Kirby rescinds resignation given amid harassment allegations
Rep. Dan Kirby, who announced his resignation last week in the midst of a controversy over sexual harassment accusations and secret settlements, now says he has decided to remain in office.
Kirby, R-Tulsa, last week notified leadership that he was resigning after a story in
The Oklahoman indicated the House has paid $44,500 to his fired executive assistant and her attorneys to settle a sexual harassment claim.
In a fax Wednesday to House Speaker-elect Charles
McCall, R-Atoka, Kirby said his Dec. 23 email and telephone call indicating his intention to resign did not comply with state law.
“I have determined that my decision to resign was hasty and based upon bad advice,” the fax said. “I have no intent to resign my office as Representative for District 75 - House of Representatives for the State of Oklahoma.
“I believe it in the best interests of my constituents that I serve out the term that they graciously elected me to serve.”
Kirby confirmed for the Tulsa World on Wednesday evening that he has rescinded his resignation.
Jason Sutton, a spokesman for McCall, said McCall had not spoken with Kirby.
McCall’s office had only received the fax, Sutton said.
Michael McNutt, a spokesman for Gov. Mary Fallin, confirmed that the governor’s office also received a similar notice by fax.
Kirby’s email on Friday night to McCall said he was resigning his position because distractions from “recent events” would keep him from serving his constituents “in the manner they deserve.”
The resignation was supposed to be effective Dec. 31. A report by The Oklahoman on Dec. 20 stated that records show the Oklahoma House of Representatives quietly paid Kirby’s former assistant, Hollie Anne Bishop, and her attorney $44,500 in state funds on Nov. 22 to resolve her claim to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Newly released records showed former House Speaker Jeff Hickman, in his last days in that position, approved the confidential settlement to Bishop.
In a tort claim filed in January, Bishop’s attorney said Kirby began sexually harassing Bishop shortly after she started working for him in January 2015. The claim called Kirby’s actions unwanted and unwarranted and said they created a hostile work environment.
Kirby recently was elected to his fifth term in House District 75, representing parts of Tulsa and Broken Arrow.