GUTHRIE —
As election day on Nov. 6 approaches, I continue to receive questions from constituents about the items on the ballot and the election process.
This is the first general election since the redistricting process. If you have not voted this year, it might be wise to see if your polling location has changed since the last general election. Visit hd31.org/189 to see a map of each precinct polling locations in House District 31.
Some voters want to know more about the judges that are up for retention. Here are some links to the bios of these individuals. Visit hd31.org/360 for Supreme Court bios (click on the colored geographic sections for the specific judge’s bio), hd31.org/358 for Court of Appeals bios and hd31.org/359 for Criminal Court of Appeals bios. Various court decisions are online at OSCN.net for those who want to review them.
The names of each judge in the order they appear on the ballot and the governor who appointed them are as follows: Noma Gurich (Gov. Brad Henry), Yvonne Kauger (Gov. George Nigh), James Edmondson (Gov. Henry), Douglas Combs (Gov. Henry), Clancy Smith (Gov. Henry), Arlene Johnson (Gov. Henry), David Lewis (Gov. Henry), Thomas Thornbrue (Gov. Fallin), William Hetherington (Gov. Henry), Kenneth Buettner (Gov. Frank Keating), Bobby Bell (Gov. Henry) and Bay Mitchell (Gov. Keating).
Voters often want to know information about the state questions. Visit hd31.org/361 to see a copy of a sample ballot. It’s a Tulsa County sample, but the state questions are the same as they will appear on the local Oklahoma and Logan county ballots. Visit hd31.org/347 to review my article about the state questions. I very strongly support four state questions and oppose two of them. The linked story shows how I voted on these questions when they came before the Legislature, and also provides a brief description of each question.
Some want to know if State Question 765 abolishes the Department of Human Services. I agree that the wording in the question is confusing but the state question does not abolish DHS. The question, if approved, would abolish only the unelected commission that oversees the department. It would allow the department to be administered by the governor’s appointee. This creates direct responsibility to the governor and the people who elect her as opposed to an unelected board.
One constituent asked why State Question 759 does away with affirmative action programs except when Oklahoma must keep affirmative action in place as part of federally funded programs. I believe this is because those who drafted this proposal likely knew that the question may not be approved if it endangered funding such as Title IX funds for Oklahoma’s collegiate programs. This doesn’t change the fact that passage of this question will substantially reduce the amount of affirmative action requirements put into place by state law.
I would encourage voters to visit the new transparency portal at documents.ok.gov and search for the term “affirmative action.” I think many will be shocked to see how much bureaucracy (and your tax dollars) are tied to implementing these programs inside of state government. Passage of this state question should save many taxpayer dollars and eliminate these bureaucratic processes.
I know there are other questions about next month’s election. I intend to address more of them during next week’s column. If your questions have not yet been addressed, feel free to email your questions to Jason.Murphey@hd31.org.
REP. JASON MURPHEY, R-Guthrie, represents House District 31, which encompasses all of Logan County and a portion of northern Edmond. He may be reached via email at jason.murphey@okhouse.gov, on Facebook at facebook.com/JasonMurphey and Twitter.com/JWMurphey.
Opinion
Some answers to election questions
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Seeing yourself as the world sees you
Ever try seeing yourself as others see you, or your piece of the world as others see your piece of the world?
You know, if you could get others to see you, or if you could get other parts of the world to see your part of it?
Narcissism and inferiority, both, can trap us in front of a mirror, admiring or lamenting, pleased or not pleased by the vision we presumably offer others.
Yet, what’s happened over the last three days, since yet another deadly tornado rolled through Moore, offers an entirely different perspective.
Through strength or weakness, we may take an interest in how we project. But when the “Today Show” is broadcast from the rubble and the network evening news has placed its anchor amidst the carnage; and when the news channels descend upon the destruction and every newspaper in the country is playing your and your neighbors’ plight bigger than its own hometown news, it turns surreal. -
ROCK DOC: Japanese find a new source of natural gas
The name “natural gas” might be a puzzle. After all, how could there be such a thing as unnatural gas? The reason we call natural gas what we do has to do with history. There was a day that people made burnable gas by heating coal. The gases that came off the coal were piped around cities where they did things like light street lamps and even power cook stoves in homes.
Coal gas had its down side. For one thing, it often contained carbon monoxide. And it took energy to make the gas, so it never could be truly cheap. -
Witnesses missing; Behenna case could be heard at Supreme Court
The film “Breaker Morant” was nominated for an Oscar for the best screenplay in 1980. It told the story of Harry “Breaker” Morant, an Australian who served in the British Army and was court-martialed for alleged war crimes during the Boer War in Southern Africa in the early years of the last century.
That conflict pitted the British Army against the descendants of the Dutch settlers who had migrated to what is now South Africa in the 17th and 18th centuries. The majority of them were farmers and in their language of Afrikaans were known as “Boers.” -
Don’t leave Oklahoma!
May is graduation season. As I have done every year as lieutenant governor, I have given multiple commencement speeches. Advice flows freely during this time and it usually runs the gamut. What to do, what not to do, how to do ‘x’, be sure not to do ‘y.’ Too often commencement speakers speak in big generalities. So general, the message is frequently lost or forgotten.
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Last-minute funding proposals not in state’s best interest
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 news for Oklahomans as not only will there be cost savings but all Oklahomans should breathe a sigh of relief when the Legislature stops making new laws a week ahead of schedule.
As usual, the Legislature will take a number of important votes during the last week. Some will be forced due to attempts to introduce and pass far-reaching, new policies that should have been introduced much earlier in the year. -
BY THE NUMBERS: Oklahoma still needs to invest in its economy
After six months of stagnation, the Oklahoma economy finally appears to be expanding again albeit still weakly. Unfortunately, our leaders aren’t making the investments we need to give our economic prospects a boost.
Last week the Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services reported that in April state General Revenue fund collections were 5.2 percent above the estimate and 14.7 percent higher than last year’s collections. Under normal circumstances, such a report would indicate that the Oklahoma economy was very strong. But this isn’t a normal circumstance, and April isn’t a normal month. -
Americans deserve the truth on Benghazi
Lately, the media has been consumed by the controversies surrounding the White House. Among these controversies is the horrific terrorist attack on the United States’ diplomatic compound in Benghazi that took place Sept. 11, 2012. As more people come forward with additional information regarding the attack on the consulate, many Americans, including myself, are still asking for the truth.
The Obama Administration and the State Department have been less than forthcoming with key information on Benghazi and recent information points toward a major cover-up. -
Seizure of AP phone records insult to independent press
Distrust of government secrecy has been elevated to an exceptional level with the disclosure the Justice Department covertly examined two months of Associated Press phone records to determine who leaked details to the AP about a foiled terrorist plot.
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HEY HINK: Some people just are not cut out for command
Recent headlines cause me to remember an incident that occurred on an army base some years ago. Warning here: I’m taking some liberties with names and details, but the basic outline of events is accurate.
A certain company commander, let’s call him Captain Duntz, had command of a motor pool on a large army base in the continental U.S. -
We’ve become our own worst enemies
The past couple months have been marked by a seeming unprecedented number of man-made tragedies, as distinct from those caused by violent outbursts of the natural world, such as earthquakes, hurricanes and tsunamis.
You don’t want to dwell too long on the negative, but we do have to take notice of horrific human events and we owe it to ourselves to respond to them in some way. We don’t always agree on those responses, however, and that usually exacerbates the problem. - More Opinion Headlines
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Seeing yourself as the world sees you
