Peter Rudy ends Capitol reporting, joins State Chamber

A fixture at the State Capitol for the past few years, Peter J. Rudy has ended his state government reporting, and has joined the State Chamber of Oklahoma as Vice President of Communications.

In a farewell post on OklahomaCapitolSource.com, Rudy said "Unfortunately, I’m a better reporter than I am a businessman so while it was professionally rewarding, the financial side didn’t quite match. So today, Sunday October 6, 2013, is the last day for Oklahoma Capitol Source. I have found employment elsewhere (more details when that becomes official on Monday) and it’s not something that can coexist with sitting at the Capitol for hours on end."

On Monday, the State Chamber announced that they had hired Rudy. "Rudy will replace Jennifer Monies. Monies left earlier this fall when she accepted a role with Senate President Pro Tempore as press secretary and senior advisor."

Rudy's exit leaves a hole in reporting at the State Capitol. In his time with both Oklahoma Watchdog and Oklahoma Capitol Source, Rudy covered practically every major government meeting and House session that took place, posting and tweeting extensive notes.

For anyone interested in the tough job of replacing him, Rudy says, "if there's an intrepid reporter out there who wants to take over the website, email okcapitolsource@gmail.com and we'll talk!"

I hope someone does, because his work will be missed.

State Senate Releases Redistricting Plan

The Oklahoma State Senate released their proposed redistricting plan this evening. Bloggers Peter Rudy of Oklahoma Watchdog and Paul Monies of the Oklahoman's Politics and DataWatch blogs both posted maps (I borrowed Monies' map for this post). The official Senate press release is here. Michael Bates of BatesLine has also posted on the topic.

I would expect this plan to be challenged in court, as portions appear to be gerrymandered (perhaps the by-product of using one of the state's top political consultants to run their redistricting program).

For more details on the urban areas, click here for Rudy's post, and here for Monies' post. Rudy's maps have more detail of the urban areas, while Monies' maps have outlines of the current districts, in addition to the new proposals.

American Majority 'Tulsa Battlefield Training': Saturday

This Saturday, I will be participating in a local blogger panel at an American Majority training event. Joining me will be bloggers Michael Bates of BatesLine.com, and Peter J. Rudy of OklahomaWatchdog.org.

Here's the press release from American Majority:

Our nation was founded by ordinary citizen activists desiring a government that was accountable to the people.  Today, ordinary citizens in every citizen and in every community are tired of the status quo and are ready to get involved like they never have before to demand accountability.

American Majority’s purpose is to address these passions by providing education and resources to help you reach your goals.

To that end, American Majority desires to challenge concerned citizens to turn their focus to state and local issues with the first annual Tulsa Battlefield Training.

This event will provide those in attendance with two things:

First, the Tulsa Battlefield Training will give those in attendance a clear picture of what is happening at both the state level and local level with government spending, waste, and clear explanation regarding how all levels of government got into this mess.

Secondly, the Tulsa Battlefield Training will also provide tool, resources, and specific ways that attendees can get involved in the local government structure – whether as informed citizen activists or candidates for local office.

Confirmed Presenters Include:

• Ned Ryun, President of American Majority
• Michael Carnuccio, President of Oklahoma Council for Public Affairs
• Matt Robbins, Executive Director of American Majority
• A Local Blogger Panel Consisting of Michael Bates of Batesline.com; Jamison Faught of MuskogeePolitico.com; and Peter J. Rudy of OklahomaWatchdog.org
• Plus Presentations by the American Majority Oklahoma Staff

The Tulsa Battlefield Training will take place on Saturday, April 23^rd at Tulsa Technology Center located at 3420 S Memorial Dr. from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Doors open at 8:30 am.

Registration is $20 per person (which includes lunch and all materials) - space is limited.

Click here to register online. If you have any questions or would like additional information, call Seth Brown at 405-639-8896 or e-mail him at Seth@americanmajority.org.

This will be a great event; I highly encourage you to attend if at all possible.