Redistricting ballot initiative launched in Oklahoma (NonDoc)

By: Tres Savage

October 28, 2019

A new group called People Not Politicians is spearheading a ballot initiative to create an independent commission for redistricting legislative and congressional seats in Oklahoma. Filed this afternoon with Oklahoma Secretary of State Michael Rogers’ office, the proposed redistricting ballot initiative would change the Oklahoma Constitution and will need about 178,000 signatures to make a 2020 ballot.

Supporters will have 90 days to gather signatures once all potential challenges to the petition language are addressed.

“This is a complicated solution to a simple problem,” People Not Politicians executive director Andy Moore said Monday. “The simple problem is gerrymandering, and the complicated solution is creating multiple firewalls to prevent the influence of partisan politics from corrupting the redistricting process.”

In recent years, Moore founded and lead the nonpartisan civic engagement group Let’s Fix This. In pushing a redistricting ballot initiative, Moore sees plenty that needs fixing.

“The way the system is now, it allows politicians to draw their own districts and, in effect, pick their own voters. That’s an election in reverse,” Moore said. “We elect them, but when it comes to the redistricting process, they are the ones picking their own voters. That’s not fair, it’s not right.”

Legislative and congressional districts are reapportioned every 10 years following the U.S. Census. Currently, the Legislature must complete its apportionment decisions within 90 days after the start of the first regular session following the Census.

In early October, Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat (R-OKC) named Sen. Lonnie Paxton (R-Tuttle) and Sen. Dave Rader (R-Tulsa) to the Senate’s redistricting committee. Treat also announced the hiring of Keith Beall, former chief of staff for Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb who also managed Lamb’s 2018 gubernatorial campaign, as Senate redistricting director.

In September, House Speaker Charles McCall (R-Atoka) announced the House would create its redistricting committee in early 2020 and had already formed an email address to give the public say over what he called a “citizen-driven” process.

Moore said the proposed redistricting ballot initiative filed today would be more transparent.

“When politicians are more focused on getting re-elected and when they have districts that ensure they get re-elected regardless of how they perform, then politicians are not accountable to voters the way they should be,” Moore said. “And they maybe neglect doing what is in the best interest of the state.”

‘Commission-drawn maps usually have more confidence from the public’

Also supported by Oklahoma’s chapter of the League of Women Voters, the proposed redistricting ballot initiative would create a nine-member independent commission and a three-member panel of retired judges.

The panel would accept applications for redistricting commissioners, selecting two members from each of the top two political parties in the state and two members from citizens unaffiliated with those parties. Then those six commissioners would select one additional commissioner from each of the three groups to form the nine-member commission.

“By making politicians more accountable to voters, this proposal will force them to actually start focusing on finding solutions to the problems facing Oklahoma, like our struggling schools, our crumbling roads and closing hospitals,” Jan Largent, president of the League of Women Voters of Oklahoma, said in a press release. “Oklahomans deserve to have fair and equal representation across the state, and partisan gerrymandering is keeping that from happening. This initiative will create more competitive elections, which will force politicians to be responsive to the needs of average citizens and start fixing many of the state’s real problems.”

OU political science professor Keith Gaddie has written extensively on the topic of redistricting and has offered court testimony in 17 states where redistricting plans faced scrutiny. While Gaddie said Monday he is “out of the game,” he spoke generally about the type of commission proposed by People Not Politicians.

“When it comes to redistricting, you get a political map that is responsive to changes in public opinion when a commission or a court draws it,” Gaddie said. “When you let legislatures do it without any other check on them, you often get highly partisan maps that have bias for the majority party. Commission-drawn maps usually have more confidence from the public.”

Proponents of the redistricting ballot initiative say Oklahomans need not look further than the current State Senate map for evidence that partisan redistricting practices yield unreasonable legislative districts. Senate District 45 resembles a game of Tetris, looping from northwest Mustang down through north Moore and back up to the edge of Del City. Senate District 30 winds through northwest Oklahoma County to form the outline of a laboratory microscope.

Moore lives in SD 30 and laughed at its design.

“Part of it is only continuous because it includes the road around Lake Hefner,” he said. “It includes all of the lake, but there are no houses there.”

Moore also pointed to House District 41, which runs from far northwest Oklahoma City up to the rural area of Garfield County northwest of Enid one hour and 40 minutes away.

“The problem is that you force voters who live in different areas of the state and who may have very different concerns to rely on the same legislator to represent both of their interests,” Moore said. “It’s a very disparate system.”

Gaddie, who has been contracted by both Oklahoma Democrats and Oklahoma Republicans for past redistricting efforts, noted that federal rules govern much of the intricacy of how congressional and legislative maps must be drawn, with states having more flexibility on the latter.

In general, those requirements — such as ensuring equal opportunity for minority representation — need to be met regardless of whether the Legislature or a commission handles redistricting, Gaddie said.

He also emphasized that an independent redistricting commission would not end up giving Democrats undue influence in a state like Oklahoma.

“There’s no way in hell you’re ever going to get a Democratic legislative map in this state right now because it’s not a Democratic state,” Gaddie said. “It’s not that you want a map that is 50/50, you want a map that is reflective of changes in public opinion.”

McCall responds: ‘Petition is a solution in search of a problem’

McCall, the House speaker, issued a statement panning Monday’s redistricting ballot initiative announcement.

“This petition is a solution in search of a problem in a state like Oklahoma that has not had problems with or successful lawsuits over its redistricting process. The convoluted 14-page process the petitioners want makes the system more complicated and less accountable to voters,” McCall said. “The existing process is much simpler and more accountable because the buck stops with the legislators who the voters can keep or replace depending on how they feel about their work. The petition is unnecessary because the people can already challenge redistricting plans under our Constitution, and ultimately the people maintain their accountability over the process through their election or replacement of their legislators.”

Treat, the leader of the Senate, also issued a statement critiquing the initiative petition.

“Liberal politicians like (former) President (Barrack) Obama and his Attorney General Eric Holder are using these kinds of proposals as a way to support radical progressive viewpoints in Oklahoma and other states,” Treat said. “This is a redistricting coup, not an attempt at fair maps. This is a power play by out-of-state liberals in an attempt to force an agenda on Oklahomans. The Oklahoma Senate will do its job and handle redistricting in a fair manner.”

Paxton also offered his thoughts.

“This proposal doesn’t make redistricting any better, it just adds more layers of bureaucracy and red-tape, and distracts from more important issues at the Capitol like education, health care, and pension reform,” Paxton said in a statement. “The Oklahoma Senate will carry out our constitutional duty to conduct redistricting all while keeping the interests of Oklahomans in mind.”

Read the story on NonDoc here: https://nondoc.com/2019/10/28/redistricting-ballot-initiative-launched-in-oklahoma/

Oklahoma Turnaround (Oklahoma Gazette)

Kevin Stitt has five pillars to make Oklahoma a top 10 state, but Oklahomans have their own ideas of what he should do.

BY MIGUEL RIOS

January 25, 2019

Oklahoma’s 28th governor took the oath of office last week, right before giving an inaugural address that echoed many of his campaign promises. But beyond getting a fresh face, Oklahomans want Gov. Kevin Stitt to look at issues that might be outside his agenda.

Mary Fallin was Oklahoma’s governor for the past eight years. Much of the last decade involved Oklahoma struggling with budget crises that date back to the Great Recession, said David Blatt, executive director of Oklahoma Policy Institute.

“We saw a brief recovery but never saw funding levels recover to pre-downturn levels. Then we got hit with another round of severe budget cuts and shortfalls in 2016-2017,” he said. “Across state government, we have seen deep and repeated cuts which have really affected the ability of most agencies to meet their obligations and serve the people.”

Stitt is fortunate to be taking office at a time when the budget situation has improved due to a strong economy and bold decisions made by legislators last session, Blatt said.

“Really for the first time in almost a decade, the governor will not have to figure out how to scrape or pull together enough pennies from under the seat cushion just to pay the bills,” he said. “So we really have an opportunity now to do some positive things and tackle some problems that have been long unaddressed.”

Last year, during her final months in office, former Gov. Fallin topped the list of 10 least-popular governors in America with a 75 percent disapproval rating, according to a Morning Consult poll.

In some ways, Stitt still has a Mary Fallin agenda, said Richard R. Johnson, chair of political science at Oklahoma City University, but he is able to repackage it and talk about it in a more thematic way, especially as Stitt aims to make Oklahoma a “top 10 state.”

“Having somebody who is somewhat aspirational makes us feel better,” he said. “Mary Fallin was just never a real rah-rah person. She talked about aspirations, but she didn’t necessarily have the ability to get people to buy in, where Stitt seems to have a little charisma.”

Leave no family behind

In a broader sense, Blatt said the state’s budget cuts disproportionately affected those low-income families who might lack access to good-paying jobs, adequate health care, childcare and transportation.

“We’ve seen a significant share of the population that has been left behind that is really struggling to make ends meet and get by week to week, month to month,” Blatt said. “We haven’t really seen a concerted effort to address the barriers that many families face.”

Even in periods of economic prosperity, Blatt said certain groups of people continued to be overlooked. He said a focus on Oklahomans who have not benefited from periods of economic growth might be the most important thing for the governor.

“I think it’s been a long time since the governor has looked at the working poor in particular and come up with real solutions to come up with better-paying jobs, improving skills and training, better access to child care,” he said. “Those problems don’t just solve themselves during periods when the economy is going well. We would certainly encourage Gov. Stitt to put a focus on low-income families and the working poor. Ask the question, ‘What are the barriers and what is the strategy to tackle and solve them?’”

Another portion of the population Gov. Stitt should focus on is rural Oklahomans, Johnson said.

“With Stitt, one of the things that interests me from an electoral point of view is that he split the vote in Tulsa and Oklahoma City, but it’s the rural areas that really put him in place,” he said. “We have rural hospitals that are closing and Gov. Stitt has not talked about that specifically.”

Johnson pointed to Pauls Valley Regional Medical Center as an example. The hospital was Garvin County’s only hospital, and it closed Oct. 12. 

“Now anybody who’s in that area who needs emergency services  is more than 30 minutes away,” Johnson said. “I had a girl — I was talking about it in [a state and local government class] — who’s from Idabel, and she said they have to go upwards of an hour just to get something as simple as a bone set, and that’s scary. Drew Edmondson did talk about rural hospitals; Gov. Stitt didn’t — and, again, he sort of owes his election to the rural areas.”

One other rural Oklahoma hospital closed in 2018, bringing the total closures to four since 2010, according to Becker’s Hospital Review.

Educate

Andy Moore is executive director of Let’s Fix This, a nonprofit grassroots organization that aims to educate regular Oklahomans on the state’s laws and policies. Let’s Fix This is composed of people who want to better understand government and engage with state politicians to encourage solutions that benefit all Oklahomans.

In his role, Moore interacts with people who have varying knowledge on politics that want to better understand and engage with the government to advocate for those they care about. He said education, health care and criminal justice reform are some of the issues people raise often.

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• Provided

• David Blatt is executive director of Oklahoma Policy Institute, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that advocates for fair and responsible public policies.

“I think this year, much like last year, education will continue to dominate the conversation,” he said. “Our state made huge leaps and gains last year on education funding and realizing that it needs to be a priority. I really applaud all the teachers and parents who got out there and did things that were hard or scary to try to shine that light. I think we’ll see some of that continue this year.”

In 2018, teachers walked out of their classrooms and gathered at the Capitol for about 11 days to advocate for better education funding. The walkout ended April 12 after teachers and support staff won $6,000 and $1,250 raises, respectively.

Though the state has made progress on issues surrounding education, particularly with pay, Blatt said there is still work to be done when it comes to class sizes and staff.

“The pay raise that the Legislature approved last session was a critical first step, but school districts are still receiving over $150 million less in state aid funding than they were nearly a decade ago while serving more than 50,000 more students compared to a decade ago,” Blatt said. “The first priority for education should be to increase money to districts so they can hire more teachers, more counselors, more librarians to reduce class sizes and to reduce some of the burden on teachers so we can recruit and retrain quality teachers.”

Though education will continue to be a crucial issue for Oklahomans, the discussion will likely evolve from what it has been in the past. Education is the state’s No. 1 function, Johnson said, and he would like to see a more concrete plan to addressing higher education in particular.

“One of the things I don’t think Gov. Stitt has really focused enough on is higher education,” Johnson said. “I mean, [University of Oklahoma] is kind of a mess right now, and if we want to do the top 10 aspirational sorts of things, one of the things I see lacking in his discussion is higher education. He tends to lump higher education in with, ‘We’re gonna do better with K-12’ and education in general when higher education could be part of what he wants to do in terms of business. One of the most consistent problems we have in terms of drawing business is that we don’t have enough college graduates, and that’s something I’d like to see him address more concretely.”

Protect & reform

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• Alexa Ace

• Richard R. Johnson, chair of political science at Oklahoma City University, has been a professor at the university since 1997 and teaches most of the core American government courses.

Besides education, Blatt said the biggest issue for a lot of families is health care. In 2017, Oklahoma had the second-highest uninsured rate in the country, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

“We have missed the opportunity over the past several years to expand coverage to working-age adults like has happened now in three dozen states,” Blatt said. “Oklahoma has high rates of untreated mental illness and addiction, so we really need to expand access to health coverage.”

Stitt has raised the issue of health care like a “traditional business Republican,” meaning that he’s skeptical of the high-rate increase in Medicaid outlays, Johnson said.

“One of the toughest issues for any governor is the Department of Human Services (DHS),” he said. “I mean, he talks about consolidating government, but perhaps DHS should actually be separated so we could actually look at its functions more specifically. It covers so much area that I think it’s kind of like a forest-and-trees issue in terms of sort of deciding what has priority.”

Much of the population is only starting to see how big of an issue mental health is, especially in conjunction with high suicide rates nationally, Johnson said. He also said Stitt has not been specific when it comes to discussing justice reform.

“How is he going to link justice reform to changes in the Department of Corrections?” he asked. “Because that’s one of the areas, along with DHS, that’s probably most in need of an acute reorganization, not only for making sure you get the most bang for your buck, but also in terms of lines of authority.”

In 2016, voters passed State Questions 780 and 781, which worked together to reclassify certain property offenses and minor drug possessions as misdemeanors while funding rehabilitative programs like mental health and substance abuse treatment.

“With the passage of 780 and 781, I think we’ve made some great strides that that are very pro-Oklahoma in lots of ways and help better align our criminal justice system with the values of our state,” he said. “I think we’ll continue to see the evolution of that in the changes of penalties for certain nonviolent crimes, penalties for simple drug possession, especially around marijuana.”

Govern effectively

Stitt based much of his campaign on the fact that he was a political outsider with more experience as a businessman leading his own mortgage company.

“It’s going to be a steep learning curve for the governor and his team to understand state agencies,” Blatt said. “I don’t think that you can just come into state government and use lessons or practices from the private sector and just assume they will just work in government where you’re not driven by profit motive. … But if the governor is able to identify areas where there are opportunities for innovation — for different kinds of thinking — there’s certainly ways to make government perform better, certainly in Oklahoma.”

One of the issues Stitt has discussed in the past is accountability from state agencies. He has said he will ask the Legislature for more power over agency boards and commissions, including the ability to hire and fire leaders.

“What he’s called for is something every governor in the last 30 years has called for, which is more power to the governor to make appointments, more straight-line authority,” Johnson said. “I can’t argue with that. I mean, Oklahoma governors are among the 20 percent of the weakest governors in terms of power. … If he doesn’t have the ability to hire and fire or some control over the budget, he’s not going to be able to get the kind of influence he wants.”

There are people on both sides of the political aisle who hope Stitt will take a look at the business of the state and identify things that are working and things that are not, Moore said.

“Gov. Stitt has made a point to talk about improving the efficiency of government, and so I hope that means that we’re looking at the process of how the government works, looking for economies of scale, trying to leverage technology in ways we haven’t in the past,” Moore said. “I think the public kind of expects that, in the end, we will be able to do more with the money we have, and hopefully the economy continues to diversify and grow and we will have more revenue to spend.”

Having a political outsider who isn’t used to government could be a great opportunity to find ways to make Oklahoma work better, Moore said.

“After eight years of Gov. Fallin’s tenure here, I think it’s a great opportunity for our state to turn over a new leaf for Gov. Stitt to listen to the people and not just the parties,” he said. “I hope that means a turn towards openness and transparency. I hope it means a turn towards improving access to services and information that the public pays for. And I hope that means a focus on getting Oklahoma to where we want to be, not just next year but 10 or 20 years from now, and really improving on some of those state rankings that we seem to be habitually at the bottom of.”

Some Oklahoma lawmakers have never faced an opponent (NewsOK)

April 8, 2018

by Dale Denwalt 

Effie Craven was sitting in an airport, pondering a question she'd had for some time.

How many Oklahoma legislators go without an opponent, leaving them free to file for office without an election?

The astute politics-watcher couldn't find the data anywhere else so she built a database of her own, which she shared with The Oklahoman. According to her research, 28 state lawmakers are in office today because there was no opponent in their last election.

Forty state representatives have ran unopposed at least once in their political career.

Three sitting senators haven't appeared on a ballot since 2006.

"I was anticipating the numbers of unopposed races were going to be pretty high, and I think that was confirmed," said Craven, who is a board member of the Capitol advocacy group Let's Fix This.

The result is bad for democracy, she said. Craven lives in an Oklahoma City neighborhood represented by Democratic state Rep. Jason Dunnington and Republican state Sen. David Holt, both of whom only drew opponents in their first primary elections.

During a community meeting with the lawmakers, Craven told Holt that if she wanted to show her support, his lack of opposition prevented it.

"I told him I would like to vote for you, but your name literally never appears on my ballot," she recalled saying. "You can't say that Democrats support you when we never get the chance to vote for you."

James Davenport, political science professor at Rose State College, said a lack of electoral competition is problematic because it could lead to less accountability at the Legislature if a lawmaker doesn't think they have to campaign for a seat they've already won.

It can also make voters think there's no reason to vote.

"If there's not really a choice offered, what's the point in me taking the time to get out and vote?" Davenport said. "You have this issue in some ways disenfranchising whole groups of voters because there's no competition for that seat."

Term-limited state Rep. Eric Proctor, who only appeared on the ballot in 2006 when he beat a 10-year incumbent, attributes his lack of opponents to his style of representation and said he has remained accountable to his district.

Until recently, he remained in campaign mode, meeting with constituents and handing out his personal cell phone number so they could talk to him directly.

"I never really stopped campaigning. Even when I didn't have a race, I knocked doors," said Proctor, D-Tulsa. "I can't speak to the other people, but for me, I never stopped listening and never stopped talking to my district. I think that's a big part about why I didn't have a race."

The teacher strike and ensuing rallies at the Oklahoma Capitol this week have thrust electoral politics to the forefront, especially with candidate filing starting next week on Wednesday.

Davenport said there might be a spike in campaigns, but noted the cost of running for election weighs heavily on a candidate. That, he said, might be a contributing factor to the lack of contested elections.

Running a campaign costs money, time and in some cases, reputation.

"If you think of all the criticisms that have been leveled at public officials just this year, that's not going to change just because someone else occupies the office," he said. "There's a lot of people who could be very excellent at being in the Legislature who simply don't want to expose themselves to that constant scrutiny."

Link to original: http://newsok.com/some-oklahoma-lawmakers-have-never-faced-an-opponent/article/5589844

Local organizations want to play a big role driving civic engagement this year | OK Gazette

January 17, 2018

By Laura Eastes

It might have been called Civics 101, but the discussion amongst several dozen women during a midweek lunch at a popular pub in the downtown neighborhood of Midtown had little to do with identifying the three branches of government or chatting about specific rights and duties of citizens. Instead, Women Lead Oklahoma’s program director Elizabeth Horn engaged the women by asking what was on their minds.

“What are the things you worry about? What news stories stick in your head? What are the issues that keep you up at night? Let’s take those and answer the questions, Who is responsible? Why do I care, and what can I do? Who is responsible? is the big one,” Horn told Oklahoma Gazette.

At Women Lead’s #7MonthsOfCivics, a monthly lunch series launched this month for women to learn about government structure and how to navigate it, there’s no shame in admitting anything. Don’t know what the county commissioner does? Not a problem. If you aren’t clear about who to call about a pothole or where to start when it comes to a school-related matter, Women Lead — a nonpartisan nonprofit that aims to empower women — will explain. Horn has met many women who find themselves wondering how to get involved in a process that seems beyond their control. Women Lead, along with many other nonpartisan organizations, is working to educate on the roles, systems and actions needed to make a positive and measurable change in individuals’ lives and their communities.

“It doesn’t matter what you are registered as or if you are registered,” Horn said. “We will do whatever it takes to help grow that little spark.”

Showing up

Let’s Fix This, a grassroots movement to bring “regular folks” to the Oklahoma Capitol turned nonprofit centered on civics education, creates opportunities for anyone to engage with state government. The organization’s signature red buttons have become a common sight among those seated in the House and Senate galleries or roaming the halls of the lawmakers’ offices. Let’s Fix This has planned four Capitol days with the first set for Feb. 22.

“Just going to the Capitol is a great chance to see how things work, even if you don’t want to talk to your legislator,” said Andy Moore, founder and executive director of Let’s Fix This. “It’s totally fine just to observe. We are happy to answer any questions.”

Coming into 2018, Let’s Fix This leaders believe the organization can play a greater role in education and is exploring the creation of short videos on subjects like voter registration, what to expect if you’ve never voted before or how a bill becomes state law.

Following the contentious past 12 months at the Capitol, such videos could serve a growing population of citizens seeking an opening into civic engagement.

“2017 was sort of a circus at the state Capitol,” Moore said. “Every week, we got new followers on Facebook and Twitter. People were signing up for our newsletter. This year, as the elections begin to ramp up, I believe we will see people congregate around candidates. I hope that pushes issues back to the forefront. I hope people remember now is the time to have conversations and pay attention.”

Why vote?

Indeed, it is time to pay attention. Locally, many communities face school board and municipal elections in February. Oklahoma conducts its next congressional and state primary elections in June, with majority winners appearing on the November ballot. Oklahomans enter the ballot booth at a unique time in the state’s history. In recent months, state lawmakers were called back twice to the Capitol to address budget issues. Leadership on both sides of the aisle agrees the state has a budget problem. No solution has been reached.

“I see this as a crucial year for Oklahomans,” said Lindsey Kanaly, an organizer for March On Oklahoma and board member for the national March On movement born from the Women’s March with a focus to influence future local, state and midterm elections. “It is time to make Oklahoma the way we want to see it.”

March On Oklahoma, Let’s Fix This, Women Lead and Freedom Oklahoma are joining forces Saturday for Operation: Marching Orders. Following 2018’s Women’s March OKC (see OKG’s calendar section for more information), group leaders will discuss how to channel interest and energy into action to produce change beginning at 2 p.m. at Kamps 1910 Cafe. Additionally, March On will speak about its national online poll to survey individuals and groups about the issues that matter most. The results, which will be broken down nationally, statewide and locally, will be shared with civic engagement groups, advocacy organizations, candidates and elected officials.

All three leaders agreed Operation: Marching Orders is the first of many events from Oklahoma’s nonpartisan organizations dedicated to encouraging voting and other forms of civic engagement in 2018.

Kanaly, who attended the Women Lead Civics 101 event and other similar events, is encouraged by the number of locals coming together to learn how to make a difference.

“I think it is a sign that people want to learn more about how their government works,” Kanaly said. “Not just state and federal, but county and municipal. These are just the very beginning steps of understanding, which will eventually capture the voters for 2018. You have to educate them, give them the power and the tools to make an educated vote.”

Original article: http://okgazette.com/2018/01/17/local-organizations-want-to-play-a-big-role-driving-civic-engagement-this-year/

Group Sends Holiday Cards To Legislators (News9)

DECEMBER 14, 2017

BY GRANT HERMES

OKLAHOMA CITY -

A small group of people is trying spread some holiday cheer to those in the state Capitol.

The state Capitol is generally the target of a lot of anger and frustration, so these cards were filled with some good will for the season.

It is sort of an extra positive push before lawmakers return to work next week.

They were written by members of the group Let's Fix This, a non-partisan voter engagement group. They wrote the letters a little earlier this week with just four people writing to more than 150 representatives, senators and elected officials. 

Their holiday notes were written with good intentions, but they also doubled as a way to let lawmakers know voters are watching to see if they're being naughty or nice.

Those letters are supposed to land on the desks of lawmakers before next week. There are just four days until the unofficial start to the second special, but legislators are still waiting on the official executive order calling them back to work. That is expected to happen in the coming days.

Original link: http://www.news9.com/story/37066639/group-sends-holiday-cards-to-legislators