Shumate Under Pressure To Leave Leadership Post?

Some House Democrats want Rep. Jabar Shumate (pictured) of Tulsa to step down as a top party leader in the House, two sources tell The McCarville Report Online. There also appears to be unrest aimed at two other House leaders in both parties; the concern is focused on their failure to pay state income taxes. Talk about them apparently escalated yesterday after House Speaker Lance Cargill resigned, in part over his failure to pay taxes in timely fashion.

"Some of us are sick and tired of the irresponsibility of some (members) making all of us look bad," said a rural Democrat. "I'm so tired of hearing about this from my folks...."

House Minority Leader Danny Morgan, D-Prague, said earlier that he realizes that both Republicans and Democrats failed to file tax returns. "There is no excuse for all of them not taking care of this; they should have known better," he said. Morgan said a man at his church surmised that Cargill understood how to reduce taxes: "Just don't file them."

Rep. Mike Reynolds, R-Oklahoma City, perhaps echoing the sentiments of both Republicans and Democrats in the House, said the problem with the controversy over filing tax returns "makes all lawmakers look bad."

How widespread the effort to remove Shumate from the Democrat leadership post of assistant minority leader isn't known, but it comes on the heels of a report in The Oklahoman that Shumate, as of the newspaper report eight days ago, had not filed state income tax returns for the years 1999, 2001, 2004, 2005 and 2006 and that other House leaders in both parties also failed to file state tax returns.

The Oklahoman reported that Shumate was one of five legislators tardy with tax filings. The others included Cargill, who resigned as House speaker yesterday after repeated accounts of late income and property tax filings; Republican Rep. Don Armes of Faxon, who failed to file returns for 2005 and 2006; Democrat Rep. Ryan McMullen of Burns Flat, who failed to file in 2001 and 2006; Shumate; and Senator Connie Johnson, Oklahoma City Democrat, who failed to file returns in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

McMullen (right) resigned last fall as House Democratic Caucus chairman and the Caucus elected Rep. Chuck Hoskin to replace him. “Ryan is the rising star of our House caucus,” said Rep. James Covey, D-Custer City, at the time legislative newcomer McMullen was named Caucus chairman. “He is well respected among our members. Many of our senior members of the Legislature look to Ryan for guidance on a variety of issues and he has been energetic and relentless in his fight for Western Oklahoma. We’re very fortunate to have such a rising leader representing our area.”

Armes is one of four deputy majority whips.

Shumate is one of eight assistant Democrat floor leaders in the House. Elected in 2004 and reelected in 2006, Shumate has been viewed by some as a rising Democratic Party star. A graduate of the University of Oklahoma, he was a member of a Leadership Oklahoma class and has been involved in a long list of community and state organizations.

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