Cox on borrowed time
Gov. Kevin Stitt insists Gary Cox is the right person to lead the state Health Department now and in years to come. Instead, what has been a revolving door at the top of the agency appears ready to twirl once again.
Stitt appointed Cox in September, citing his considerable experience in the public health arena. Cox had spent 10 years leading the Oklahoma City-County Health Department, and before that, 15 years doing the same work in Tulsa.
Eight months after his appointment, however, Cox's confirmation by the state Senate apparently is not coming. The Senate Health and Human Services Committee held its final meeting of the session Monday and Cox's confirmation was not heard.
It's been a bumpy tenure for Cox.
A report soon after his appointment noted that Cox did not have all the educational prerequisites state law requires for his job (he lacks a master's degree in science). In April, The Oklahoman reported that Cox had bought a new SUV for his work, and new chairs for his office, a conference area and a conference room.
As the coronavirus took hold in Oklahoma, some department employees criticized Cox for initially ordering agency workers to report to their offices every day while encouraging the public to work from home if possible.
The state auditor's office, acting on a request from Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter, is conducting an investigative audit of Health Department spending during the pandemic. Hunter asked for the audit after the agency spent $2 million on a malaria drug to treat coronavirus patients, and nearly spent $9.5 million with a company under investigation by the FBI.
Sen. Greg McCortney, R-Ada, chairman of the Health and Human Services Committe, says the investigative audit and Cox's qualifications were among the concerns cited by other Senate committee members. “You just kind of pile all that together and it became really, really hard to confirm him,” McCortney told The Oklahoman's
Nolan Clay on Saturday.
More fodder came the next day when Clay reported that a 2013 state audit of the Oklahoma City-County Health Department found, among other things, “blatant favoritism,” poor morale and lack of effective controls that resulted in 196 instances of embezzlement.
The department's former board chairman says auditors were biased and hostile, and that Cox did outstanding work as executive director. Cox “built a stronger, better health department and left it in perfect shape,” he said.
The state Health Department has been saddled with controversy in recent years, since the commissioner and other leaders resigned after reports the department had overspent by $30 million. Nearly 200 jobs were cut and a similar number of employees left voluntarily. The budget trouble wound up being the result of accounting shenanigans.
The hope was that Cox would provide needed stability at the top of the department. Instead, it seems clear that Stitt, who has stood by Cox, will soon be looking for a replacement.