Shawnee Senate race turns contentious
SHAWNEE — A state senator who has been a vocal critic of Epic Charter Schools is fighting for his political life.
Sen. Ron Sharp, 68, and former legislator Shane Jett, 45, will go head-to-head in Tuesday's Senate District GOP runoff primary.
Jet tc a me out of the threeway June primary strong, capturing 44% of t he vote compared to Sharp's 33%.
Outside groups, including a pro-school choice or ganization, have spent tens of thousands of dollars opposing Sharp' s reelection bid. The Oklahoma Federation for Children Action Fund has spent more than $30,000 this cycle opposing Sharp and supporting Jett.
The group sent out mailers tying Sharp to convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein because the senator voted last year to support a film industry tax credit that was supported by the Oklahoma Department of Commerce and Department of Tourism and Recreation.
“There's just so much false information going on out there ,” Sharp said .“A campaign trying to fight dark money groups when they're putting out two and three ( mailers) a week, you can't raise enough money to refute it.”
Sharp has been an outspoken critic of Epic Charter Schools, the state's largest virtual charter school system and now, largest school system due to growing enrollment amid the pandemic.
Epic sued Sharp for lib el and slander after the senator accused Epic Blended Centers of breaking the law in how it counts student attendance. The lawsuit was dismissed earlier this year, but Epic was recently ordered to pay a $500,000 fine under a law that sanctions plaintiffs who file meritless lawsuits intended to silence critics.
Jett said he wishes there was more transparency in where the outside political attacks are coming from because his campaign has had to clarify he's not the one making the attacks.
But Jett also said Sharp only has himself to blame because of his feud with Epic.
“This is the system in place that public groups, who are opposed to a senator, used to be able to express their voice in a campaign without that senator being punitive to them specifically,” Jett said.
This Senate race has been infiltrated by dark money groups that haven't registered with Oklahoma' s sec retary of state or state's Ethics Commission — a violation of campaign finance laws. One such group, the Freedom and Liberty Fund LLC distributed a mailer calling Sharp “Oklahoma' s most liberal state senator.”
Sharp, in turn, shared his opponent's home address in a mailer and accused Jett of not paying “his fair share” of property taxes on his family's new home. The Pottawatomie County Assessor' s office hadn't surveyed the Shawnee property since construction was completed in 2018, so the new house wasn't being factored into Jett's property taxes.
Jett accused Sharp of doxing his family by widely distributing their home address. Jett has included his address on some of his campaign materials, but said that was different than his address being included on a “misleading” mail piece.
County Assessor Troyce King told The Oklahoman that assessors became aware of Jett's home just before the mailers went out. Jett asked the assessor's office to return to survey the property after the election, King said.
A spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Tax Commission said there is no law that requires a homeowner to report changes to their home to the county assessor's office.
“We paid 100% of the taxes owed ,” Jet ts aid .“So, he attacked us because the county assessors hadn't raised our taxes yet. Taxpayers cannot self-assess their own taxes. All we can do is pay them when they are assessed and billed.”
Every county assessor has a four-year visual inspection cycle to survey for local property changes. Jet t' s neighborhood was scheduled to be inspected next year, King said.
Meet the candidates
Before joining the Legislature, Sharp taught at Shawnee Public Schools for 38 years and served as the head tennis coach at Shawnee High School.
Sharp is vice chairman of the Senate Retirement and Insurance Committee and serve son the General Government and Judiciary committees.
He writes a weekly column to explain his legislative votes.
“I've had very few people ever criticize me for a vote,” Sharp said. “I am very conscientious to looking to see that all of my votes represent the will of my constituents.”
A veteran, Jett retired from the U.S. Navy as a lieutenant.
After serving in Oklahoma's House from 2005 to 2010, Jett made two unsuccessful runs to represent Oklahoma's 5th Congressional District. He is a Cherokee Nation citizen.
Jettt outs his experience in the Legislature during the 2008 financial crisis and following economic downturn, which he says will come in handy as legislators try to navigate the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. If elected, Jett says he will come in with a “lessons learned” file to help streamline state government and get agencies to cut their spending.
Sharp, who was first elected to the seat in 2012, is running for his third and final term in the state Senate. Jett is eligible to serve another six years in the Legislature before he would be term limited out of office.
Both candidates are Oklahoma natives.
On the issues
Education and taxes have been among the top issues in the Senate District 17 race.
Sharp and Jett both consider themselves supporters of public education, but Sharp said he doesn't support taxpayer dollars going to charter schools because there aren't any in the district.
“Why would I want to move money out of my district, which has no charter schools, into areas that do have charter schools ?” Sharp said. “Why would I want to take that money from my public schools?”
Charter schools are trying to address a need, Jett said. Some parents feel that either the uniqueness of their children or the uniqueness of their situation requires them to find a different education opportunity, he said.
Jett, who sits on the Dove Science Academy board, said he supports the use of audits to ensure taxpayer dollars are being used correctly. State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd is conducting an invest i gative audit of Epic after the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation alleged the virtual charter school system embezzled millions in taxpayer dollars.
“I'm not going to pick fights with groups of parents who are looking for the best possible way to educate their children,” he said. “I will represent public schools because families send their children there. I will represent families that homeschool. I'll represent families that (choose) charter schools.”
Sharp has defended his vote to raise some taxes — the first tax increase in Oklahoma in nearly 30 years — to help fund teacher pay raises.
In 2018, Sharp voted along with the majority of the Senate to increase, among other things, the tax rate charged on the production of oil and gas as part of a $474 million tax package.
“Yes, I voted to give teachers a pay increase,” he said. “You have to do that because you have to have quality teachers. Three-fourths of the state Legislature voted for that and under Republican leadership.”
Asked how he would have voted on the tax package had he been in the Legislature at the time, Jett wouldn't say.
During his time in the Legislature, Jett supported a proposal to reduce the state's income tax rate.
“I will not be looking at raising taxes,” Jett said. “I will be looking at ways we can streamline and make more efficient, the government agencies that are in place now.”
Jett was recently fired from his position as CEO of t he Citizen Potawatomi Nation Community Development Corporation. Alleging his termination was politically motivated, he sued Citizen Potawatomi Nation Chairman John“Rocky” Barrett. The lawsuit, filed in Citizen Potawatomi District Court, was dismissed.
If elected, Jet ts aid his complicated relationship with Barrett won't keep him from working with the Five Tribes and thousands of tribal citizens in Senate District 17.
The winner of the runoff primary will face Libertarian Greg S adler in the general election.
For more information about Jett, visit jettforsenate.com. For more information about Sharp, visit senatorronsharp. com.