EDMOND —
On Wednesday, the Oklahoma House of Representatives and the Senate swore in their newly elected and re-elected members in preparation of the 2013 legislative session. It was a moment for those elected to public office to savor their success, share their victory with family and friends who came to watch the ceremonies and be cordial with their new colleagues.
We want to congratulate those in the Edmond delegation who regained their offices and to heartily welcome newly elected House District 82 Rep. Mike Turner, R-Oklahoma City, whose district includes much of the Deer Creek area.
This next legislative session will be one of the most intriguing sessions to watch in recent memory for a variety of reasons.
The saga of how much federal funding Oklahoma will accept and the mandates that come with those monies will be an overriding theme of the next session. The debate over federally mandated health exchanges will be just the first of probably several such fights to occur in the next year.
At the same time, Oklahoma’s continued strong economy likely will give legislators a significant increase in revenue to spend, putting the state almost back to pre-recession income levels. A Tax Foundation report recently critiqued the 2012 legislative session for its spending growth, citing Oklahoma as one of the states with the largest government spending increase in the nation while in the hands of a Republican-dominated government.
While that political conundrum is true, there are some good reasons for it. For decades, when Oklahoma was under Democrat control, the state utterly failed to appropriately maintain and fund regular infrastructure improvements. Those failures ranged from a deteriorating highway system to a failure to adequately maintain law enforcement levels commensurate with the state’s growing population. The state also allowed the Oklahoma Medical Examiner’s Office to stagnate to the point the agency lost its accreditation. Our state’s citizens cannot even visit the state Capitol without fear of masonry falling on their heads as they walk in the door.
Since Republicans took over the House and Senate reforms have been in the making such as the consolidation of the state’s IT infrastructure that is estimated to save more than $200 million when complete. Particularly since the election of Gov. Mary Fallin, the state is starting to see some of the above-mentioned problems corrected. There are many more problems waiting to be tackled and most will take funding to fix them.
It stands to reason that Oklahoma will need to increase spending in certain areas to correct the past gross mismanagement of state resources.
The key to this expenditure increase, however, will be to ruthlessly eliminate government excess and waste in other areas that are not core functions of government. By focusing on repairing necessary infrastructure, adequately funding public safety and creating policies that foster economic growth, Oklahoma has a chance at creating a haven in the U.S. for those who believe that limited government is the best government. It is also a path to creating a state that offers a quality of life and a business environment that will be the envy of the rest of the nation.
To achieve these goals — a state that supports its citizens’ economic development efforts instead of just taking their money for wasteful reasons — our 2013 legislative leadership must demonstrate perseverance, vigilance, integrity and a passion for doing the right thing, which includes continued government spending reforms.
Our View
OUR VIEW: Doing the right thing
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Be Edmond needs your help
BMX star and local legend Mat Hoffman knows what’s it like to fall from great heights and find yourself at one of the worst low points in life. He also knows how to climb back up and tackle life’s problems head on.
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OUR VIEW: Be Edmond needs your help
BMX star and local legend Mat Hoffman knows what’s it like to fall from great heights and find yourself at one of the worst low points in life. He also knows how to climb back up and tackle life’s problems head on.
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OUR VIEW: OKPOP — great idea, bad timing
The Route 66 museum in Clinton has been such a success that Bob Blackburn, executive director of the Oklahoma Historical Society, said the turnaround project proves that popular culture is a best-seller when it comes to museum projects. It also proved that when a community gets behind a project and raises the funds to launch it, they all can reap the rewards of the increased tourism and recognition.
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OUR VIEW: Choice is clear
This Tuesday, Edmond residents are asked to go to the polls to choose between incumbent Mayor Charles Lamb and Richard Prawdzienski for the office of mayor. Voters citywide also will be asked to consider whether to retain Nick Massey as its Ward 4 councilmember or select newcomer Shilpa Abbitt, an engineer employed by Devon Energy in Oklahoma City.
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OUR VIEW: Line-item budgets should return
Some may have made fun of the nickname — the Doomsday deal — but the thought behind new Speaker of the House T.W. Shannon’s move to name a House committee specifically to monitor federal dollars coming into Oklahoma was right on target.
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OUR VIEW: Economic development plan deserves consideration
An economist recently told the Edmond City Council that the entire Oklahoma City metropolitan area has the potential to boom with economic growth in the next decade. Edmond officials are making plans now to be ready for that potential growth to ensure the city gets its fair share of the economic pie.
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OUR VIEW: Doing the right thing
On Wednesday, the Oklahoma House of Representatives and the Senate swore in their newly elected and re-elected members in preparation of the 2013 legislative session. It was a moment for those elected to public office to savor their success, share their victory with family and friends who came to watch the ceremonies and be cordial with their new colleagues.
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OUR VIEW: Lankford, Jolley, McDaniel get our vote
Few times in American history have we seen people divided so politically as we have during this election cycle. The partisan gridlock of Congress and the relentless sniping of presidential candidates on both sides of the aisle are more than just fodder for late-night comedy.
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OUR VIEW: Say yes to SQ 766
State Question 766 poses one of the most drastic questions for voters to consider in state history. The language of this state question requires voters to say either yes, they don’t want a tax increase, or no, they do want one.
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Be Edmond needs your help
