Attorneys Fuel Edmondson Campaign With $247,000; Fallin's Daily Average Tops In Field

If the race for the Democratic nomination for governor next year comes down to which candidate gets the most money from attorneys, Drew Edmondson will win hands down.

Analysis By Mike McCarville

The sitting attorney general, who has not yet officially announced he's a candidate, raised $289,385 in the first quarter of the year, $247,020 of it coming from attorneys with $65,000 of it in $5,000 chunks.

Declared candidate Lt. Governor Jari Askins, on the other hand, has just three $5,000 donors in her total of $117,945. Most of her donors gave in small amounts and few are attorneys.

On the Republican side, Congresswoman Mary Fallin's fundraising total is $108,565, with nine donors of $5,000 and she appears to lead the field in dollars-per-day-average.

Senator Randy Brogdon has just one $5,000 donor in his total of $22,700.

The campaign finance reports of the candidates show the following maximum donors:

EDMONDSON: (all attorneys unless otherwise noted) Terry West, Shawnee; Preston Trimble, Norman; Richard A. Bell, Norman; Tricia Everest, Oklahoma City; J. D. Williams, Pearsall, Texas; Cary Petterson, Texarkana, Texas; Dickstein, Shapiro, Washington; Mitchell Garrett, Tulsa; Darren Cleck, Radnor, Pennyslvania; Reggie Whitten, Edmond; Fred Boettcher, Ponca City; David Garrett, Oklahoma City; Dave Roberts, Oklahoma City; and Ada oilman Mike Cantrell. Edmondson appears to have averaged raising about $3,528 per day, weekends included, for the 82-day period from January 8th to March 31st even though many of his donations from numerous attorneys arrived on the same day.

ASKINS: Charles Harrison, Oklahoma City businessman;Tina Bonner, Duncan; Joan Hambrick, Oklahoma City. Askins appears to have averaged raising about $2,457 per day, weekends included, for the 48-day period February 12th to March 30th.

FALLIN: David Rainbolt, Oklahoma City banker; David Freymiller, trucking company owner; Leo Baxter, Lawton; Floyd Gilreath, Edmond businessman; Jim Everest, Oklahoma City investor; Dan Freymiller, Bethany trucking company owner; Gary D. Smith, Edmond businessman; Albert Kelly, Bristow banker; and Rep. David Dank, Oklahoma City. Fallin appears to have averaged raising about $3,619 per day, weekends included, for the 30-day period March 2nd to March 31st.

BROGDON: Lloyd Noble II, Tulsa investor. Brogdon appears to have averaged raising about $1,513 per day, weekends included, for the 15-day period March 17th to March 31st.

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Dueling Groups Oppose, Support Glenn Coffee

ActionPlanOK has begun airing television spots in Oklahoma City suggesting trial lawyers are behind an advertising campaign launched by Citizens For Transparency that questions Senate President Pro Tem Glenn Coffee’s finances.

“It’s no surprise now that courageous leaders who stand up for lawsuit reform, like Sen. Glenn Coffee, are being personally attacked,” the spots say.

Patrick Lively, executive director of Citizens for Transparency, the group that paid for the anti-Coffee ads, said they have nothing to do with lawsuit reform.

“I have no comment on tort reform,” Lively said. “That’s not my issue.”

The Citizens for Transparency ads, which appeared in the Tulsa World and on Oklahoma City television, called for Coffee to disclose details of his campaign expenditures and a loan he used to pay back taxes. Citizens for Transparency has not revealed its financial supporters.

ActionPlanOK was formed about five years ago. Its directors include former Rep. Robert Worthen, R-Oklahoma City, Tulsa County Director of Development and Governmental Affairs Terry Simonson and Tulsa businessman Mike Arrington. Worthen’s son Trebor Worthen, also a former state representative, works for AH Strategies, which is a campaign consultant for many Republican legislators.

Coffee, however, is not an AH Strategies client, Worthen said.

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Senate GOP: Trial Lawyers Dump Cash

From Oklahoma Senate Republicans ~ According to Oklahoma Ethics Commission filings, Democrat State Senator Nancy Riley has received 90% of her financial support over the past two months from trial attorneys, trial attorney/workers comp attorney PACs, and out of state unions including the Teamsters.

Keith Erwin of Lawton boasts similar largesse, and Senator Richard Lerblance has tossed a cool $130,000 of his own cash into his race in SE Oklahoma so far, adding $80,000 this past weekend. Candidates Diane Drum and Robert Murphy are also beneficiaries of trial lawyer and union generosity.

"Don't believe it? The numbers and their own campaign finance reports tell the story in black, white and green," said Randy Swanson, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Republican State Senatorial Committee. "The Democrats are withdrawing money from their special interests like it was an ATM with no limit. The voters of these districts deserve to know to whom their candidates are beholden.

"They won't tell you, so we will," he continued.

The following figures come from candidate filings with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission for the period of August 12 - October 20, 2008, and their 24-hour last minute contribution filings since October 21:

Nancy Riley/$enate District 37: Since August 12, Riley has raised $181,254 from individuals. Of that figure, $158,254 -- 87.3% -- has come from trial attorneys and worker's compensation PACs. In one day, October 23 -- Riley received $37,500 from eight PACs funded by worker's compensation attorneys and their allies.
In addition, Riley has raised $50,800 from liberal union PACs, including $5000 from the Teamsters Union DRIVE PAC, on October 27. The Teamsters also support Nancy Pelosi and the US House Democrats and are working to elect Barack Obama.

Keith Erwin/$enate District 31: Trial attorneys have contributed $147,700 (82.9%) of Erwin's funding since August 12. Overall, this interest group accounts for 60.7% of Erwin's total receipts. He has received $18,400 from labor unions.

Richard Lerblance/$enate District 7: Since August 12, Lerblance has received $98,000 of $139,440 from identified attorneys, or 70.3%. Some known attorneys identified themselves as "Businessman" (Terry West), and "Consultant", (Mike Turpen). In 2008, he has received 65.1% of his funding from attorneys. In addition, Lerblance received $11,250 from labor unions this reporting period. On Friday, October 24, Lerblance infused $80,000 of his own money into his race. His personal contributions for the campaign is now $130,000. Think about that...Democrats are fighting to retain a Senate seat in McALESTER, OKLAHOMA. In the history of this state, Democrats haven't had to get out of bed to win in McAlester.

Diane Drum/$enate District 15: In the first three quarters of 2008, Diane Drum of Norman raised $74,485 from individuals of which $56,115 came from lawyers, most of whom live outside Norman and Cleveland County, accounting for 75.3% of her financial receipts in the first three reporting periods of 2008. In the August - October reporting period and in last-minute contributions, she received $25,500 from worker's compensation PACs, $1,250 from labor unions, and $200 from the Sierra Club.

Robert Murphy/$enate District 21: In his first Ethics filing in July, former judge Robert Murphy of Stillwater reported raising $51,600 from individuals, of which $35,900 – 69.6% -- came from lawyers, most from outside of Stillwater or Payne County. In the latest filing, Murphy reports $20,050 (49.6%) from attorneys. But his most loyal contributor base includes 36 contributions totaling $7,455 from those with the occupation known as INFORMATION REQUESTED.

"The voters of these Senate districts should ask themselves, 'to whom is my Senator beholden?'" Swanson said. "Based on their fundraising figures, the above candidates clearly owe their allegiances to trial attorneys and liberal, often out-of-state labor unions, and will vote accordingly, against the best interests of their districts."

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Swanson: Trial Lawyers Fund Demos

The head of the Oklahoma Republican Senatorial Committee, Randy Swanson, said today that trial lawyers "are almost singularly funding key Democrat campaigns."

And, he charged, some of them are trying to do that while hiding their occupations.

Swanson said Senator Nancy Riley of Tulsa and candidates Robert Murphy of Stillwater and Diane Drum of Norman have received over 70% of their financial support from lawyers outside of their districts.

“Without the largesse of big-time lawyers who have a vested interest in seeing Republicans defeated at the polls, candidates like Nancy Riley, Robert Murphy and Diane Drum would barely have enough campaign money to buy that high-priced gasoline for which Riley is so grateful,” said Swanson, executive director of the GOP committee.

“The very lawyers who have financed Brad Henry’s campaigns, resulting in his consistent vetoes of lawsuit reform legislation, are now funding Democrat Senate candidates across the state and Democrat campaign committees.

“In the case of Nancy Riley, their investment is already paying dividends, due to the fact that she has flip-flopped numerous times on the important tort reform legislation we need to keep our business climate and medical services thriving,” Swanson said. “She was for it before she was against it.”

An analysis of Ethics reports over the past three reporting periods (4th quarter 2007, 1st & 2nd quarters 2008) indicate the following startling statistics, he said:

Senator Nancy Riley of Tulsa has raised $125,065 in individual, reportable (over $50) contributions. Of that figure, $85,425 has been raised from trial lawyers. Add the $5,400 her campaign has raised from lobbyists and Democrat legislators, such special interests account for 72.6% of Riley’s financial support.

Candidate Robert Murphy of Stillwater, the former judge, only recently announced his candidacy, and has filed one Ethics report. In that report, Murphy reports raising $51,600 from individuals, of which $35,900 – 69.6% -- has come from lawyers, most from outside of Stillwater or Payne County.

Candidate Diane Drum of Norman has raised $74,485 from individuals of which $56,115 has come from lawyers, most of whom live outside Norman and Cleveland County, accounting for 75.3% of her financial receipts.

"In a tactic indicative of haphazard campaign reporting or intentional misrepresentation, many lawyers list their occupations on these reports as Self Employed, Consultant, or some other innocuous title," Swanson's news release said. "However, a simple online search of their names belies their true occupations, and exposes the magnitude of the support from this special interest group enjoyed by Democrats."

“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” Swanson said. “A vast majority of the lawyers who have contributed to these and other Democrat Senate candidates have not yet given the legal maximum amount, so there are hundreds of thousands of dollars still on the table for their cause.

“With almost three of every four dollars in Democrat campaigns coming from the Democrat Party’s most affluent and reliable special interest group, the Trial Bar is making its last, bold stand to maintain its stranglehold on the Capitol, and the State Senate is their final beachhead. They won’t go down without a fight. Oklahoma voters need to be aware of who controls the Democrats in the Senate, and to whom they are beholden."

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Republicans Challenge Henry On Veto Of Lawsuit Reform Measure

Republican said today that when it comes to choosing trial lawyers or teachers, Oklahomans now know where Gov. Brad Henry’s loyalties lie: The trial lawyers.

In a news release, Republicans said Henry "vetoed a bipartisan lawsuit reform bill that would have curbed lawsuit abuse against teachers and school administrators who enforce discipline in the classroom. The veto is a major blow to teachers and schools, but it protects Henry’s allies in the trial lawyer industry."

The School Protection Act, Senate Bill 1024, is authored by State Senate Co-Floor Leader Owen Laughlin, R-Woodward, and State Rep. Dan Sullivan, R-Tulsa. The bill was supported by the Oklahoma Education Association.

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