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Labels: Jim Roth

Posted at 9:53 AM |   

OKPNS has been on top of the developing story regarding the proposed coal-fired power plant near Red Rock. News outlets are reporting that OG&E and PSO power companies are 'shocked' by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission's plans to reject the application for the facility.

"They used their opponent's ad agency, they had no advocacy program, they were simply naive' and foolish," says one insider. Chesapeake Energy, who worked hard to get Gov. Brad Henry to place Commissioner Jim Roth on the commission after Denise Bode's resignation, simply outmaneuvered the utilities. "OG&E and PSO are typically ignorant, as are most Oklahoma businesses, about the new modern rules of political engagement. If they're shocked, they're dumber than we think."

Here's the story from today's Journal Record: http://www.journalrecord.com/article.cfm?recid=81629

Labels: Brad Henry, Jim Roth, OGE

Posted at 7:42 AM |   

Further proof that Drew Edmondson thinks he's above the law?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: State Rep. Mike Reynolds
Capitol: (405) 557-7337

OKLAHOMA CITY (July 27, 2007) - It appears newly appointed Corporation Commissioner Jim Roth has violated state law by giving illegal campaign contributions to Attorney General Drew Edmondson, state Representative Mike Reynolds said today.

"While reviewing Attorney General Drew Edmondson's recent letter to the Ethics Commission admitting to being an illegal conduit for political contributions I discovered that not only did he give illegal contributions but he received them as well," said Reynolds, R-Oklahoma City.

"The issue at hand is two different contributions given from the campaign account of County Commissioner Jim Roth to the campaign account of Drew Edmondson. After careful scrutiny of the ethics rules, applicable statutes and discussions with officials in the State Ethics Commission, I believe Roth's contributions violated state law."

Reynolds has routinely been a watchdog over various filings at the Ethics Commission and is recognized as an expert in ethics database issues.

The contributions in question were given in October 2005 and May 2006. Both contributions were recorded in Edmondson's reports as being from the Jim Roth for County Commissioner campaign committee.

"Under normal circumstances I would have gone to the Attorney General and asked for an investigation into the matter since it included highly placed public officials, but I obviously was not going to ask the A.G. to investigate himself," Reynolds said.

The South Oklahoma City lawmaker also noted that he could not find any reference to the contributions in Roth's ethics reports.

"I hope Commissioner Roth was not attempting to hide these contributions because he did not list them on line 16a of his County Commissioner ethics report which is also required by law," Reynolds said.

Labels: AG, Drew Edmondson, Jim Roth

Posted at 7:22 PM |   

(OKLAHOMA CITY)Oklahoma County Democratic Party will have a candidate forum on Tuesday, July 24, 7:00pm, at the Springlake MetroTech auditorium.

The Democratic candidates for county commission, district 1, have been invited to speak in advance of the primary election on Tuesday, August 14. The vacancy is due to the appointment of the former County Commissioner Jim Roth to the state-wide office of Corporation Commissioner.

The Democratic candidates in alphabetical order are:

Bart Bates, former legislator
Fannie Bates, teacher and activist
Debbie Blackburn, former legislator
Willa Johnson, Oklahoma City council member
Ann Simank, Oklahoma City council member

The candidate receiving the most votes will advance to the general election on Tuesday, September 11, 2007. There will be no run-off election for this position; only a plurality is necessary to determine the winner.

Springlake MetroTech is located at 1900 Springlake Drive, just north of NE 36 and M.L. King Boulevard in Oklahoma City.

All interested voters are invited to attend.

Related

The Red Dirt Political Report: Roth settling into role as new corporation commissioner

Labels: Jim Roth, ODP

Posted at 3:14 PM |   

By Stefanie Brickman

Hoping to extend what she calls Jim Roth’s pro-business agenda for county government, Oklahoma City council member Ann Simank, Ward 6, is planning to run for his soon-to-be-open county commissioner’s seat.

Gov. Brad Henry announced on May 14 Roth will serve as the state’s next corporation commissioner. Read more...

Labels: Ann Simank, Jim Roth

Posted at 2:08 PM |   

Oklahoma Republicans were beat to the punch once again by Democrat Governor Brad Henry with his selection of Jim Roth to the Corporation Commission.

Republicans scarcely raised an eyebrow at the controversial appointment of the openly gay liberal democrat. Roth was clearly the favorite of Chesapeake Energy Corporation, and that fact has several business groups clearly worried.

The "coal" lobby, which will be battling natural gas companies such as Chesapeake in the years to come over who will fuel new power plants, are big losers. But the big loser could be AT&T, who held a strangle hold on the commission for several years. It is believed Roth will side from Day 1 with AT&T-hating commissioner Bob Anthony.

While it was easy to see this one coming, Oklahoma Republicans and some business groups once again were thumped by a group of politicians who will never be confused with expert public relations operatives.

Labels: Bob Anthony, Brad Henry, Chesapeake Energy, Jim Roth

Posted at 7:07 PM |   

Our blatantly anti political correctness quote of the day comes from Oklahoma Opinions:

"The openly gay county commissioner has been selected by Henry to fill the seat vacated by Bode. I guess Henry felt it would be sexist to have three men there."

Labels: Jim Roth

Posted at 10:04 AM |   

The controversy is quietly starting to build as Oklahoma County Commissioner Jim Roth is aggressively, and some say recklessly, launching what can only be described as a campaign designed to convince Gov. Brad Henry to appoint him to the Corporation Commission seat soon to be vacated by Denise Bode.

"It's not just about his open homosexuality," an insider familiar with the process says, "but rather about his qualifications. If he's campaigning to give cover to a governor who appears to be moving rapidly to the left on the political spectrum, he's going to be inviting shots not just at his lifestyle, but rather his competence."

According to reports, Roth has met privately with several corporations who have a huge stake in proceedings at the commission, and he's even met with Commissioner Bob Anthony. "The guy's gotten real good press thus far for his Oklahoma County gig, but let's face it, who cares about the county stuff. That's basically no press coverage at all. He's trying to go from the Class B ball to the majors, and he's already making mistakes," the insider reports. Already, some of his supporters have been contacting other important players in the business community to attempt damage control. "As the perceived front-runner, people are starting to examine the reality, not the carefully crafted image, of Jim Roth, and that has caused some major discomfort for some. Spin control is already underway. Whoever is handling this guy has miscalculated and put his guy in a very vulnerable position."

Henry has been silent on the issue, but his recent rash of vetoes on issues pushed by conservatives has fueled speculation that the governor is positioning himself for a national appointment should a Democrat win the White House in 2008. "His pro-abortion, pro-plaintiff lawyer vetoes are more in line with the national Democratic party, and appointing an openly gay politician would position him as the type of ultra-liberal that would be very attractive to Hillary Clinton or Barry Obama. If that is Henry's motive, this decision will be about being homosexual, not about what's good for Oklahoma."

Reports about Roth as the favorite for the corporation commission job have some Republicans salivating. "I'll bet that the governor gets a call from Gary Jones urging him to appoint Roth: if Roth is appointed, the Repubs will kill this guy when he runs for re-election. Jones has McMahan and Edmondson busy with their scandals, and this would be icing on the cake. It could set back Democrats for years if this blows up: Roth is no Jackie Robinson, and Henry is no Branch Rickey. So right now, it looks like nothing more than a political nod to the gay community for pure political purposes to me," the insider says.

The Oklahoma Political News Service will continue to investigate.

Labels: Brad Henry, Jim Roth

Posted at 6:47 AM |