri Leon Whitlow and Landry Miller about their voter registration.

In addition to the high-stakes presidential race, the City of Tulsa has its own high-stakes elections this year. All nine Tulsa City Councilors and the Tulsa City Auditor are on the ballot every two years, but in presidential years, the Mayor's office is also up for grabs. Filing period begins Monday, June 8, 2020, and ends Wednesday, June 10, 2020. Candidates file in-person at the Tulsa County Election Board, 555 N. Denver (in the old Marina-style Safeway building), between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. daily.

I'll stick to the nuts and bolts in this item; later I hope to explain why Tulsans should want to run for office and change the personnel running our city government.

Filing involves filling out a declaration of candidacy, getting it notarized, and presenting it at the county election board with a cashier's check for $50 for the filing fee. The filing fee is really a deposit, intended to deter frivolous candidates: If you get more than 15% of the vote when your name first appears on the ballot, or if you're unopposed, you get the cashier's check back. In lieu of the filing fee, you have the option of filing a petition signed by 300 registered voters in your election district if you're running for council, or city-wide if running for Mayor or Auditor. The information packet with all the forms, including the declaration of candidacy and all ethics disclosure forms, is on the Tulsa County Election Board website.

City elections are governed by Article VI of the City Charter. Council races are run by district. Our council districts were gerrymandered in 2012 evidently with the intent of eliminating then-Mayor Dewey Bartlett's harshest critics. The lines will be redrawn next year following the publication of the 2020 census results by a five-person committee appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the City Council. If the next council consists of the mayor's yes men, the mayor will be able to redraw the district lines to benefit his most loyal councilors.

To find your district, consult the Oklahoma Voter Tool, or use the city's interactive map, or consult this set of static maps, showing the precincts contained within each council district.

Tulsa's municipal elections are non-partisan, and the process has changed since the last mayor's election in 2016, going from three stages to two. The August 25, 2020, election is considered a general election. (The same date is used for runoffs for candidates for Federal and State Legislative offices.)

If two candidates are running for an office, the candidate receiving the most votes at the August election wins. If more than two candidates are running, the number of top candidates whose votes total at least 50% advance to a runoff on November 3, 2020, the same date as the general election for U. S. President, Senator, Congressmen, and state legislators.

To give you an idea of how this would work, suppose the top two candidates for Mayor fell short of 50% of the vote combined in a very evenly divided race.

Candidate A 25%
Candidate B 23%
Candidate C 14%
Candidate D 11%
Candidate E 10%
Candidate F 9%
Candidate G 8%

If these were a regular Oklahoma primary, only Candidates A and B would advance to the November runoff, but because their combined total falls short of 50%, one more candidate, C, would advance. Because A, B, and C's vote share exceeds 50% (62%) only those candidates will advance to November. This is a highly unlikely spread, except perhaps in a race for an open seat; in most cases, it will simply be the top two candidates advancing to the November runoff.

If you're unhappy with a mayor who makes concessions without consulting all stakeholders involved in a decision, if you're unhappy with a mayor who refuses to enact a curfew to protect Tulsa residents and businesses, if you're unhappy with a council that fails to hold the mayor accountable, if you're unhappy with councilors who break their promises to constituents who are facing the destruction of their homes by eminent domain, if you're unhappy that most of our elected officials are beholden to a billionaire who sees Tulsa as a lab rat for social experimentation, you ought to consider running for office. We can't have change unless we have different candidates to choose from.