Former Stitt Cabinet secretary seeks $60 million for malicious prosecution

Wouldn't it be nice if Oklahoma had a governor who understood American history and the Constitution?

Wouldn't it be nice if Oklahoma had a governor who didn't use citizens' tax money for his own political agenda?

Wouldn't it be nice if Oklahoma had a governor who didn't treat health care like a political football?

Wouldn't it be nice if Oklahoma had a governor who knew the history of Native American tribes in Oklahoma and understood the legal relationships between them and the state?

Wouldn't it be nice if Oklahoma had a governor who believed that Black lives matter regardless of Oklahoma's endemic racism?

Wouldn't it be nice if Oklahoma had a governor whose economic theory included concern for all of Oklahoma's citizens and not just those who own big businesses? There is no "trickle down" in Oklahoma.

Wouldn't it be nice if Oklahoma had a governor who wasn't afraid of Donald Trump?

Wouldn't it be nice if Oklahoma had a governor who supported public schools?

Wouldn't it be nice if Oklahoma had a real governor?

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I welcome Joy Hofmeister's declaration to run against Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt next year. Oklahoma politics have forced Hofmeister's move to the Democratic Party and should signal that the Republican Party has moved too far to the right.

My daughter teaches in the Tulsa Public School system and she had expressed surprise that any Republican, including Hofmeister, would be so supportive of educational issues, made even more urgent during the recent pandemic.

Currently, political moderates have no chance of winning most Republican primaries and Democrats offer the only moderate candidates in statewide races. In her current position as state superintendent, Hofmeister's support for education and health issues has often placed her at odds with our governor and a majority of Republicans.

The Tulsa World relates that former Gov. Brad Henry feels a kinship with Hofmeister and her moderate candidacy, as she seeks to defeat our erstwhile governor, who ran a positive campaign, but has since governed like an uncaring extremist.

In a recent New York Times guest essay and an NPR interview, former New Jersey Republican Gov. Christine Todd Whitman asks disaffected Republicans to back centrist Democrats. Likewise, when progressives cannot win, she has called for Democrats to support center-right candidates. According to Whitman, the survival of the Republican Party, as we have known it, is a stake and ultimately centrists must prevail.

Next year, Oklahomans will have a clear choice for governor: Vote for a common sense candidate like Hofmeister or retain an extremist like Stitt.

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So, it now seems Gov. Kevin Stitt is ready to waste more taxpayer money on a lawsuit against the mandate for large businesses to help stop the spread of our viruses (“Gov. Stitt vows state would take legal action against Biden's vaccine mandate,” Oct. 15). He says Biden can't do that.

Yes he can! It is a public safety program.

Oh, how we would love for all to help us live a normal life again.

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On the Tulsa World’s front page, it headlined a story that said Gov. Kevin Stitt was against masks (“Stitt still looks to block masks,” Oct. 3).

Unless the Tulsa World can point me to a statement by Gov. Stitt that shows he is anti-mask, I will have to conclude the Tulsa World’s bias made it to the front page.

To my knowledge, Gov. Stitt has always encouraged anyone who wants to wear a mask or feels safer wearing a mask can by all means wear a mask, anywhere, anytime.

Gov. Stitt, like many state governors, merely objects to mask mandates. Since he is the governor, he can choose to not demand the use of masks.

Please, Tulsa World, reference something that Stitt has said that backs up the headline where he “still looks to block masks.” Someone just reading the headline will walk away thinking Gov. Stitt is anti-mask, which he isn’t.

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In contrast to Gov. Kevin Stitt's statement, “I don’t believe it is the government’s job to dictate polices to private companies,” the government has done this for decades through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in order to maintain safety in the workplace.

OSHA issued an emergency technical standard for health care industries for COVID-19 in June. It says that the law "requires employers to furnish to each worker employment and a place of employment, which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm."

Many Oklahoma employers, including Tulsa Public Schools, have adopted standards to protect their employees, students and customers despite Gov. Stitt. Let’s protect our friends and neighbors. Let’s recover the notion of personal responsibility where everyone does what they can.

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Typical Republican denial, distortion and dishonesty regarding the damage they have done to Oklahoma over three decades was on full display in their response to State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister’s leaving the party to run for governor on the Democratic ticket.

Among the more outlandish claims of Stitt’s campaign manager, Donelle Harder, were these:

“After decades of politicians leaving us in last place, Stitt has us progressing towards Top Ten in critical categories,” and “the state has increased funding of public education to record highs and enacted another teacher pay raise, all while lowering taxes.”

These carefully chosen comments are typical Republican misinformation that cherry picks isolated positive news (one year of teacher pay raises and increased funding of public schools) while dismissing, ignoring or otherwise concealing the much larger picture, in this case, Oklahoma’s standing among the 50 states on teacher pay and state funding of public education.

Readers are urged to go online and check these two topics to learn the real truth about Republican support of public education in Oklahoma for over three decades. Not only are we not progressing toward Top Ten rankings on either of these issues, we don’t even rank in the top half of the nation. Do not be surprised if you learn we rank in the bottom half of the bottom half; in the bottom quarter on both of them.

If we keep buying their propaganda, it will ultimately have us at the very bottom of the nation on most critical issues.

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The Tulsa World published an editorial bemoaning Kevin Stitt's lack of attention to our state ("Gov. Stitt needs to address Oklahoma issues here, not national issues in Texas,” Oct. 9), which remains in the grip of an entirely preventable crisis caused by COVID-19.

I would ask the World's editors: When you endorsed the governor on Oct. 21, 2018, what was it you expected to happen? That a mortgage broker, relentlessly focused on himself his entire life, would somehow become a model of good governance?

It is entirely unsurprising and was entirely predictable. He focuses entirely on himself and his own profit, building a network that our state will take decades to dismantle.

The World, and its editors, contributed to this situation. I call for new leadership on the editorial team. This is necessary. When leaders exhibit terrible judgment, they should be removed and new voices put to the forefront. The Tulsa World can improve its standing in the community and rebuild its lost credibility by acknowledging its part in the harm to our state and working to improve its editorial judgment by removing each editor that helped put this terrible man in office.

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