Henry Sets HD55 Special Election Dates

Governor Henry today set the dates for special elections in the House District 55 area in western Oklahoma.

The special elections were called after Rep. Ryan McMullen resigned to become state director of rural development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Henry set the filing period for the post August 3-5. The primary election will be September 8 and the general election will be October 13.

The district includes all of Washita County and parts of Kiowa, Caddo and Canadian Counties.

Share |

McMullen Leaving House For USDA Post

Rep. Ryan McMullen said today he will resign his House seat in mid-July to become State Director of Rural Development for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The announcement came as U. S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack unveiled several Obama Administration nominations to federal agriculture posts across the country.

“My legislative career has focused on needs of the chiefly rural Oklahomans I represent in the Legislature,” said McMullen, D-Burns Flat. “I am honored to play an even larger leadership role in addressing the challenges facing rural Oklahoma’s communities and small businesses.”

USDA Rural Development coordinates federal assistance to rural areas of the nation, focusing on preserving and improving the quality of life for rural Americans. McMullen will be responsible for leading these efforts across Oklahoma, as he becomes head of the approximately 100 employees and 13 regional offices that comprise USDA Rural Development’s commitment in Oklahoma.

In 2004 McMullen was elected to the legislature at the age of 25, and has served a district that includes the four counties of Washita, Kiowa, Caddo, and Canadian, stretching from the Oklahoma City suburbs and encompassing a large amount of rural southwestern Oklahoma. McMullen defeated fellow Democrat John English, son of former Congressman Glenn English, in the primary and some speculate English may seek the seat again.

Early in McMullen’s career, he was elected by colleagues to serve in one of five elected leadership positions in the House of Representatives. McMullen’s service as Chairman of the Democratic Caucus made him the youngest legislator in Oklahoma history to be elected to House leadership. He currently serves as the ranking member of the House Agriculture and Rural Development Committee.

Share |

Funding Saves Rural DL Exam Sites

Two rural legislators who fought to preserve rural driver's license testing sites today praised last-minute legislation that saves the centers.

Reps. Ryan McMullen and Ryan Kiesel spent the final hours of legislative session last Friday shuttling between the House and Senate Chambers to ensure 32 testing sites across the state will remain open.

"Too often, rural Oklahoma gets the short end of the stick at the Legislature," said McMullen, D-Burns Flat. "I'm very pleased that did not happen this year. Obtaining a driver's license should be an accessible government service no matter where you live in Oklahoma."

The Department of Public Safety was planning to close over half the drivers' license examination stations this summer, reducing the locations from 59 to 27. The closure of the sites would have forced many rural Oklahomans to drive as much as 200 miles to receive their drivers' license.

Legislators voted at 10:20p.m. Friday night (the last day of this year's legislative session) to use revenue collected from the reissuance of Oklahoma license plates to ensure driver's license testing sites do not have to close this year.

House Bill 3326 would redesign and reissue license plates to all Oklahomans when they renew their annual tag in 2010. The new plate will not cost Oklahomans any additional money over their annual tag fee unless they want to keep their current license plate number. The fee to keep the same number will be $15 and is expected to bring in over $2million in new revenue.

House Bill 2348 would dedicate that new revenue to DPS to keep all their drivers' license testing sites open for at least the next year until legislators can develop a long-term solution.

"Had this legislation not passed, many Oklahomans would have faced longer drives, longer lines, and lost time at distant testing sites," said state Kiesel, D-Seminole. "Given the rising cost of fuel, that would be an unacceptable financial burden to place on families already struggling to make ends meet."

Share |

Legislators Urge DL Exam Sites Retention

Reps. Ryan McMullen and Ryan Kiesel today urged colleagues to work to prevent the closure of over half of the state's driver's license examination sites.

More than 30 driver's license examination stations may be closed this year due to budget short-falls at the Department of Public Safety, according to recent reports.

The department is considering a plan to reduce the number of sites from 59 to 27.

"This is the reason folks get frustrated with government. People should expect something like obtaining a driver's license to be relatively hassle-free," said McMullen, D-Burns Flat. "I assure you that when people are forced to drive as much as 200 extra miles and wait in line an extra couple of hours for something as basic as a driver's license, people will be justifiably upset."

Share |

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.

Share |

Oklahoman: Cargill, Four Other Legislators Have Failed To File Personal Income Tax Returns

The Oklahoman reports in its Sunday edition that Republican House Speaker Lance Cargill and four other legislators have failed to file income tax returns and have been warned by the Oklahoma Tax Commission they are not in compliance with a state law that requires state employees who repeatedly fail to file state income tax returns be fired.

Reporters Nolan Clay and Randy Ellis report that Cargill failed to file income tax returns for the last two years.

They also report that Republican Rep. Don Armes of Faxon failed to file returns for 2005 and 2006; Democrat Rep. Ryan McMullen of Burns Flat failed to file in 2001 and 2006; Democrat Rep. Jabar Shumate of Tulsa failed to file in 1999, 2001, 2004, 2005 and 2006; Senator Connie Johnson, Oklahoma City Democrat, failed to file a "recent" return.

All were notified by warning letters from the Tax Commission sent about 10 days ago.

Cargill said he rushed to complete federal and state income tax returns and sent them in on Friday after receiving his warning letter. "I'm human, I made a mistake," Cargill told The Oklahoman reporters. "There's nobody more upset over it than I am because I cost myself money because I was entitled to refunds."

Share |

McMullen Rips Redistricting Proposal Failure

A proposal that Rep. Ryan McMullen says would have eliminated partisanship from legislative redistricting was rejected by members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives this week. But McMullen vowed to continue his fight to reform the process.

"Voters should have the opportunity to choose their elected officials, but in Oklahoma legislators get to choose their voters," said McMullen, D-Burns Flat. "As a result, we have dozens of legislative districts so gerrymandered the incumbent never has to worry about re-election. That's not good for democracy."

McMullen's plan would allow Oklahoma voters to amend the state Constitution to establish a seven-member Independent Redistricting Commission that would redraw legislative and judicial district lines every 10 years. Currently, state lawmakers redraw their own district lines.

Share |