OKGOP Chair and Vice Chair dispute financial woes, call for each other to resign

Oh boy. The OKGOP chairmanships since the 'golden age' of Gary Jones and Matt Pinnell have pretty much been Dysfunction Junction, but none have resulted in something quite like this.

To set the background, the Oklahoma Republican Party is having some major financial problems. This is a pretty well established fact. Fundraising has been lackluster to nonexistent, while spending has apparently taken the budget well into the red. Some of this is the result of longterm issues, while some of this is new.

Yesterday, Vice Chairman Mike Turner was featured in a News 9 interview where he slammed Chairman David McLain for the OKGOP's severe ongoing financial woes and called for his resignation. Specifically, Turner said:

"The chairman should step aside for the good of the party."

The News 9 story touts documents leaked to them by party insiders that show the OKGOP with more than $18,000 in outstanding bills and less than $75 in the daily operations account.

Then, Chairman McLain issued the following press release calling for the resignation of Vice Chairman Turner:

PRESS RELEASE FROM THE OKLAHOMA REPUBLICAN PARTY 10/16/2019 

Regarding the news story released earlier today: I have in front of me, a complete spreadsheet of payables which clearly document the fact that at no time has our utility services been threatened.

As of today, I have documentation showing we have in excess of $20,000 in our account. Point being, Mr. Turner either deliberately provided false information OR did so out of ignorance of the facts. Either way, I am obliged to protect the integrity of the Oklahoma Republican Party and set the record straight.

Also, at my election on April 6th of this year, I received 70% of the party’s confidence from ALL segments of the Republican Party. Not just one segment. ALL.

The Central Committee has called for the immediate resignation of Mike Turner as the Vice Chairman of the Oklahoma Republican Party and will be giving an official call to order of the State Committee this week.

Respectfully,

David McLain, Chairman
Oklahoma Republican Party

Some sources are indicating that the RNC has bailed the OKGOP out with a $20,000 infusion of cash to help float through the current set of financial problems, although Chairman McLain has not made any comment to that point except in the above press release.

Transparency and openness on the OKGOP's financial situation would go a long way toward shedding light on its true state and charting a path forward. Hopefully we will see that happen quickly.

I sat on both the state and executive committees during the chairmanships of Jones and Pinnell. We had very clear budget reports and financial statements during their tenures, detailing exactly where every penny the state party had was going. Although I've not been on either committee for some years, I have seen financial statements from two of the last four chairs, and none had the transparency or detail given under Jones and Pinnell, and none of the chairman since have had the kind of fundraising success they had.

Some of that is a result of a massive shift in how politics and campaigns work today. The political parties are less important than they used to be, and outside groups play a much bigger role in elections. Social media has also made it easier to access volunteers without having to route through existing party infrastructure.

That said, it certainly seems to me, from my outside perspective, that the state GOP has suffered from poor leadership for some time, and the effect has been devastating to the party's finances. I'm appalled that the party of fiscal responsibility would find itself operating in debt to such a degree as it has during much of the past decade.

The OKGOP has some major hurdles ahead of it if it wants to successfully retake the 5th Congressional District, stave off legislative losses in Oklahoma and Tulsa counties, and continue making progress on taking more county offices across the state. Those goals may have to happen independently of the state party.

4Q Gubernatorial Campaign Finance Reports

The 4th Quarter campaign finance reports have been submitted and posted on the Oklahoma Ethics Commission website. We'll look at the gubernatorial race in this post. All figures below are campaign-to-date.

REPUBLICANS

Total Raised: $7,835,180.59

Total Spent: $2,119,127.03

Total Cash-on-Hand: $5,593,149.62

Mick Cornett
Total raised: $1,134,033.82
Total spent: $431,883.60
Total cash-on-hand: $659,590.75

Dan Fisher
Total raised: $134,435.97 (includes $20,000 loan)
Total spent: $83,469.36
Total cash-on-hand: $44,971.07

Gary Jones

Total raised: $65,783.48

Total spent: $15,085.32

Total cash-on-hand: $49,404.63

Todd Lamb
Total raised: $3,123,922.23
Total spent: $459,254.87
Total cash-on-hand: $2,649,481.22

Gary Richardson
Total raised: $1,107,586.77 (includes $1,000,000 loan)
Total spent: $503,870.08
Total cash-on-hand: $602,612.69

Kevin Stitt

Total raised: $2,269,418.32 (includes $1,100,000 loan)

Total spent: $625,563.80

Total cash-on-hand: $1,587,089.26

DEMOCRATS

Total Raised: $1,071,636.00

Total Spent: $742,106.91

Total Cash-on-Hand: $318,879.67

Drew Edmondson
Total raised: $840,611.25 (includes $50,000 loan)
Total spent: $519,376.14
Total cash-on-hand: $310,902.19

Scott Inman (withdrawn)
Total raised: $180,060.14
Total spent: $180,060.14
Total cash-on-hand: $0

Connie Johnson

Total raised: $50,964.61

Total spent: $42,670.63

Total cash-on-hand: $7,977.48

LIBERTARIANS

Total Raised: $11,453.88

Total Spent: $3,129.71

Total Cash-on-Hand: $1,768.14

Rex Lawhorn (4th Quarter report not filed yet)
Total raised: $530
Total spent: $969.54 (in-kind)
Total cash-on-hand: $505

Joseph Maldonado

Total raised: $9,054.03 (~$6,800 in-kind)

Total spent: $2,231.25

Total cash-on-hand: $48.33

Chris Powell

Total raised: $1,869.85

Total spent: $520.69

Total cash-on-hand: $1,214.81

An Ironic Contribution

I stumbled across a very ironic campaign contribution this evening, as I was glancing through some reports from the Oklahoma Ethics Commission. Sometimes, a candidate will loan their campaign money, which can be paid back at a future date. In some cases, it takes several years to 'retire' campaign debt.

Take State Auditor Gary Jones. In his 2010 race, Gary loaned his campaign $60,000. During the course of that race, he was outspent by the Democrat incumbent $806,000 to $134,000. 

State Auditor isn't a glamorous position, and tends to get the little attention from political donors. Gary still has debt from his previous race, and is raising money to pay it off. Which brings me to the ironic contribution...

(click image to enlarge)

In case you've forgotten...

... Steve Burrage was the sitting State Auditor in 2010 when Gary Jones defeated him.

Steve Burrage donated to Gary Jones to help retire debt incurred beating himself!

I think it's safe to say there's no hard feelings about that race!

The Conservative View: Champagne Taste & Beer Pocket Book

This week's Conservative View, by outgoing Adair County Commissioner Russell Turner (R-Stilwell). [Russell recently lost his reelection bid in the Republican primary on July 27th]

The Conservative View

by Russell Turner

Champagne Taste & Beer Pocket Book

If you are like most people, whenever you open a phone bill you will be astonished by all of the fees that are tacked on the basic service of your bill. Many times the bill will increase 50 to 60% over what you thought you would have to pay. Government is always looking for some kind of fee to raise more revenue. It is a sad fact that we Americans can be the most gullible people on the earth. We listen to all of the absurd promises that some politician makes and never question where the funds will come from to finance the big promise. We Americans have a bad habit of wanting something and not wanting to pay for it. I was taught a long time ago that there is no such thing as a free lunch. Back when the current financial problems started, there were cries about the mess that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were in. The main problem with those lending institutions was that the government was pressuring lenders to make loans to people that were buying more house than they could afford or were unable to pay back the loan in the first place. I recently read about a proposed fee that will affect all home buyers in this country.

The U.S. Treasury Department is considering a new mortgage fee to fund the backstops it gives for loans purchased through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Analysts say the fee may be up to 1.5 percent of the borrower's mortgage, which would be a big increase from the current 0.25 percent that both Fannie and Freddie currently charge mortgage borrowers. This 1.5% fee could be in addition to the current .25%. To put it into perspective, if you obtain a mortgage for $300,000 you could see an additional fee of up to $4,500 ... and the additional cost would just keep rising with the size of the loan. For any of you that thought the bailouts and stimulus spending didn’t cost anything, this new fee blows that conclusion away. 

Buying a house is not a lot different than buying a new car. The salesman will tell you that for just a little more you can have a better stereo, better upholstery, etc.  It is sad that we Americans often have a champagne taste on a beer pocket book. We Americans need to start living within our means and stop thinking that someone else will get us out of the jam that far too often we create ourselves. 

If you wish to contact Russell Turner, or want to subscribe to his email loop, email him at rdrepublican@windstream.net.

The Conservative View: Enthusiasm and Reality

This week's Conservative View, by Adair County Commissioner Russell Turner (R-Stilwell).

The Conservative View
by Russell Turner

Enthusiasm and Reality

Many Americans have the desire to own their own home and to have a business that will be profitable enough to meet the needs of themselves and their family. Many people that start a small business learn very quickly that the business world can be very rough. Years ago I purchased a small business and a good friend of mine gave me some very good advice. He said that it is good to be enthusiastic about starting a business, but if you are to be successful you must use logic and take a hard look at the numbers. Many times I have seen people become overwhelmed with the requirements that a business can demand of them. The first year of any business is the most critical. From experience in my own business, I learned of the sacrifices one must make if they are to survive. We Americans need to look at our personal finances but we also need to start to take a more active role in the finances of our nation.

We all hear about the stimulus money and many people can only think of running to the feed trough and making sure that they get their fair share. The additional debt that our county will owe for this current year’s budget is projected to be 1.6 trillion dollars. When you break that amount down by our country’s population it equals $5,300.00 dollars of debt for every man, woman and child in this country… and that is for just one year. In 2008, government spent 38% of everything produced in the U.S. (gross domestic product) and last year the figure shot above 40%. There are estimates that contend that if the current trend continues by 2012 total government spending will exceed the total gross domestic product of this nation.

Some people can relate to the problems that are facing our country. Whatever product a business creates, the business owner cannot stay in business by continually borrowing more money to keep the business open. Whenever it costs more to keep the business open than all of the sales that might come from the business, the owner has to face reality and close the doors. Granted government is different in some respects to business, but without curbing expenses the result will be the same “bankruptcy”. We Americans need to be less enthusiastic about spending money we don’t have and for the sake of our country we must get realistic about the dangers ahead.

If you wish to contact Russell Turner, or want to subscribe to his email loop, email him at rdrepublican@windstream.net.