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!

General Election Results - State Auditor

Click here for the entire Muskogee Politico series of election results maps.

Most Important Race: Gary Jones for State Auditor

As fellow bloggers Michael Bates and Ron Black have said, the most important election tomorrow may well be the race for State Auditor.

We really need Gary Jones to win.

He ran for this office in 2002 and 2006, and although he narrowly lost both times, his opponent (Jeff McMahan) is now sitting in jail. Gary is a tremendous corruption hound, and it is largely through his efforts that the Gene Stipe scandal was uncovered, and why Jeff McMahan is now in jail for bribery and corruption charges.

Gary also served the Oklahoma Republican Party with distinction, as chairman from 2003 to 2010. During his tenure, the GOP took the State House and State Senate, and made great gains in rural, traditionally-Democratic Oklahoma.

However, Gary will by no means turn a blind eye to corrupt Republicans while in office. Gary will actively go after anyone who is corrupt, regardless of party. Our state government desperately needs an Auditor who will vigorously shake this state up, and root out wrong-doing.

Gary is a Certified Public Accountant, and a Certified Fraud Examiner. He is eminently qualified for this position, and could prove to be Oklahoma's best State Auditor in history if elected.

U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D., had this to say about Gary:

Gary Jones is the watchdog Oklahoma voters need as our next State Auditor and Inspector.  When it comes to exposing fraud and corruption in state government, Gary has proven himself to be up to the task.

Gary Jones understands that just as important as exposing corruption, we must also address the issues of waste, duplication and inefficiencies in our state.  Oklahoma citizens work too hard to see their tax dollars wasted.

Gary knows that we must make tough decisions today if we expect to give our children and grandchildren the same opportunities we were given by our parents and grandparents.

Please join me today in supporting Gary Jones, CPA, for Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector."   - U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D.

Ron Black said "Bean-counting is a turn-off for most of us who have long ago thrown away our pocket protectors, but it is the State Auditor and Inspector who will hold the keys to good, conservative and accountable government over the next four years.  Accountability in government has been one of the critical elements we have lacked in Oklahoma and there really is only one man for the job - Gary Jones.  [...]  The role of the Auditor is to do just that and as a private citizen, he has found more corruption than the elected officials who have held that post.  [...]  Those who know Gary know that he is an equal opportunity destroyer where corruption is concerned."

Michael Bates posted "[Gary Jones] has the intellectual firepower to look at a financial statement and to know where to start digging. He has the persistence to keep digging in the face of resistance. In fact, he knows that resistance means you've found the right place to dig. Gary Jones has the courage to step on toes when he needs too, even when those toes belong to fellow Republicans."

Although the other races on the ballot are each important, I think the race for State Auditor is THE most important, and no one is better for this job than Gary Jones.

You can learn more about Gary and his campaign by visiting his website at www.JonesAuditor.com. He is also on Twitter (@JonesAuditor) and Facebook.
 
[modified from the original post on July 16th]

Statewide candidates loan their campaigns money... lots of it

Last night was the deadline for campaigns to file their ethics reports for the past reporting period (8/10-10/18). One of the most interesting tidbits I noticed about these reports is how many of the statewide candidates loaned their campaigns money, and how much they gave.

• Gubernatorial candidate Jari Askins (D) loaned herself $300,000 on September 21st, and $50,000 on October 18th. That brings her campaign-to-date total to $1,225,000.
• State Auditor candidate Steve Burrage (D) loaned himself $225,000 on September 2nd, $136,000 on September 14th, and $100,000 on September 7th. His campaign-to-date total is $486,193.60.
• Treasurer candidate Ken Miller (R) loaned himself $50,000 on October 18th.
• State Superintendent candidate Janet Barresi (R) loaned herself $456,345.44 on October 1st, bringing her campaign-to-date total to $731,345.44.
• Labor Commissioner candidate Mark Costello (R) loaned himself $75,000 on August 31st, $60,000 on September 30th, and $20,000 on October 18th. His campaign-to-date total is $483,662.78.
• Insurance Commissioner candidate John Doak (R) loaned himself $53,500 on August 11th, $10,000 on August 16th, $40,000 on August 18th, $25,000 on August 20th, and $50,000 on October 15th. That makes his campaign-to-date total $213,600.

In this past reporting period, two Democrat statewide candidates loaned their campaigns a total $811,000.00, while four Republican statewide candidates gave their campaigns $786,345.44.

'Gary Jones is Coming to Town'

The brainchild of Stephens County conservative activist (and blogger) Steve Fair, the Gary Jones for State Auditor campaign presents Gary Jones Is Coming To Town:

Gary Jones Resigning as OKGOP Chairman

Oklahoma Republican Party Chairman Gary Jones, who filed to run for State Auditor on Wednesday, is stepping down from his position with the party in order to run his campaign.

Perhaps part of the impetus for Jones' decision to run was that a survey conducted by SoonerPoll found Jones leading Democrat incumbent Steve Burrage 41.2% to 21.7%, with 37.1% undecided (4.8% margin of error).

Jones, who ran for Auditor in 2002 and 2006, losing by narrow margins to Democrat Jeff McMahan (who is now in jail for illegal contributions, bribes, and conspiracy charges), has been perhaps the most successful state chairman the Oklahoma GOP has ever seen. Under his guidance, Republicans took the State House, the State Senate, and placed among the top five most Republican states in the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections.

A replacement will be elected by the GOP's State Committee (comprised of county and state party officers, and elected public officials) at a June 26th meeting. Rumored to be in the running are Matt Pinnell, a past OKGOP Executive Director and currently with American Majority Oklahoma, and Steve Fair, a long-time party activist from Stephens County.