Leaders of the state Republican and Democratic parties exchanged shots after GOP Gov. Kevin Stitt revealed he’s tested positive for COVID-19.
“I am truly sorry that our governor did not take the necessary precautions to protect himself and his family from this potentially fatal illness,” Democratic Chairwoman Alicia Andrews said after the results were announced.
“Frankly, I was concerned for the governor when it was announced that Herman Cain was hospitalized with COVID-19. They were standing side-by-side, neither wearing masks or social distancing, at the Trump rally in Tulsa.”
Republican Chairman David McLain said Stitt has done a fine job handling the pandemic.
“To blame the governor for not taking personal responsibility for himself and his family, as Ms. Andrews said, is a cheap political statement and not grounded in fact. ... The fact is, the Democrat Party, whether nationally or locally, is using COVID in a pathetic attempt to score cheap political points ahead of the November general election,” he said.
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Without mentioning the positive COVID-19 test, House Minority Leader Emily Virgin, D-Norman, also took a poke at Stitt over his reluctance to issue a statewide mask order.
“Gov. Stitt continues to declare his support for Oklahoma’s economy, while he does nothing to protect it or our citizens,” Virgin said. “His rhetoric says he wants to avoid another shutdown, but his policy continues to move us closer and closer in that direction.”
Meetings and events: Heart of the Party, the Tulsa Chapter of the Oklahoma Federation of Democratic Women, is hosting a forum for Tulsa County municipal and county offices via Zoom at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 3.
Details available at the Heart of the Party Facebook page.
Rebekah Woods of Rejoice Christian School and Madeline Brown of Jenks were announced as this year’s scholarship winners at last month’s meeting of the Republican Women’s Club of Tulsa County.
Top 10: The Stitt administration launched a ”Governor’s Dashboard” described as a state “scorecard” in Stitt’s pursuit of becoming a Top 10 State.
“In order to ensure we are effectively pursuing this vision, we have created an easy to understand scorecard that helps our state leaders and agencies monitor how we compare on the national level and make informed decisions in order to move the needle in key areas,” Stitt said.
The dashboard lists data for 24 categories, from agriculture to transportation. The state ranks first in two: retail electricity prices and EPA Region 6 days without an ozone alert.
Be appy: Applications are due Sept. 10 for the Congressional App Challenge, a design competition for high school students.
Rules and application forms are available at congressionalappchallenge.us or by contacting your member of Congress. In Tulsa, the contact is joanne.tyree@mail.house.gov.
Campaigns and elections: Republicans won the drawing for the top spot on Oklahoma’s general election ballot. GOP candidates will be listed first, followed by Libertarians, Democrats and independents.
• Maria Seidler, third-place finisher in the June 30 House District 79 Republican primary, has asked the Oklahoma Supreme Court to disqualify first-place finisher Clay Iiams.
Seidler says Iiams did not meet the six-month residency requirement.
Convincing the court to intervene is likely to be difficult. Normally, challenges such as Seidler’s must be filed with the Oklahoma State Election Board immediately after the April filing period.
Iiams is scheduled to meet Margie Alfonso in the Aug. 25 runoff, with the winner meeting Democratic incumbent Melissa Provenzano in November.
Bottom lines: 1st District Congressman Kevin Hern said he supports President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the World Health Organization. ... Hern was co-sponsor of a resolution condemning Modern Monetary Theory — basically, the idea that governments should issue as much currency as needed to achieve full employment and then extract excess cash from the economy through taxation once the goal is achieved. ... Hern and 4th District Congressman Tom Cole signed onto a letter asking for COVID-19-related assistance for seasonal employers.
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