Latest news with #OklahomaEthicsCommission
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Todd Russ formally announces campaign for re-election as Oklahoma's state treasurer
Oklahoma State Treasurer Todd Russ has formally announced he's running for a second term in 2026. Russ, a Republican who's from Cordell, made the announcement on Wednesday, June 4, becoming the first person to enter the race for treasurer. He first won election to the office in 2022, capturing 64.8% of the vote to succeed Randy McDaniel, who chose not to run for re-election. Russ, a former banker, registered with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission last September to begin raising money for his 2026 reelection effort. His most recent campaign finance report, for the first quarter of 2025, indicated he had $14,429 in that account. Before being elected as treasurer, Russ represented District 55 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 2009 to 2022. During his tenure, he served as chairman of the House Transportation Appropriations and Budget subcommittee and was a member of former House Speaker Charles McCall's leadership team. 'As Treasurer, I use my extensive background in banking and business, along with more than a decade of mastering the inner workings of state government, to help conservatively manage Oklahoma's money and financial resources, significantly improving the state's financial position,' Russ said in a statement. The state treasurer serves on ten boards: the State Board of Equalization, the Council of Bond Oversight, the Teacher's Retirement System, the Public Employees Retirement System, the State Pension Oversight Commission, the Oklahoma College Savings Plan, the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust, the Capitol Improvement Authority, the Industrial Finance Authority and the Oklahoma Broadband Governing Board. Russ has more than 30 years of banking and business experience. He once served as president and chief executive officer of the Washita State Bank in Burns Flat and he also has worked in management consulting. He has served on the Oklahoma Bankers Association Board of Directors and as chairman of that organization's Small Bank Council. During Russ' first 2½ years as treasurer, the state's bond rating has twice been upgraded by Standard & Poor's and Moody's, the nation's two largest credit rating agencies and Oklahoma's investment portfolio has posted the highest earnings in the state's history. The state's education savings program, known as Oklahoma 529, is administered by Russ' office and has grown by 21.6%, passing the $1 billion mark in account withdrawals in October 2023. Russ' tenure has not been completely smooth sailing, though. Russ and another statewide elected official, Attorney General Gentner Drummond, have gotten crossways over multiple issues, including legal representation in a case involving a controversial law that blocks Oklahoma from contracting with financial firms that limit oil and gas investments. More recently, a board led by Russ, the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust Board of Investors, sued Drummond over who has the final say when the state enters into contracts or other legal agreements with investment managers. The Oklahoma Supreme Court dismissed the lawsuit on Monday, with Russ and Drummond exchanging sharply worded statements criticizing the other. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Todd Russ, Oklahoma's state treasurer, announces re-election bid
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Oklahoma lawmakers, others work to curb Ryan Walters' political influence
An "emergency" news conference held earlier this month by Oklahoma's top education official turned out to have little to do with education. Instead, Republican state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters called for the state to eliminate both income and property taxes. He went on to repeat the same talking points in subsequent days, on social media and during an event at the state Capitol on Wednesday, May 21. Reaction from Oklahoma political leaders — all Republicans — to Walters' thoughts on taxes has been blunt. 'That is absurd … completely impractical,' Senate President Pro Tempore Lonnie Paxton said. 'That's not a serious proposal,' House Speaker Kyle Hilbert said. "I don't think anybody takes this guy seriously," Gov. Kevin Stitt said. Walters predicted the backlash and seems to have embraced his status as a GOP iconoclast. But others in his party and outside the Capitol are quietly making moves to try to place guardrails on his power to control what happens in Oklahoma schools. The pushback comes as lawmakers wrap up this year's regular legislative session and Walters mulls his next political move. He widely is expected to run to replace Stitt in 2026. Although Walters has yet to formally announce his candidacy for that post or for any other, he's continuing to receive contributions to his 2022 campaign for state superintendent. His most recent report to the Oklahoma Ethics Commission showing $17,385 in the account after the first quarter of 2025. To be clear, Walters still has plenty of political influence. He convinced enough state senators to hold off on a vote to reject controversial new social studies academic standards he's championed, allowing them to go into effect, despite appeals from new Oklahoma State Board of Education members to send them back o the board for more consideration. He also used a last-minute lobbying campaign to derail Senate Bill 646, which would have remade the Board of Education, expanding it to 10 members, and allow its members to add items to meeting agendas. The House failed to hear the bill before a legislative deadline to do so, although a spokeswoman for Hilbert, R-Bristow, hinted the ideas might not be dead yet. But in the past two weeks, Walters also has lost on at least four other fronts. Walters pushed for months for the adoption of an administrative rule that would require schools to seek information about the immigration status of students and their parents during enrollment. He also wanted to require Oklahoma teachers to pass the U.S. Naturalization Test as a requirement to obtain or renew their licenses. But conservative lawmakers in the Senate and House committees that oversee proposed rules crafted a resolution that would reject those rules. The resolution worked its way through the Legislature, withstanding three attempts by far-right legislators to change it to approve the immigration-check rule. The resolution cleared the House on Wednesday, May 21, and now awaits approval from Stitt, who has criticized Walters for floating the rule proposal and accused him of using children as political pawns. Also May 21, the House approved House Bill 1277, which would limit the ability of the state Board of Education — of which Walters serves as the chair, due to his elected position — to revoke teaching licenses. That would effectively impede Walters, who has used his control over the licensing process as a political cudgel against educators with whom he's disagreed on issues. The fate of that bill now also rests with Stitt. The Senate Education Committee also recently advanced Stitt's four new appointments to the state Board of Education. Three have replaced members who never voting against Walters during his tenure as superintendent. Paxton, R-Tuttle, stepped in on Tuesday, May 20, to carry the nomination of one board member, Michael Tinney, of Norman, after his appointment appeared to be in question. Meanwhile, Walters' claims that the quality of Oklahoma education is improving took a hit. Walters has pointed to 2024 test scores that show more students are proficient in reading and math. But critics have said those scores gave a false impression that student achievement improved, when in reality, the standards had been lowered. The independent state board in charge of setting the standards, the Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability, held a special meeting Wednesday, May 21, and reset the standard needed for Oklahoma students to post proficient scores. It threw out what's known as the 'cut scores' from 2024 and reverted to its previous standard. While the commission approved the 2024 standards, the Oklahoma State Department of Education, led by Walters, had developed the now-discarded cut scores. Nonprofit news outlet Oklahoma Voice has reported that instructions given by the agency to the committee that developed the 2024 cut scores suggested the setting of lower expectations for students taking the standardized tests. The goal of May 21's vote was to provide a more accurate representation of how Oklahoma students actually are faring, said state Education Secretary Nellie Tayloe Sanders, a Stitt appointee who leads the CEQA. 'We are committed to being a commission that is working very hard to provide truth and transparency that families can depend on to find out whether their children are ready for life after school,' Sanders said. Walters blamed the CEQA for any issues with the scores: 'I'm glad that they're taking action now. I mean, it took them forever to do it. It was pretty common sense. But look, they need to quit shifting the blame and actually do their job.' This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Ryan Walters' political influence in Oklahoma is facing pushback
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Walters will pay $18,300 to settle with Oklahoma Ethics Commission
State Superintendent Ryan Walters delivers opening remarks at the Aug. 22, 2024, State Board of Education meeting. (Photo by Beth Wallis/StateImpact Oklahoma) The Oklahoma Ethics Commission is settling another campaign finance issue with State Superintendent Ryan Walters. The Republican will pay $18,300 for an improper transfer of funds from his campaign war chest to a local school board election committee in Jenks. The payment was $2,100 to the local campaign committee, 'Cross for Jenks,' which backed candidate Ashley Cross for school board in the district. She expressed concern about 'oversexualization' in schools during her 2022 election bid. She eventually lost to incumbent school board member Terry Keeling. The total payment must be received by the end of September, according to the settlement. The first installment of $5,000 is due on May 30. It's the second time Walters has paid a fine in recent months, after another $5,000 settlement for improper use of his official social media account for political purposes in March. In that case, the Commission found 10 of Walters' social media posts advocating for the election of President Donald Trump and the defeat of former Vice President Kamala Harris violated Oklahoma Ethics Rules. In good news for Walters, the Ethics Commission also dismissed a separate complaint against him for endorsing an alternative membership organization to a union for teachers, which a Democratic lawmaker had brought. Rep. Ellyn Pogemiller, D-Oklahoma City, filed the complaint. She told StateImpact that state law provides two avenues for potential violations: using state resources for private purposes and the obligation of state officers to avoid conflicts of interest and preferential treatment. She argued that the union was a private organization and that public resources should not be used for advocacy on its behalf. This article was originally published by KOSU. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Supt. Walters settles ethics complaint, still faces separate investigation
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters reached a settlement with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission over a complaint that he used his official office and social media accounts to share politically charged messages. The agreement comes as Walters remains under a separate ethics investigation into alleged campaign finance violations. The complaint Walters settled this week stemmed from multiple social media posts he made to his X account leading up to the November election. Walters' X account, which displayed his official state portrait as its profile picture, used Walters' official state office title, 'Superintendent Ryan Walters' in the account name. The account's handle, @RyanWaltersSupt, also included an abbreviation of his official 'Superintendent' title. On the account, Walters posted videos of himself to his X account endorsing President Trump and urging Oklahomans to vote for him in the weeks leading up to the November 2024 election. 'The biggest threat out there to our U.S. economy, our parents, our kids—is Kamala Harris,' Walters said a clip he shared of himself on Fox Business Network. 'The administration, Kamala Harris, has ignored this crisis, has ignored this issue,' he said in another, taken from an appearance on Fox & Friends. Ethics Commission settlement reached with State Supt. Ryan Walters In another video, Walters encouraged people to vote for President Donald Trump. 'I encourage everybody to get out today, vote for President Trump,' he said. The Oklahoma State Department of Education's official social media accounts also shared politically charged messages during that time, a move legal experts say was risky. 'It's against ethics rules to use anything official for campaign purposes,' attorney Ed Blau said. The Oklahoma Ethics Commission launched an investigation into Walters' social media use in January, ultimately leading to this week's settlement. 'And in this particular case, when you use your official portrait, when you use your official title and advocate for the election of a person or people, I mean, that's campaigning,' Blau said. 'You're just simply not allowed to do that.' As part of his settlement with the Ethics Commission, Walters agreed to pay a $5,000 fine, remove his official state portrait from his personal social media, and take the word 'Superintendent' out of his account's title and handle. He made those changes on Tuesday. Oklahoma Ethics Commission votes to pursue prosecution against State Supt. Walters 'In my opinion, it was a pretty run-of-the-mill settlement agreement,' Blau said. 'It was something meant to both deter future behavior and to kind of send a message to other elected officials who may try to do something like this.' However, Walters still faces a second investigation by the Ethics Commission, which is looking into whether he violated campaign finance laws during his 2022 run for state superintendent. Last week, the commission voted to prosecute Walters in civil court over those allegations. 'It goes through the regular court process. There's discovery. In the end, there could be a trial, and either a judge or a jury could make a determination,' Blau said. Legal experts say the decision to take Walters to court is a sign that the Ethics Commission is taking the allegations particularly serious. 'Ethics probes aren't unusual. But for something to go forward where there's an actual lawsuit filed against a sitting statewide elected official, it is pretty unusual,' Blau said. News 4 reached out to the Oklahoma State Department of Education for a response from Walters. 'Superintendent Walters has always committed to following all guidelines and transparency in his political operations,' his spokesperson said in a statement. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ethics Commission settlement reached with State Supt. Ryan Walters
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – The Oklahoma Ethics Commission on Monday finalized its settlement agreement with Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters after investigating a complaint regarding social media posts supporting President Trump's candidacy. The settlement revealed no further ethic violations were found, with Walters required to comply with the following: Remove the title of 'Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction from his personal X account Remove 'Supt' from the personal account handle listed as @RyanWalterSupt. and instead use his personal name in the title of the account without reference to his elected position Remove the official State Superintendent profile picture associated with his account @RyanWaltersSupt and instead use a non-state picture Participate in training from the Ethics Commission on ethics rules $5,000 fine, which includes Commission's attorney fees High winds fueled wildfires causing damage across much of Oklahoma According to the Ethics Commission records, Oklahoma State Ethics Rules prohibit the use of a social media account maintained in the name of a state officer as a state officer to advocate the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate for elective office. Walters has been given 10 days to meet the Ethics Commission requirements associated with the settlement agreement. Walters-2024-37Download *No word from Supt. Walters at the time of this posting Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
