Gubernatorial candidates react to series on state’s poor rankings Todd Lamb, Republican:
The Oklahoman reached out to gubernatorial candidates this week to gauge their reaction to the newspaper’s series exploring the state’s poor rankings and outcomes in the areas of health, education, mental health and incarceration.
Titled “The STATE of Oklahoma,” the yearlong series will look at why Oklahoma ranks among the worst — if not the worst — in the nation when it comes to a variety of key metrics.
The first story appeared Sunday. The candidates responded to the issues raised, which have been common themes on the campaign trail. The responses were emailed, unless noted. They have been edited for brevity.
Mick Cornett, Republican
“There is no denying we have big challenges as a state, but I know we can do better. I’ve seen Oklahomans defeat great challenges time and time again.
“We need to commit ourselves to improving in health and education. Many of the social challenges we face specifically point back to a lack of commitment to education. As governor, I intend to be a champion for education. I want to give teachers a raise, but more than that, help inspire all Oklahomans to improve our educational standards.
“In Oklahoma City, our leadership succeeded in tackling our biggest challenges and made the city one of the best-run in the country. I know our leadership and vision can do the same for our great state.”
Drew Edmondson, Democrat
“Oklahoma is last in too many areas where we should be first and first in areas where we’d like to be last. These statistics are an indictment of the current administration and the Legislature. Another four years of the same misguided philosophies and partisan gamesmanship will only leave us in a deeper hole.
“As I’ve traveled across Oklahoma over the last 10 months, I’ve heard from everyday Oklahomans who are frustrated with the state of our state. They want better schools. They want better health care and better services for our veterans. And they know the current administration isn’t getting the job done. Change is coming to Oklahoma, and the people are making it happen.”
Dan Fisher, Republican
“We should not be proud of being the state with the highest incarceration of women and nearly the highest with men. Prison reform, moving to a model that protects society from the most dangerous elements while at the same time providing restitution and restoration opportunities to nonviolent criminals.
“We have completely neglected the spiritual nature of man from whence comes human dignity, decency and morality, and then expect government to fix everything.
“Certainly there is a job for government to do, like making certain that all human life, including the life of the unborn, is held sacrosanct; tax dollars are spent properly on “actual” core functions of government; and that there is an adequate “safety net” for those who find themselves in dire financial straits. But government is the least capable of solving these problems.
“When we identify a problem, government’s first instinct is to throw more money at it. Rarely do we consider the effectiveness of the money we are already spending. I favor more audits and a zero-based budgeting model, rather than annually adding an arbitrary percentage increase to last year’s spending
“Nonprofits are already engaged in these problems. And I believe this is the best place for societal problems to be addressed.”
Gary Jones, Republican (phone interview)
“I’ve been saying for years we cut our funding sources too much and don’t properly appropriate dollars in the areas we need to. I think I’m the only Republican that admits we need additional revenue.
You can’t govern the state based on a philosophy. You need a sound strategy and plan. I understand how we got into this financial mess and we’ll instill the things necessary to get us back on track.”
Jones said the state needs to stop being tough on crime and start being “smart on crime.”
Treatment for addicts costs less than housing criminals, he said. Inmates should get skills training so they can be productive citizens when they get out.
The state needs to invest in education, but people are not serious about teacher pay raises unless they produce a plan to fund it, Richardson said.
“Oklahoma certainly has challenges when it comes to managing its state government while providing the most efficient and high-quality services to taxpayers.
“I have stated numerous times throughout my campaign that Oklahoma has a structural budget problem that must be addressed in order to improve our outcomes. That is why I unveiled my RENEW Oklahoma plan last year; a detailed plan for moving Oklahoma forward in a manner Oklahoma taxpayers and citizens can support.”
Rex Lawhorn, Libertarian
“Most of our contemporary states on most of these lists have much fewer resources than we do, and they still are managing to keep up with us, if not pass us, in many ways, most notably in education, economic development and criminal justice.
“An average Oklahoman has known for at least two decades that our education system is horribly run, our transportation infrastructure is crumbling, our other infrastructures, such as water and sewage, are dated and reaching crisis levels, our economic development has been lagging, our jails are overcrowded with people that don’t belong there, and our legal system is operating on a 1950s mentality.
“The people that have been running for office are all tied into this same system of waste, corruption and shortsightedness, and the talent to make the necessary changes haven’t existed at 23rd and Lincoln.
“People from all corners of the state have been seeking a leader that will provide a positive change and direction that isn’t tied to the old corrupt system of Step Up Oklahoma or any of the other major special interests.
“Several of the candidates in the race are still pounding on the single issues and can take us part of the way there, but the problem with state leadership isn’t a lack of single-issue candidates, but rather a lack of holistic leadership that sees the big picture and the intersectionality of all the issues.”
Chris Powell, Libertarian (phone interview)
“A lot of it has to do with the fact that we are not prioritizing our spending on the core services that the people of Oklahoma want. And in other ways we are putting money toward those things and not spending it well.”
On criminal justice we have focused on putting more and more people in prison and costing ourselves more money, rather than trying to find ways to keep people out of prison where they become worse criminals.”
Powell said teacher pay raises are only part of the solution to the state’s education woes.
“So much of what they do is micromanaged by the politicians at 23rd and Lincoln. Allow teachers to run their classrooms and practice their craft.”
Powell said he is strong on trade and technical schools.
“We have spent generations telling our young people that it’s college or nothing. We have not done a very good job of preparing people in skilled trades. We’ve left a lot of Oklahomans behind by not doing that. In rural Oklahoma it would be a tremendous opportunity for them if we just said here are areas where we need people.”
The two establishment parties have brought Oklahoma to its low ranking, Powell said.
“Voters should look for an alternative.”
Gary Richardson, Republican
“All of the catastrophes within our state government can be traced back to two central problems — poor leadership and gross mismanagement. Criminal justice, health care and education all suffer accordingly. These are ultimately budget issues and our budget is out of control.
“The problem is an inherently flawed process completely lacking in oversight and accountability of agency spending. The scandals at the Tourism Department, Health Department and Agriculture Department are the tip of the iceberg.
“Until we have a leader who is willing to overhaul Oklahoma’s budget process, demand audits of every agency, and weed out corruption and mismanagement, we should expect this problem to steadily get worse.
“Oklahoma is not a poor state. Oklahoma is a poorly managed state. That needs to change with new leadership in 2018.”
Kevin Stitt, Republican
“The Oklahoman’s recent editorial affirms what I heard at my town hall meetings throughout all 77 counties. Oklahomans are tired of coming in last place.
“Our state is made of hardworking, God-fearing people and abundant resources, and we know Oklahoma is capable of being a Top 10 state. I believe it is going to require new leadership and fresh ideas, someone that can end politics as usual, which is why I am running for governor.
“It’s time for leadership that will unify our state in making the hard decisions on education, criminal justice, economic growth and more with the next generation in mind, and not the election.”