Let's Pod This

More than 700 Oklahomans die each year from firearms - an average of about 2 per day. We're joined by Beth Furnish, a volunteer with Mom's Demand Action who tracks legislation at the state capitol pertaining to firearms, to discuss the status of Oklahoma gun laws and how they could be made safer.

Links discussed:

• How Oklahoma Lawmakers Have Loosened Gun Regulations the Past Decade (Oklahoma Watch)
• Democrats Push for Solutions to Gun Violence with SAVE Act

The Tourism Dept. has to answer some questions (and is now being investigated) concerning the $13 million they paid to a private business to open restaurants at rural state parks during the pandemic, the Oklahoma Pandemic Center cost $30 million but isn't doing the testing they promised, and, as a treat, Andy and Scott take a trip down memory lane to discuss their first cars, gas prices in the 90s, and the finer notes of power washing.

Links mentioned:

• State Parks Management Questioned (NonDoc)
• OSBI launches investigation of Oklahoma Tourism Department (The Oklahoman)
• 538 Politics podcast "How education became today's wedge issue" (FiveThirtyEight)
• Oklahoma House rings up $500 million in proposed tax cuts (Tulsa World)
• Gov. Stitt taps businessman with no college degree for board overseeing higher education (Tulsa World)

The Oklahoma legislature passed four "total abortion bans" this session, but they're not all the same. We're joined by Tamya Cox-Touré, executive director of ACLU Oklahoma and co-chair of the Oklahoma Call for Reproductive Justice, to discuss what each of the bills does, how they conflict, and what the future of abortion may look like for Oklahoma.

Oklahoma House Rep. Merleyn Bell and Norman City Councilmember Lauren Scheuler join us for an important and enlightening conversation about women in government, what it takes to run (and serve) in elected office, and the power of authenticity in our world.

Links & bios:

• Former Congresswoman Kendra Horn has officially entered the race for US Senate
• CBS News reported that Scott Pruitt may be contemplating a run for Senate
• NonDoc reported that OK Dept of Veterans Affairs director Joel Kintsel may be contemplating a run for Governor and has all but accused Governor Stitt’s staff or campaign team of accessing his computer without authorization.
• The Oklahoman is reporting that Former Teacher of the Year, Jena Nelson, is entering the race for State Superintendent of Public Instruction. She will be running as a Democrat; there are currently three Republicans vying for their party’s nomination:
• Ryan Walters, who is Stitt’s Education Secretary,
• April Grace, who is superintendent of Shawnee Public Schools, and
• John Cox, who is superintendent of Peggs Public Schools. Cox previously ran for state superintendent in 2014 and 2018, both times as a Democrat.
• NonDoc also has a fascinating article about alleged corruption and millions of dollars of embezzlement in western Oklahoma involving two county commissioners, one from Kiowa County and one from Tillman County.
• It’s too complicated to really talk about in this episode, but I strongly encourage you to read it and then to go listen to the most recent episode of “The Very OK Podcast,” produced by the Oklahoma Historical Society and hosted by current OHS Executive Director Trait Thompson and former director Bob Blackburn. The episode is entitled “At War with Corruption” and it details the major corruption scandals from the 1960s to 1980s involving county commissioners, the political climate in which they happened, and an interview with Bill Price, who was the former US Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma who prosecuted the county commissioners. It’s absolutely wild. There’s a claim in there that some of the county commissioners estimated - openly admitted - that 50% of the materials reported as received by the county government in Oklahoma between statehood and the 1960s were never received!
• Every March is nationally designated as Women’s History Month, a time in which we celebrate the contributions women have made to the United States and recognize the specific achievements women have made over the course of American history in a variety of fields. Since this is a podcast about government and civic engagement, we thought it would be most appropriate to talk to some of the female leaders in those fields, Oklahoma House Representative Merelyn Bell and Norman City Councilmember Lauren Schueler.

Representative Merleyn Bell is a fifth-generation Oklahoman and an art director with over 15 years of experience in publication design. She was first elected in 2018 to represent House District 45, which is east Norman, and is the first woman of color to ever represent her hometown.

Lauren Schueler is the director of N.E.W. Leadership and civic engagement at the Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center. She coordinates the N.E.W. (National Education for Women’s) Leadership program that seeks to address the historical under-representation of women in politics and public service, as well as civic engagement more broadly on campus. In addition, she helps organize and advise other programs housed the Carl Albert Center: Pipeline to Politics, Civic Engagement Fellows and Oklahoma Votes, a student organization focused on voter registration, education, and mobilization. Lauren also represents Ward 2 on the Norman City Council and serves on the Community Planning and Transportation Committee and the Oversight Committee.

Candidate filing winds down and there are roughly 200 fewer candidates than there were in the 2018 gubernatorial cycle. Andy & Bailey sort through the filings and discuss what impact this may have on voters' experience at the ballot box and Oklahoma's representation for the next cycle.