Has your Elected Official been Co-opted?
As a newly elected official I was excited, optimistic, and ready to change the world. When I gave a presentation to a local civic group…
State Government
I pay property taxes … please fix my road
Imagine paying thousands of dollars every year in property taxes and at the same time watching your roads literally crumble under the strain of increasing…
Cost saving modernization proposals set to go into law
OKLAHOMA CITY – With Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin’s recent approval of numerous government modernization initiatives, Oklahomans should expect to pay less for government while gaining additional…
Two Examples of Courage
With the recent news coverage of the government’s inappropriate use of the IRS, citizens have paid special attention to practices within various federal agencies.
The right kind of leadership
Before this year’s legislative session, pundits opined about the divided Republican caucus in the House. The 2012 session had not been an easy one and…
The Assimilation
As the legislative session came to a close last week, it was my job to filter incoming bills. Lobbyists are notorious for putting dramatic last…
I Will Vote No!
All indications point to this being the last week of this year’s legislative session. The Legislature will go home a week early. This is good…
Saying goodbye to the earmark
Before I print my update for this week, I have attached a press release from the Governor’s office regarding her government consolidation measures which I…
My views on the State budget proposal
On Thursday, the Governor and legislative leaders announced an agreement for the composition of the state’s next budget. Capitol insiders as hard pressed to recall…
Gas Tax Increase – How Your No Vote Fixed the Problem
Frequent readers of these articles will recall the series of updates I have written about the significant progress the state is making in regards to…
Tax Reduction, Workers Comp, Welfare Reform and No Bonds
This is a big week in the Legislature. It is a key deadline week. By this Thursday another set of proposals will fail to advance…
Update from Commissioner District 1
In 2006 the state legislature passed a law creating the County Improvements for Roads and Bridges (CIRB) program. The purpose for the program was to…
Funding for County Roads
This past week, I witnessed one of the most significant county road funding policy success since taking office as State Representative.
Visualizing TWO BILLION DOLLARS of State Debt Email
You may have seen recent news reports detailing how Britain’s national debt now equals 90% of its entire economy. The Daily Mail published a graph…
Inhofe meets with Customs and Border Patrol officials
WASHINGTON, D.C. –U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) made the following statement after meeting with Customs and Border Patrol officials in Brownsville, Texas and touring the…
Senator Coburn pays Guthrie a visit with town hall meeting
United States Senator Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee, was in Guthrie Wednesday morning for his third and final day of scheduled town hall meetings in Oklahoma for…
Continued opposition to the federal healthcare proposal
Oklahoma legislators have become rather accustomed to receiving emails and calls from those who are intensely worried about ongoing federal overreach. Many of these contacts…
Prepared to explain the vote
Consider the following statement one might hear if they stay around the capitol very long: “If there is one consistent thing about that legislator, it…
Inhofe pays a visit to Guthrie for town hall meeting
U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R), the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee,…
Oklahoma IT modernization effort featured in national publication
Oklahoma’s modernization reform efforts have drawn national attention following the publication of a cover story about the consolidation of Oklahoma’s information technology infrastructure in the…