Lerblance: 'Slap an L on my forehead'

Oklahoma Republican Party Chairman Gary Jones said today that he agrees with State Senator Richard Lerblance on one important issue: Lerblance is a liberal.

"Richard Lerblance has turned campaigning as a conservative and legislating as a liberal into an art form," Jones said. "I must agree with Richard Lerblance's statement on opea.org," the website of the Oklahoma Public Employees union.

"He is a liberal."

"I've been called a 'liberal'...slap an 'L' on my forehead," Lerblance proclaimed, defending his big-spending record on opea.org.

"Richard Lerblance claims in his campaign materials to hold positions that he knows the voters in his conservative district prefer," Jones said, "but while pandering for the votes of the 450 state employees living in Senate District 7, he gladly boasts about his liberal, big-spending voting record.

"I'm sure he thought this stark admission would be maintained in the privacy of a website that few voters would ever visit, but Richard Lerblance has exposed himself as the liberal his fellow Senators know him to be," Jones continued.

"The jig is up, Senator. Not only will we follow your advice and slap an 'L' on your forehead as you suggest, but the voters of District 7 will slap an 'L' for 'loser' on your record on election day."

Lerblance faces Republican Kenny Sherrill.

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Shelton Schedules Hearing On 4-Day Week

State agencies and their employees will have a chance to discuss the possibility of moving to a four-day workweek at a public hearing at the State Capitol Wednesday, July 9th. The meeting will be held in room 432A from 10 a.m. until noon, Rep. Mike Shelton, D-Oklahoma City, announced today.

Shelton and officials of the Oklahoma Public Employees Association (OPEA) have been at the forefront of a national push to allow government employees to work condensed schedules that, they said, could save money for employees and agencies, as well as taxpayers.

A survey on the OPEA website shows most state employees favor the idea.

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State Retirees Seek Regular COLA Adjustments

By Angel Riggs/Tulsa World Capitol Bureau ~ Several retired state workers called on lawmakers on Wednesday to approve an automatic annual cost-of-living increase in retirement benefits to help retirees keep up with rapidly rising prices for fuel and health care.

The cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, would not further strain the state's tight budget because a 2 percent annual increase already is fac tored into the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System.

However, lawmakers must approve the 2 percent increase each year, said Sterling Zearley, executive director of the Oklahoma Public Employees Association.

Typically, he said, rather than giving an annual 2 percent increase, lawmakers will skip a year and then give the retirees a 4 percent increase during an election year.

Read the entire story at www.tulsaworld.com.

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OPEA Officials Meet With House GOP Caucus

Representatives of the Oklahoma Public Employees Association told the House Republican Caucus Monday they have serious concerns about a bill that would affect state employee benefits.

The officials said state employees are alarmed that the bill would decrease their monthly health insurance benefits. If House Bill 3108 were passed today, an employee would lose roughly $90 a month that is now provided by the state for health insurance, they said. The amount would be about $250 a month for a family, said Sterling Zearley, OPEA executive director.

Read more here and here.

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Zearley To Head OPEA

The new executive director of the Oklahoma Public Employees Association (OPEA) is Sterling Zearley, north regional director of state parks in the Tourism and Recreation Department.

Zearley follows Gary Jones, whose employment was terminated last summer after questions arose about his personal use of a credit card, OPEA's poor financial condition and more than $50,000 in federal tsx liens filed against OPEA for failure to pay payroll taxes.

OPEA was founded 32 years ago; it as about 10,000 current and former state employees as members.

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