Supporters of President Donald Trump took the Broken Arrow Expressway for a #Drivefor45 “rolling rally” ahead of the November election. Many supporters here continue to press the state’s congressional delegation to resist Wednesday’s final tallying of Electoral College votes.
Some Oklahomans wonder why U.S. Sen. James Lankford would lend his name to what many consider a quixotic if not dangerous attempt to delay formal recognition of Democrat Joe Biden’s election to the presidency.
Stacie Cannon thinks she knows the answer.
“I think he’s doing it because of us,” said Cannon, referring to Oklahomans pressuring Lankford and the rest of the state’s congressional delegation to resist Wednesday’s final tallying of Electoral College votes.
Cannon said she knows of at least 70 Oklahomans flying or traveling in caravans to to join protests planned for Wednesday in Washington, D.C.
Cannon and the others fervently believe President Donald Trump’s claims that election fraud cost Trump the election, even though no court, election official or expert in the field agrees.
“Most everyone’s feeling is that this is not about President Trump,” Cannon said. “It’s about election fraud.”
The fraud claims, though, originate almost entirely with Trump, who urged his supporters to come to Washington for “wild” demonstrations over the next few days.
The release of a recorded telephone conversation involving the president, some of his advisers and Georgia election officials further inflamed the situation, but Cannon said she does not see it as significant.
“I’m against election fraud,” she said. “I think there are a lot more votes out there and that’s what he’s trying to get at.”
She is not assured by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s finding that the 2020 election was the fairest and most secure in the nation’s history.
Neither Cannon nor Lankford would say this past election was particularly problematic.
“I think there’s a history of typical fraud,” Cannon said.
In fact, systemic election fraud is very rare and has never been documented at the level that would have been needed to reverse this year’s election.
In fact, several presidential elections — 1960, 1968 and 2000, for example — were all closer and arguably more problematic.
Cannon said she believes none of this year’s fraud claims have been substantiated because people in authority are afraid.
“They’re afraid of antifa. They’re afraid of the extreme left. They’re afraid of putting their families in danger.
“And there’s a lot of hate,” Cannon said. “Our president has not done a lot to make friends.”
Reported threats against election officials have been all or nearly all by Trump supporters. On Monday, right-wing vigilantes Proud Boys urged members to disguise themselves as Black Lives Matter supporters to avoid detection and foster confusion during protests.
Cannon said her group is not looking for confrontation, only recognition of their concerns. She said they plan to wave Oklahoma state flags instead of Trump signs.
“We’re meeting at a hotel and walking over (to the Capitol) together to stay safe,” she said.
Video: Staff writer Randy Krehbiel’s most memorable stories of 2020.
Gallery: Tulsa World's people to watch 2021
People to Watch - Amy Brown
As Tulsa’s deputy mayor and, since November, its chief administrative officer, Amy Brown does a lot of “non-glamorous, behind-the-curtain work,” as she puts it.
But she’s also the administration’s point person on at least one very public project expected to attract national and even international attention in 2021 — the search for unmarked burials from Tulsa’s 1921 Race Massacre.
People to Watch - Sen. Kevin Matthews
State Sen. Kevin Matthews, D-Tulsa, is pictured in front of the Greenwood Rising history center being built at Greenwood Avenue and Archer Street, the once and perhaps future crossroads of a thriving African American commercial district.
In 2017 Matthews introduced Senate Bill 17 as part of his goal to build a reminder of the 1921 Race Massacre and a memorial to what he calls “the most resilient people on this earth,” who built, rebuilt and persevered through many setbacks over past 100 years.
People to Watch - Ryan Walters
Oklahoma Secretary of Education Ryan Walters may not get all interested parties on the same page in the coming year, but he hopes to at least get them in the same room.
Gov. Kevin Stitt nominated Walters for secretary of education in September as part of a cabinet reorganization. It is the first time Stitt has had a cabinet officer who is solely focused on education.
A McAlester native, Walters taught full-time in the McAlester Public Schools for eight years and continues teaching Advanced Placement courses there and in Millwood Public Schools, even after becoming executive director of Oklahoma Achieves, an education initiative of the Oklahoma State Chamber of Commerce.
People to Watch - Aliye Shimi
“We have had many people turning to their faith traditions and faith communities at a time like this," said Aliye Shimi, executive director of the interfaith Tulsa Metropolitan Ministry.
"We see it any time there’s a disaster, everybody kind of turns to faith.
“We’ve seen a dramatic increase in congregations and their memberships during this time. Where you would have thought we’d have a drop off, it’s been an increase. Even in giving."
People to Watch - Becky Gligo
“I love this job,” said Becky Gligo, housing policy director for the city of Tulsa and soon to be full-time director of the nonprofit Housing Solutions. “I’m a full-blown housing nerd.” That’s good, because COVID-19 is turning what was already a problem in Tulsa into a potential crisis. In moving from the city to the lead agency for the area nonprofits fighting homelessness, Gligo (pronounced GLEE-go) will be right in the middle of the fray. With a federal eviction moratorium expiring at the end of the year and landlords feeling the strain of lost revenue, Gligo and others fear a wave of homelessness in 2021.
<&underline>Click here to read more.</&underline>People to Watch - Mike Bausch
Mike Bausch knows the pain most Tulsa restaurants, and just about all small businesses, have suffered this year.
Bausch and his brother Jim own a group of Tulsa restaurants that includes Andolini’s Pizza, STG Gelaterias and Prossimo Italian Ristorante. Between the economic downturn and the isolation measures taken to slow the spread of COVID-19, the Bausch enterprises have taken some lumps, says Mike.
But they’ve also found ways to survive and even improve.
People to Watch - Jennifer Murphy
Earlier this year, at about the same time many American cities roiled with anger over law enforcement tactics, Lt. Jennifer Murphy was given the job of convincing some skeptical Tulsans that the police could be their friends.
As part of his reorganization of the department, Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin put Murphy in charge of a new Community Engagement Unit. The unit mostly combined initiatives already operating independently, but without much coordination or combined focus.
People to Watch - Joe Deere
Cherokee Tribal Councilor Joe Deere says his job calls for a lot of hats.
The one Tulsans are most likely to see him wearing is for community involvement.
Whether that’s organizing a food distribution at Oklahoma State University-Tulsa, volunteering for the Special Olympics or figuring out how to improve access to tribal services, Deere has committed himself to helping people get through the COVID-19 pandemic and to raising the Cherokee Nation’s profile in Tulsa.
People to Watch - Lori Long
Lori Long picked a heck of a time to become executive director of the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma.
After 12 years leading the Center for Individuals with Physical Challenges, Long took over northeastern Oklahoma’s largest food assistance network on March 30 — just in time for an unprecedented wave of demand caused by the COVID-19 epidemic.
In April, Long’s first month on the job, the food bank moved a record 3.8 million pounds of food. In September, it went over 4 million pounds.
People to Watch - Dr. David Kendrick
A high school job entering genome sequencing data introduced Dr. David Kendrick to medical science, so it’s perhaps not surprising that his career revolves around information systems.
To be sure, there is an M.D. after his name, with specialties in pediatrics and internal medicine. But at the top of a long list of job titles are chairman of the Department of Informatics at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Tulsa and and chief executive officer of MyHealth Access Network.
That’s a mouthful that may not mean much to the average Tulsan — at least not until they wind up in the back of ambulance or a hospital emergency room.
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Randy Krehbiel
Staff Writer
I have been with the Tulsa World since 1979. I'm a native of Hinton, Okla., and graduate of Oklahoma State University. I primarily cover government and politics. Phone: 918-581-8365
