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By Scott Cooper
The Oklahoma County Republican Party, under investigation for questionable 2004 campaign contributions, was billed thousands of dollars for candidates in districts well outside of Oklahoma County during that election cycle.
In documents obtained by Oklahoma Gazette, various political and survey consulting firms conducted work for nine Republican state House candidates in the fall of 2004, none of whom ran for office inside Oklahoma County.
PAYMENTS
One firm sent a bill for $15,050 to the county party for survey work on six incumbent representatives. Another firm conducted six polls for various district races at a cost of $3,000. Read more…
Tulsa World:
Some lawmakers, including former House Speaker Todd Hiett, said they contributed funds to the state party, but were surprised to learn the Oklahoma County party took control of the money.
Hiett, who said he thought his own $5,000 contribution was going to the state, said Thursday that Cargill, who was then House caucus chairman, should have the answers.
“That’s a question for the PAC chairman (Cargill). He managed the finances for the Republican (House) caucus,” Hiett said.
“Cargill obviously felt like he was on solid ground. I honestly hope he would come forward with the legal ground that supports that action.” Read more…
Tulsa World:
Some lawmakers, including former House Speaker Todd Hiett, said they contributed funds to the state party, but were surprised to learn the Oklahoma County party took control of the money.
Hiett, who said he thought his own $5,000 contribution was going to the state, said Thursday that Cargill, who was then House caucus chairman, should have the answers.
“That’s a question for the PAC chairman (Cargill). He managed the finances for the Republican (House) caucus,” Hiett said.
“Cargill obviously felt like he was on solid ground. I honestly hope he would come forward with the legal ground that supports that action.” Read more…
KWTV “News 9″ reporter Stacey Cameron, follows up on the story we broke last Friday on possible ethics violations by House GOP lawmakers and Oklahoma County party officials. Click here to view last night’s report.
A fundraising effort three years ago raises eyebrows.
It’s also believed that notices from the Ethics Commission have been delivered to the capitol offices of two top State House Republicans.
A source confirms the report in the Oklahoma Political News Service that the Ethics Commission had started looking into alleged campaign donation irregularities. Read more…
Sources tell the Oklahoma Political News Service that the Oklahoma Ethics Commission has begun an investigation into alleged campaign donation irregularities committed by officials with the House GOP Political Action Committee during the 2004 election cycle.
In particular, the ethics commission is interested in financial transactions between the House GOP PAC and the Oklahoma County Republican Party.
The sources did not indicate which officials of the House PAC were targets of the investigation, but they did tell OKPNS that some current GOP House members and Oklahoma County officials may have been served notice of the investigation. Further, the sources indicate Oklahoma City attorney Robert McCampbell, a former United States Attorney, has been retained to represent all of those who may face investigation by the ethics commission.
The House GOP PAC war chest was key in the 2004 battle to wrest control of the House from Democrats, and several rank and file GOP members have been privately complaining about the methods used by House GOP Leadership since their rise to power.
Developing…