Political People & Events

Photo: Istook at a recent news conference opposing amnesty for illegals.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Ernest Istook did not campaign in front of an Atoka manufacturing plant on Friday after city officials asked him to move the planned campaign stop. Istook wanted to stop at Ethan Allen Interiors, which faces the possible loss of 200 jobs. Istook said he wanted a first-hand assessment of the jobs being lost and accused Governor Brad Henry, whom he seeks to unseat, of slowing down and watering down "legislative efforts to improve our economy." Istook's press secretary, Derek Kern, said the plan was to point out that Henry "has to have an active role in not only bringing new jobs and better-paying jobs to Oklahoma but also keeping the ones that we have here." Paul Sund, Henry's communications director, said Istook tried to grandstand and seek "cheap political points. Trying to stage a campaign press conference at the plant site just days after workers were notified of the company's decision is disrespectful, exploitative and insensitive."

Insiders say we should be watching a federal grand jury that convenes in Muskogee on Wednesday; they claim federal prosecutors are curious about some events in McAlester that have not yet been made public.

U. S. Senator John McCain, R-Arizona, spoke at a Republican Party fundraising event in Oklahoma City Friday night. The possible 2008 presidential candidate said his first priority this year is helping Republicans maintain control of the U. S. House and Senate.

Former State Senator Ben Brown, now deputy commissioner of the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, faces an independent investigator's probe of allegations he pressured the executive director of a nonprofit program to hire the Senate's sergeant at arms as a paid ghost employee. Brown denies the allegation and Bob Craig, the sergeant at arms, denies he was a ghost employee. The allegation came from Donna Woods Bauer, executive director of the Oklahoma Citizens Advocates for Recovery and Treatment Association. She told The Oklahoman she had filed a complaint against Brown and Craig. The department's board of directors voted to hire the investigator. The state multicounty grand jury unit in Attorney General Drew Edmondson's office also is investigating.

Share |