OKLAHOMA — A state audit — which revealed “fairly large discrepancies” in a Cleveland County employee’s time sheets — also shows several other problems with the county’s budget, inventory and financial controls.
Released July 6, that audit — performed by State Auditor and Inspector Jeff McMahan’s office — lists four other findings, in addition to problems with the county employee’s time sheets.
Those problems range from improperly prepared financial documents, to shortages and excess inventory of county signs, and a shortage of almost 500 gallons of gasoline.
Terri Watkins, spokesman for state auditor Jeff McMahan, said the audit was “routine” and performed when new county officials are seated.
“There were some items that were brought to us,” she said. “And those were included in this audit.”
County commission chair George Skinner could not be reached for comment.
Among the audit’s findings were:
• The county “does not prepare financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principals” as required by state law.
McMahan’s office recommended the county “prepare financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principals as required by counties who have adopted the state’s County Budget Act.
Cleveland County adopted the act, but has not prepared its financial documents properly.
In their reply to the audit, county officials acknowledged the problem but said they were unable to comply do to financial problems. “…management is aware of this situation; however, due to financial situations we are unable to comply with this situation at this time. We are currently in the process of correcting this situation to comply with state statutes.”
• The county Sheriff’s office did not segregate duties involved with asset custody, transaction authorization, bookkeeping and reconciliation.
“Segregation of duties over asset custody, transaction authorization, bookkeeping and reconciliation is an important element of effective internal control over government assets and resources,” the auditor said.
The auditor’s office recommended county officers “be aware of this condition and realize that concentration of duties and responsibilities in a limited number of individuals is not desired from a control point of view.”
The recommendation continued saying, “…the most effective controls lie in management’s knowledge of office operations and a periodic review of operations.”
County officials agreed with the auditor’s findings, adding that “management does have knowledge of office operations and will perform a periodic review of these operations.
• The Sheriff’s Inmate Trust Account was not properly reconciled with the bank statement at June 30, 2006.
“Failure to perform tasks that are part of internal controls, such as reconciliations not prepared or not timely prepared are deficiencies in internal control,” the auditor’s staff writes. “Further, reconciliations should be performed on a monthly basis.”
County officials again agreed with the finding and said “management has implemented procedures to correct this issue.”
• State auditors could not trace six deposits for the Sheriff’s Inmate Trust Account to receipts:
1. A $50 check dated July 6, 2005.
2. $12.70 in cash from Aug. 10, 2005.
3. $77.66 in cash from Sept. 7, 2005.
4. A $1.11 check dated Sept. 7, 2005.
5. $8 in cash from Jan. 18, 2006.
6. $120.04 check dated Jan. 18, 2006.
“We recommend that all monies collected under the color of office be receipted and deposited daily,” the auditor wrote. “We further recommend to enhance effective accounting procedures, the County Sheriff’s office list a receipt number or inmate’s name on the deposit slip for all cash deposited.”
In their reply, county officials agreed with the state’s findings and said they had implemented procedures to correct the issue.
• Varancies existed between the county’s consumable sign inventory and actual counts of those signs.
The signs — 42 different ones — were listed as having either an excess number on hand, or having fewer than the listed amounts.
In addition, the audit reported more tinhorns than listed on the county’s inventory and a shortage of 473.98 gallons of gas.
The audit also showed the county with more 434.34 gallons of diesel fuel than listed.
Both the signs and the fuel were listed as part of the District 3 inventory.
An inventory of District 1 showed an excess of 8.42 gallons of gasoline and 37.59 gallons of diesel fuel as compared to the county’s inventory.
Watkins said the audit would be turned over the Cleveland County District Attorney Greg Mashburn’s office. Friday, Mashburn said once the document was received, his office “would definitely be reviewing it.”
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Saturday, July 14, 2007
State audit finds "discrepancies" with county timesheets
OKLAHOMA CITY — A state audit of employee time records at Cleveland County’s District 1 office has uncovered some “fairly large discrepancies” in the way those time sheets have been kept, a official with State Auditor and Inspector Jeff McMahan’s office confirmed Friday.
Terri Watkins, McMahan’s spokesman, said the state auditor “believes there is a problem” with a District 1 employee’s time sheets.
“The time sheets and the balance sheets that keep track of vacation, sick leave and compensatory time do not match,” she said. “It was brought to our attention by some county employees.”
Watkins said the audit found several problems, including:
• The vacation, sick and compensatory times use as noted on the leave balance sheets do not agree to the time sheets.
• The June 30, 2006, ending balance for the employee’s vacation leave was negative 224.42 hours.
• The June 30, 2006, ending balance for the employee’s sick leave was negative 15.75 hours.
• Full leave accruals were received despite not having worked a complete month and having negative vacation and compensatory balances.
Watkins said the time sheet problems targeted only one county employee, a unidentified female.
“There are “fairly large discrepancies between the time she has taken off and time she has accrued,” Watkins said. “But it’s difficult for us to piece together exactly how this happened.”
Released July 6, the audit cited the county’s Personnel Policy handbook and the federal Fair Labor Standards Act which requires employees “to keep accurate records of actual time worked by employees, including sick, vacation and compensatory time earned, taken or paid.”
The woman, Watkins said, “appears to have taken quite a bit more leave than was marked on their time sheet.”
The audit also recommended that “all county time sheets be properly calculated and completed and be approved and signed by the employee and the county official after each pay period.”
“We further recommend employee’s pay be reduced for time off when leave balances have been exhausted,” the audit noted.
In their reply to the state auditor’s findings, county officials said they “concur with the State Auditor’s findings and have started the process of implementing procedures for the accountability of employee time records.”
During the time covered by the audit, the county’s District 1 office was led by former Commissioner Bill Graves. Graves died suddenly in April, following complications from surgery. Graves’ first deputy, Mark Meyer has served as interim commissioner since Graves’ death.
On Tuesday, Rod Cleveland, a 40-year-old Norman businessman, was elected to serve the remainder of Graves’ term.
Cleveland — who will be officially sworn into office next Wednesday afternoon — said he was aware of the audit but refused to discuss it until next week. “I really can’t comment on it now,” he said. “I’m sure I’ll review it next week.”
Watkins said information from the audit would be turned over to Cleveland County District Attorney Greg Mashburn.
“We will turn it over to the DA to determine whether there was a mistake on the employee’s part or whether the action was criminal,” she said.
Mashburn confirmed “there have been discussions” between his office and McMahan’s but said he had not see the documents.
“I’ve haven’t looked at it yet,” he said late Friday afternoon. “But we will definitely be reviewing it.”
Terri Watkins, McMahan’s spokesman, said the state auditor “believes there is a problem” with a District 1 employee’s time sheets.
“The time sheets and the balance sheets that keep track of vacation, sick leave and compensatory time do not match,” she said. “It was brought to our attention by some county employees.”
Watkins said the audit found several problems, including:
• The vacation, sick and compensatory times use as noted on the leave balance sheets do not agree to the time sheets.
• The June 30, 2006, ending balance for the employee’s vacation leave was negative 224.42 hours.
• The June 30, 2006, ending balance for the employee’s sick leave was negative 15.75 hours.
• Full leave accruals were received despite not having worked a complete month and having negative vacation and compensatory balances.
Watkins said the time sheet problems targeted only one county employee, a unidentified female.
“There are “fairly large discrepancies between the time she has taken off and time she has accrued,” Watkins said. “But it’s difficult for us to piece together exactly how this happened.”
Released July 6, the audit cited the county’s Personnel Policy handbook and the federal Fair Labor Standards Act which requires employees “to keep accurate records of actual time worked by employees, including sick, vacation and compensatory time earned, taken or paid.”
The woman, Watkins said, “appears to have taken quite a bit more leave than was marked on their time sheet.”
The audit also recommended that “all county time sheets be properly calculated and completed and be approved and signed by the employee and the county official after each pay period.”
“We further recommend employee’s pay be reduced for time off when leave balances have been exhausted,” the audit noted.
In their reply to the state auditor’s findings, county officials said they “concur with the State Auditor’s findings and have started the process of implementing procedures for the accountability of employee time records.”
During the time covered by the audit, the county’s District 1 office was led by former Commissioner Bill Graves. Graves died suddenly in April, following complications from surgery. Graves’ first deputy, Mark Meyer has served as interim commissioner since Graves’ death.
On Tuesday, Rod Cleveland, a 40-year-old Norman businessman, was elected to serve the remainder of Graves’ term.
Cleveland — who will be officially sworn into office next Wednesday afternoon — said he was aware of the audit but refused to discuss it until next week. “I really can’t comment on it now,” he said. “I’m sure I’ll review it next week.”
Watkins said information from the audit would be turned over to Cleveland County District Attorney Greg Mashburn.
“We will turn it over to the DA to determine whether there was a mistake on the employee’s part or whether the action was criminal,” she said.
Mashburn confirmed “there have been discussions” between his office and McMahan’s but said he had not see the documents.
“I’ve haven’t looked at it yet,” he said late Friday afternoon. “But we will definitely be reviewing it.”
Friday, July 13, 2007
Tom Cole on the issues
While the 2008 general election is still well over a year away, Oklahoma congressman Tom Cole is leaving nothing to chance. Like Democratic strategists, Cole is working now for a win in 2008. And last week, he sat down with The Transcript to discuss the current political climate.
On the 2008 Elections:
“We’re focused on Democratic freshmen,” he said. “Now the Democrats have to cast tough votes. When you are in the majority, you have to move legislation and you are responsible for what does and what doesn’t happen. And there are 21 seats (which) are held by Democratic freshmen, that a Republican can carry. Those seats have votes, particularly inside those districts, that they can be held accountable for.”
To take those seats, Cole is actively recruiting new candidates.
“Our candidate recruitment is way ahead of schedule,” he said. “A lot of places we’re recruiting are Republican areas with Republican infrastructure.”
But while Cole is optimistic about the GOP’s chances next fall, he’s also pragmatic.
“Everything is going to have to align right in the House for us to win a majority, but that’s not impossible I like our positioning the way it is. I think we’re going to have a very close, very intense presidential race.”
To win, Cole is aiming for low-hanging fruit.
That fruit is actually congressional districts which were formerly Republican, that Cole believes can be brought again back into the GOP column.
“Most of the places I have to win are going to be carried by GOP (presidential) nominee. I don’t have to take new territory, just reclaim the territory we had.”
But even that, Cole said, could be tough, because “most incumbents get re-elected.”
On why Republicans lost in 2006:
In an interview with the Washington Post, Cole downplayed criticism about the GOP-controlled congress’ spending habits.
“Oh, I don’t think the problem was spending,” Cole told the Post in May. “People who argue that we lost because we weren’t true to our base, that’s just wrong.”
That quote got Cole in trouble with some Republicans, including well known conservative Richard Viguerie who has even started a petition calling for Cole’s resignation.
Later, in another interview, Cole expanded on his comment.
“Oh I know, a lot of people are mad at me over that,” he said, noting that the Post’s question asked had been over spending.
“Now I think spending is an important matter. I’m a fiscal conservative and I’ve got the voting record to prove that. But do I think that’s the cause of our defeat in 2006? No. I can point to members who lost because of the Bush factor; I can point to members who lost because of Iraq; I can point to members who lost because of misbehavior. I can’t point to any single member who lost on that issue alone.”
On immigration:
“President Bush is a centerist on immigration; He is the only recent president who’s done anything about (it) immigration.
He’s tried to come up with some sort of rational solution. Right now, there is no national concensus on immigration because their hasn’t been an open, national debate.”
To solve the problem, Cole said immigration reform should be broken down into a series of steps.
The first thing is to recapture the confidence of the American people and enforce the law and increase border patrols on the country’s northern (Canadian) border.
“I’m not saying the southern border isn’t a threat,” he said. “Because it could be. But the real border threat is from the north — the Canadian border.”
The Mexican border, Cole said, “has people all over it.”
“We stop about four out of every five there (Mexico); people don’t know that we actually stop the overwhelming majority of the people trying to come through (the Mexican border).”
American, Cole said, needs a big national dialogue and debate about the issue.
On his bin Laden quote:
“What do you think Hitler would have thought if Roosevelt would've lost the election in 1944? He would not have thought American resolve was strengthening. What would the Confederacy have thought if Lincoln would have lost the election of 1864? I promise you this, if George Bush loses the election, Osama bin Laden wins the election. It's that simple. It will be interpreted that way by enemies of the United States around the world."
Cole’s critics said he was using fear tactics and comparing Sen. John Kerry to Hitler and bin Laden. Cole disagreed. He said had been misinterpreted and refused to retract his comments.
Cole’s five big issues facing the American people:
“1. How to maintain America’s economic supremacy in an era of global competiiton. Americans are not sure. They are sure they are No. 1 today, but not sure they will be in 20 years.
2. Entitlements. Social security and Medicare is a system that is not stable. It will take a bipartisan effort to fix it.
3. Health care. Because the cost is growing astronomically.
4. National security. We're gonna' be involved in a generation long war.
5. Immigration.”
On the 2008 Elections:
“We’re focused on Democratic freshmen,” he said. “Now the Democrats have to cast tough votes. When you are in the majority, you have to move legislation and you are responsible for what does and what doesn’t happen. And there are 21 seats (which) are held by Democratic freshmen, that a Republican can carry. Those seats have votes, particularly inside those districts, that they can be held accountable for.”
To take those seats, Cole is actively recruiting new candidates.
“Our candidate recruitment is way ahead of schedule,” he said. “A lot of places we’re recruiting are Republican areas with Republican infrastructure.”
But while Cole is optimistic about the GOP’s chances next fall, he’s also pragmatic.
“Everything is going to have to align right in the House for us to win a majority, but that’s not impossible I like our positioning the way it is. I think we’re going to have a very close, very intense presidential race.”
To win, Cole is aiming for low-hanging fruit.
That fruit is actually congressional districts which were formerly Republican, that Cole believes can be brought again back into the GOP column.
“Most of the places I have to win are going to be carried by GOP (presidential) nominee. I don’t have to take new territory, just reclaim the territory we had.”
But even that, Cole said, could be tough, because “most incumbents get re-elected.”
On why Republicans lost in 2006:
In an interview with the Washington Post, Cole downplayed criticism about the GOP-controlled congress’ spending habits.
“Oh, I don’t think the problem was spending,” Cole told the Post in May. “People who argue that we lost because we weren’t true to our base, that’s just wrong.”
That quote got Cole in trouble with some Republicans, including well known conservative Richard Viguerie who has even started a petition calling for Cole’s resignation.
Later, in another interview, Cole expanded on his comment.
“Oh I know, a lot of people are mad at me over that,” he said, noting that the Post’s question asked had been over spending.
“Now I think spending is an important matter. I’m a fiscal conservative and I’ve got the voting record to prove that. But do I think that’s the cause of our defeat in 2006? No. I can point to members who lost because of the Bush factor; I can point to members who lost because of Iraq; I can point to members who lost because of misbehavior. I can’t point to any single member who lost on that issue alone.”
On immigration:
“President Bush is a centerist on immigration; He is the only recent president who’s done anything about (it) immigration.
He’s tried to come up with some sort of rational solution. Right now, there is no national concensus on immigration because their hasn’t been an open, national debate.”
To solve the problem, Cole said immigration reform should be broken down into a series of steps.
The first thing is to recapture the confidence of the American people and enforce the law and increase border patrols on the country’s northern (Canadian) border.
“I’m not saying the southern border isn’t a threat,” he said. “Because it could be. But the real border threat is from the north — the Canadian border.”
The Mexican border, Cole said, “has people all over it.”
“We stop about four out of every five there (Mexico); people don’t know that we actually stop the overwhelming majority of the people trying to come through (the Mexican border).”
American, Cole said, needs a big national dialogue and debate about the issue.
On his bin Laden quote:
“What do you think Hitler would have thought if Roosevelt would've lost the election in 1944? He would not have thought American resolve was strengthening. What would the Confederacy have thought if Lincoln would have lost the election of 1864? I promise you this, if George Bush loses the election, Osama bin Laden wins the election. It's that simple. It will be interpreted that way by enemies of the United States around the world."
Cole’s critics said he was using fear tactics and comparing Sen. John Kerry to Hitler and bin Laden. Cole disagreed. He said had been misinterpreted and refused to retract his comments.
Cole’s five big issues facing the American people:
“1. How to maintain America’s economic supremacy in an era of global competiiton. Americans are not sure. They are sure they are No. 1 today, but not sure they will be in 20 years.
2. Entitlements. Social security and Medicare is a system that is not stable. It will take a bipartisan effort to fix it.
3. Health care. Because the cost is growing astronomically.
4. National security. We're gonna' be involved in a generation long war.
5. Immigration.”
Republicans pin their hopes on Cole in 2008
For Tom Cole, history always repeats itself.
Again and again and again.
For Cole, history isn’t a collection of dry facts and little-used figures, but a tale of action and events. Cole looks at the past to understand the culture, the emotion and the reasons behind human action.
Cole may be a consummate political insider, but he’s also a student of history; he embraces it, he examines it and — unlike many who play the game called “politics” — he actually learns from it.
And that, his opponents say, makes Cole dangerous.
•
It’s no secret that, nationally, Republicans took it on the chin in 2006. An unpopular president, a congressional sex scandal, and a bloody, ongoing war cost the GOP control of both houses of congress.
It was a perfect storm, and it hasn’t subsided.
But for Oklahoma’s Fourth District congressman from Moore, it wasn’t that much of a surprise.
Because Cole has seen this drama before.
Chosen again to head the National Republican Congressional Committee, Cole will reprise his role as Republican field general for the 2008 congressional races. He’ll recruit candidates, raise money and help develop a strategy which, he hopes, will turn the U.S. Congress from blue back to red.
And while some pundits see the job akin to raising the Titanic, for Cole it’s yet another chance to repeat history.
Because he did the same thing in 1991.
“Tom Cole is an extremely skilled and experienced and he knows his way around politics both in Oklahoma and nationally,” says Cole’s friend and sometime rival Don Hoover.
Hoover, one of the state’s top Democratic political consultants, said Cole understand politics “as well as anyone (he’s) ever known.”
“I’ve worked both with him and against him,” Hoover said. “And he has a vast knowledge of politics, from both a modern and a historical perspective. Unfortunately, from my side of the fence he’ll do an outstanding job.”
But while Hoover predicts Cole will be successful as the NRCC’s leader, he’s just as quick to say the odds are not in Cole’s favor. “I don’t see that (GOP control) happening in the House,” Hoover said. “Unless there’s a vast change.”
•
Armed with a political pedigree that spans most of his adult life, Cole has held almost every job a Republican can have in Oklahoma.
A former history professor, Cole is also a successful political consultant, a former congressional aide, the past executive director of the state’s Republican Party and a member of the Oklahoma State Senate. In 1991, he resigned his Senate seat to serve as the executive director of the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Four years later, he returned to Oklahoma as secretary of state under then-Gov. Frank Keating.
In 2002, Cole replaced fellow Republican J.C. Watts as Oklahoma’s Fourth District congressman; he was reelected in 2004 and 2006. Cole founded and served as president of the political consulting firm Cole, Hargrave, Snodgrass and Associates.
Today, he’s back at the NRCC.
“It’s déjà vu for me,” Cole said. “When I came in, in March of 1991, the committee had three straight losing years and was about $6 million in debt. I was part of the shake-up. It was a very turbulent political year.”
Fast forward to 2007.
Once again, the NRCC is licking its wounds after a major loss. Once again it’s millions in debt. And once again, it faces a tough upcoming election cycle.
And once again, Tom Cole is in charge.
“The committee was not, when I walked in the door, in very good shape,” Cole said. “It was $16 (million) to $17 million in debt; the largest debt I’ve ever seen a committee have and, certainly, the largest one in this history of this committee. We were down to nine staffers — normally we have 65 to 70. It was like a broken army after losing a war.”
A few things have improved.
Cole has hired staff, ramped up candidate recruitment and reduced the committee’s debt to just over $4 million. “Our debt went down pretty rapidly from the first six months of my tenure,” he said. “But the next six will be tougher.”
•
In an Washington Post story published earlier this year, Cole gave three reasons for the Republicans’ defeat in 2006. He also said he wasn’t sure “they (Democrats) won as much as we lost.”
“In the sixth year of any eight-year run, it’s usually a pretty tough go for the party in power,” Cole told the Post. He went on to say the same happened to former presidents Ronald Reagan in 1986, Lyndon Johnson in 1966 and Dwight Eisenhower in 1958.
The second reason, he said, was the war.
“I think Iraq, no question,” Cole said. “It’s not a popular war and so politically, I think we paid a price for that.”
Cole said the actions of several members of the GOP like Duke Cunningham and Mark Foley was the third reason for the GOP’s loss. Those men, Cole said, “cast a pall” on the party and cost Republicans several seats. “Those three things came together and created a very difficult environment for us,” he said.
That environment hasn’t changed.
President Bush is still wildly unpopular and faith in Congress — on either side of the aisle — is at an all-time low. To make matters worse, Democratic presidential candidates have raised more money than Republican contenders. Even locally, county Republicans are working to distance themselves from their national leaders. Earlier this month, Cleveland County GOP chair Roger Warren said county Republicans wanted “to divorce themselves” from their national colleagues.
For the GOP, 2008 looks bleak.
But Cole is unfazed.
“You start with what your political positioning is, which won’t change,” he said. “And our positioning is very good. There are 61 seats in the country which George Bush carried and which currently have Democratic members. Sixty-one, and 47 of those he (Bush) carried twice; which means he even carried those seats when he lost the popular vote.”
That, Cole says, gives the GOP “a pretty good chance those seats will vote Republican whoever our nominee is.”
And to win, he plans to “play offense” in those districts.
“There are only eight seats that we hold, that John Kerry carried,” he said. “So if you look at the chances for offense versus defense, they’re pretty good.”
He’s also getting some unexpected help — from Democrats. The opposition, Cole said, is making far too many mistakes and the Democratic leadership is pulling its presidential nominees to the left.
“The country is evenly divided,” he said. “The Democratic base is extraordinarly energized, but very much to the left of where the rest of the country is.”
Cole says the Democrats’ budget and the call to phase out the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts are giving Republicans “the kinds of issues we want to campaign on.”
But his biggest problem is candidate recruitment — and Cole is looking.
“Eighty percent of any campaign is the candidate’s ability to run,” he said. “A good candidate has to have a belief structure. Not my belief, but reflective of the people in the area the candidate serves.”
To illustrate, Cole again makes use of history.
“I remember years ago, working for Tom Daxon as his deputy campaign manager,” he said. “That was in 1982 and we lost all 77 counties to George Nigh.”
Two years later, Cole was working for the Ronald Reagan campaign — that campaign won all by three Oklahoma counties.
“That was in 1984. Now I don’t think I was that dumb in 1982 and I certainly wasn’t that smart in 1984.”
•
Candidates and consultants, Cole said, are like horses and jockeys.
“It’s not really the jockey, but how fast the horse is and what the track is like.”
A good jockey, Cole said, can make a fast horse faster, but he can’t make a slow horse fast.
“The same thing is true for candidates. If I get good candidates and the year develops the way I think it will, then I believe we have to ability to make a difference.”
But right now, the future — like the Oklahoma sky — is gray and cloudy. “If the track is muddy,” Cole said, “then it’s gonna be considerably tougher. I think some people forget the lessons of the past — they don’t apply them.”
Some people, but not Cole.
Again and again and again.
For Cole, history isn’t a collection of dry facts and little-used figures, but a tale of action and events. Cole looks at the past to understand the culture, the emotion and the reasons behind human action.
Cole may be a consummate political insider, but he’s also a student of history; he embraces it, he examines it and — unlike many who play the game called “politics” — he actually learns from it.
And that, his opponents say, makes Cole dangerous.
•
It’s no secret that, nationally, Republicans took it on the chin in 2006. An unpopular president, a congressional sex scandal, and a bloody, ongoing war cost the GOP control of both houses of congress.
It was a perfect storm, and it hasn’t subsided.
But for Oklahoma’s Fourth District congressman from Moore, it wasn’t that much of a surprise.
Because Cole has seen this drama before.
Chosen again to head the National Republican Congressional Committee, Cole will reprise his role as Republican field general for the 2008 congressional races. He’ll recruit candidates, raise money and help develop a strategy which, he hopes, will turn the U.S. Congress from blue back to red.
And while some pundits see the job akin to raising the Titanic, for Cole it’s yet another chance to repeat history.
Because he did the same thing in 1991.
“Tom Cole is an extremely skilled and experienced and he knows his way around politics both in Oklahoma and nationally,” says Cole’s friend and sometime rival Don Hoover.
Hoover, one of the state’s top Democratic political consultants, said Cole understand politics “as well as anyone (he’s) ever known.”
“I’ve worked both with him and against him,” Hoover said. “And he has a vast knowledge of politics, from both a modern and a historical perspective. Unfortunately, from my side of the fence he’ll do an outstanding job.”
But while Hoover predicts Cole will be successful as the NRCC’s leader, he’s just as quick to say the odds are not in Cole’s favor. “I don’t see that (GOP control) happening in the House,” Hoover said. “Unless there’s a vast change.”
•
Armed with a political pedigree that spans most of his adult life, Cole has held almost every job a Republican can have in Oklahoma.
A former history professor, Cole is also a successful political consultant, a former congressional aide, the past executive director of the state’s Republican Party and a member of the Oklahoma State Senate. In 1991, he resigned his Senate seat to serve as the executive director of the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Four years later, he returned to Oklahoma as secretary of state under then-Gov. Frank Keating.
In 2002, Cole replaced fellow Republican J.C. Watts as Oklahoma’s Fourth District congressman; he was reelected in 2004 and 2006. Cole founded and served as president of the political consulting firm Cole, Hargrave, Snodgrass and Associates.
Today, he’s back at the NRCC.
“It’s déjà vu for me,” Cole said. “When I came in, in March of 1991, the committee had three straight losing years and was about $6 million in debt. I was part of the shake-up. It was a very turbulent political year.”
Fast forward to 2007.
Once again, the NRCC is licking its wounds after a major loss. Once again it’s millions in debt. And once again, it faces a tough upcoming election cycle.
And once again, Tom Cole is in charge.
“The committee was not, when I walked in the door, in very good shape,” Cole said. “It was $16 (million) to $17 million in debt; the largest debt I’ve ever seen a committee have and, certainly, the largest one in this history of this committee. We were down to nine staffers — normally we have 65 to 70. It was like a broken army after losing a war.”
A few things have improved.
Cole has hired staff, ramped up candidate recruitment and reduced the committee’s debt to just over $4 million. “Our debt went down pretty rapidly from the first six months of my tenure,” he said. “But the next six will be tougher.”
•
In an Washington Post story published earlier this year, Cole gave three reasons for the Republicans’ defeat in 2006. He also said he wasn’t sure “they (Democrats) won as much as we lost.”
“In the sixth year of any eight-year run, it’s usually a pretty tough go for the party in power,” Cole told the Post. He went on to say the same happened to former presidents Ronald Reagan in 1986, Lyndon Johnson in 1966 and Dwight Eisenhower in 1958.
The second reason, he said, was the war.
“I think Iraq, no question,” Cole said. “It’s not a popular war and so politically, I think we paid a price for that.”
Cole said the actions of several members of the GOP like Duke Cunningham and Mark Foley was the third reason for the GOP’s loss. Those men, Cole said, “cast a pall” on the party and cost Republicans several seats. “Those three things came together and created a very difficult environment for us,” he said.
That environment hasn’t changed.
President Bush is still wildly unpopular and faith in Congress — on either side of the aisle — is at an all-time low. To make matters worse, Democratic presidential candidates have raised more money than Republican contenders. Even locally, county Republicans are working to distance themselves from their national leaders. Earlier this month, Cleveland County GOP chair Roger Warren said county Republicans wanted “to divorce themselves” from their national colleagues.
For the GOP, 2008 looks bleak.
But Cole is unfazed.
“You start with what your political positioning is, which won’t change,” he said. “And our positioning is very good. There are 61 seats in the country which George Bush carried and which currently have Democratic members. Sixty-one, and 47 of those he (Bush) carried twice; which means he even carried those seats when he lost the popular vote.”
That, Cole says, gives the GOP “a pretty good chance those seats will vote Republican whoever our nominee is.”
And to win, he plans to “play offense” in those districts.
“There are only eight seats that we hold, that John Kerry carried,” he said. “So if you look at the chances for offense versus defense, they’re pretty good.”
He’s also getting some unexpected help — from Democrats. The opposition, Cole said, is making far too many mistakes and the Democratic leadership is pulling its presidential nominees to the left.
“The country is evenly divided,” he said. “The Democratic base is extraordinarly energized, but very much to the left of where the rest of the country is.”
Cole says the Democrats’ budget and the call to phase out the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts are giving Republicans “the kinds of issues we want to campaign on.”
But his biggest problem is candidate recruitment — and Cole is looking.
“Eighty percent of any campaign is the candidate’s ability to run,” he said. “A good candidate has to have a belief structure. Not my belief, but reflective of the people in the area the candidate serves.”
To illustrate, Cole again makes use of history.
“I remember years ago, working for Tom Daxon as his deputy campaign manager,” he said. “That was in 1982 and we lost all 77 counties to George Nigh.”
Two years later, Cole was working for the Ronald Reagan campaign — that campaign won all by three Oklahoma counties.
“That was in 1984. Now I don’t think I was that dumb in 1982 and I certainly wasn’t that smart in 1984.”
•
Candidates and consultants, Cole said, are like horses and jockeys.
“It’s not really the jockey, but how fast the horse is and what the track is like.”
A good jockey, Cole said, can make a fast horse faster, but he can’t make a slow horse fast.
“The same thing is true for candidates. If I get good candidates and the year develops the way I think it will, then I believe we have to ability to make a difference.”
But right now, the future — like the Oklahoma sky — is gray and cloudy. “If the track is muddy,” Cole said, “then it’s gonna be considerably tougher. I think some people forget the lessons of the past — they don’t apply them.”
Some people, but not Cole.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
COMMENTARY: Read Someone Cry for the Children
They died 30 years ago.
On a stromy night in June 1977, three little Girl Scouts — Doris Denise Milner, 10; Michelle Guse, 9; and Lori Farmer, 8 — were raped and killed at a Girl Scout Camp in Locust Grove.
And the resulting investigation, hunt and subsequent trial of the principal suspect in the case, Gene Leroy Hart, polarized a state and shocked a nation.
Hart, a convicted rapist and escaped felon was recaptured, tried and later acquitted of the girl’s murders. He died shortly thereafter in prison.
And today, the case — though unofficially closed — remains unsolved.
Many of the principals are no longer around; the trail is cold and Hart is dead.
But the story of this sordid part of Oklahoma history is detailed in the book “Someone Cry for the Children.”
Written in 1981 by Michael and Dick Wilkerson (who were, at the time, investigators for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation) the book tells the story of the Girl Scout murders and the pursuit of Gene Leroy Hart.
And it’s a sad, spooky tale.
Now, granted, usually book reviews are written for recently released books. But with 2007 being the 30th anniversary of the case and the possibility new DNA testing providing conclusive evidence of Hart’s guilt or innocence, it seems appropriate to recommend this book.
Keep in mind, though, the book is written from the view of an investigator and though filled with details, it doesn’t paint a balanced image of Hart, his attorneys or their case.
But that’s understandable.
Because the Wilkerson brothers were thrust in the center of a hurricane and they did their best to discover the truth.
Since then things have changed.
Then-governor David Boren is now OU president Boren and Dick Wilkerson went from being deputy director of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, to a Oklahoma State Senator, to a law enforcement instructor at East Central University, and nonfiction writer.
His brother Michael Wilkerson also left the OSBI and went into private practice.
And the families of Doris Denise Milner, Michelle Guse and Lori Farmer tried to live their lives without their little girls.
Maybe that’s why this book is so powerful.
The Wilkerson brothers never forgot the fact there were three little girls at the center of this story.
The public around Pryor and Locust Grove did.
It’s ironic that even today, people in that area still get into arguments about whether or not Gene Leroy Hart killed three Girl Scouts.
But what they don’t bother to discuss is what would our state have been like had those little girls not been killed.
They don’t mention how they were raped, bound and killed.
They don’t talk about how their families still grieve.
No, you won’t hear too many people talk about the little Girl Scouts, the horrible way they died or their families — the tears for them no longer flow.
And that’s why its time to read this book, once again.
“Someone Cry for the Children” is still in print and available through Amazon.com
On a stromy night in June 1977, three little Girl Scouts — Doris Denise Milner, 10; Michelle Guse, 9; and Lori Farmer, 8 — were raped and killed at a Girl Scout Camp in Locust Grove.
And the resulting investigation, hunt and subsequent trial of the principal suspect in the case, Gene Leroy Hart, polarized a state and shocked a nation.
Hart, a convicted rapist and escaped felon was recaptured, tried and later acquitted of the girl’s murders. He died shortly thereafter in prison.
And today, the case — though unofficially closed — remains unsolved.
Many of the principals are no longer around; the trail is cold and Hart is dead.
But the story of this sordid part of Oklahoma history is detailed in the book “Someone Cry for the Children.”
Written in 1981 by Michael and Dick Wilkerson (who were, at the time, investigators for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation) the book tells the story of the Girl Scout murders and the pursuit of Gene Leroy Hart.
And it’s a sad, spooky tale.
Now, granted, usually book reviews are written for recently released books. But with 2007 being the 30th anniversary of the case and the possibility new DNA testing providing conclusive evidence of Hart’s guilt or innocence, it seems appropriate to recommend this book.
Keep in mind, though, the book is written from the view of an investigator and though filled with details, it doesn’t paint a balanced image of Hart, his attorneys or their case.
But that’s understandable.
Because the Wilkerson brothers were thrust in the center of a hurricane and they did their best to discover the truth.
Since then things have changed.
Then-governor David Boren is now OU president Boren and Dick Wilkerson went from being deputy director of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, to a Oklahoma State Senator, to a law enforcement instructor at East Central University, and nonfiction writer.
His brother Michael Wilkerson also left the OSBI and went into private practice.
And the families of Doris Denise Milner, Michelle Guse and Lori Farmer tried to live their lives without their little girls.
Maybe that’s why this book is so powerful.
The Wilkerson brothers never forgot the fact there were three little girls at the center of this story.
The public around Pryor and Locust Grove did.
It’s ironic that even today, people in that area still get into arguments about whether or not Gene Leroy Hart killed three Girl Scouts.
But what they don’t bother to discuss is what would our state have been like had those little girls not been killed.
They don’t mention how they were raped, bound and killed.
They don’t talk about how their families still grieve.
No, you won’t hear too many people talk about the little Girl Scouts, the horrible way they died or their families — the tears for them no longer flow.
And that’s why its time to read this book, once again.
“Someone Cry for the Children” is still in print and available through Amazon.com
Garrett calls for longer school day, year
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma public school students need to spend more time at school, and those schools must do a better job of using the time they have, state education superintendent Sandy Garrett said Tuesday.
Garrett, delivering her annual “State of Education” address at the Superintendent’s Leadership Conference, said the Oklahoma school year should be increased to a minimum of 180 days. She also urged state lawmakers to add an hour to state’s 6-hour school day.
Currently, Oklahoma public schools are required to hold classed 175 days out of the year with a minimum, six-hour school day.
But schools in China, she said, operate nine-hour days for 10 months — a 200 day educational calendar — and “many countries around the world” require students to be in classes over 220 days.
“Japanese students are required to attend 240 days,” she said.
To compete, Garrett said Oklahoma must consider expanding the school year and “eliminating interruptions” in the classroom.
“There should be great urgency to act on this next logical step in Oklahoma’s education reform movement,” she said. “The average U.S. instructional calendar is 6.5 hours and 180 days. I submit to you that our state must move to an extended day of one additional hour and add at least five days to the instructional year.”
Citing a study by the Broad Foundation, Garrett said the correlation between time and student achievement “gets stronger” with more engaged time.
“The complicated relationship between learning and time indicates that improving the quality of time used for instruction is at least as important as adding to the quantity of time spent in school.”
But while she called an expanded school year, Garrett said public school districts should have flexibility to develop their new calendar.
“Some schools have used ‘block scheduling’ or implemented a ‘year-round’ school plan,” she said. “And since 1998, some Oklahoma school districts have received 21st Century federal grants to establish academic before and after summer programs.”
Schools could even use bus time as instruction time, she said.
“There are some districts which offer instruction as students ride the bus,” she said. “And another example of more time is the charter school model which features nine-hour days, Saturday classes and mandatory three-week summer school.”
Only two Oklahoma schools — one in Tulsa and the other in Oklahoma City — offer the nine-hour day.
Garrett said she would appoint a task force to make recommendations about how to increase the state’s school calendar.
She said Dr. Lucy Smith, the retired superintendent of McAlester’s public schools, would chair the committe. At a press conference following her speech, Garrett said she would appoint teachers, parents and union representatives to the task force.
Along with an increased calendar, Garrett called on state lawmakers to make pre-kindergarten though 12th grade education a greater priority.
“Economy-developing fields like biotechnology, nanotechnology, robotics and astrophysics do not thrive in places were education is not truly the priority,” she said.
Garrett said the issue “was not the $14,000 per student they spend in New York” but getting Oklahoma schools to the national average of $8,700 per pupil.
At present the state spends about $6,613 per student which, she said, is “close to a $2,100 gap per pupil.”
“Utilities, textbooks, computers, buses, bricks and mortar cost about the same in Indianapolis, Omaha or Austin as they do in Oklahoma City.”
Saying the state was “in a race” to compete globally, Garrett said she wanted Oklahoma schools to thrive.
“Some say you can ‘survive or thrive,’” she said. “I opt for the latter. Our main concern is preparing students for jobs that do not yet exist, using technologies what haven’t been invented to solve problems which we can only speculate about today. We must now maximize the power of teaching children how to learn.”
The Superintendent’s Leadership Conference continues through Thursday.
Garrett, delivering her annual “State of Education” address at the Superintendent’s Leadership Conference, said the Oklahoma school year should be increased to a minimum of 180 days. She also urged state lawmakers to add an hour to state’s 6-hour school day.
Currently, Oklahoma public schools are required to hold classed 175 days out of the year with a minimum, six-hour school day.
But schools in China, she said, operate nine-hour days for 10 months — a 200 day educational calendar — and “many countries around the world” require students to be in classes over 220 days.
“Japanese students are required to attend 240 days,” she said.
To compete, Garrett said Oklahoma must consider expanding the school year and “eliminating interruptions” in the classroom.
“There should be great urgency to act on this next logical step in Oklahoma’s education reform movement,” she said. “The average U.S. instructional calendar is 6.5 hours and 180 days. I submit to you that our state must move to an extended day of one additional hour and add at least five days to the instructional year.”
Citing a study by the Broad Foundation, Garrett said the correlation between time and student achievement “gets stronger” with more engaged time.
“The complicated relationship between learning and time indicates that improving the quality of time used for instruction is at least as important as adding to the quantity of time spent in school.”
But while she called an expanded school year, Garrett said public school districts should have flexibility to develop their new calendar.
“Some schools have used ‘block scheduling’ or implemented a ‘year-round’ school plan,” she said. “And since 1998, some Oklahoma school districts have received 21st Century federal grants to establish academic before and after summer programs.”
Schools could even use bus time as instruction time, she said.
“There are some districts which offer instruction as students ride the bus,” she said. “And another example of more time is the charter school model which features nine-hour days, Saturday classes and mandatory three-week summer school.”
Only two Oklahoma schools — one in Tulsa and the other in Oklahoma City — offer the nine-hour day.
Garrett said she would appoint a task force to make recommendations about how to increase the state’s school calendar.
She said Dr. Lucy Smith, the retired superintendent of McAlester’s public schools, would chair the committe. At a press conference following her speech, Garrett said she would appoint teachers, parents and union representatives to the task force.
Along with an increased calendar, Garrett called on state lawmakers to make pre-kindergarten though 12th grade education a greater priority.
“Economy-developing fields like biotechnology, nanotechnology, robotics and astrophysics do not thrive in places were education is not truly the priority,” she said.
Garrett said the issue “was not the $14,000 per student they spend in New York” but getting Oklahoma schools to the national average of $8,700 per pupil.
At present the state spends about $6,613 per student which, she said, is “close to a $2,100 gap per pupil.”
“Utilities, textbooks, computers, buses, bricks and mortar cost about the same in Indianapolis, Omaha or Austin as they do in Oklahoma City.”
Saying the state was “in a race” to compete globally, Garrett said she wanted Oklahoma schools to thrive.
“Some say you can ‘survive or thrive,’” she said. “I opt for the latter. Our main concern is preparing students for jobs that do not yet exist, using technologies what haven’t been invented to solve problems which we can only speculate about today. We must now maximize the power of teaching children how to learn.”
The Superintendent’s Leadership Conference continues through Thursday.
Cleveland County educators support — cautiously — Garrett's call for long school day, year
OKLAHOMA CITY — State school superintendent Sandy Garrett’s call for a longer school day and an increased school year is drawing cautious praise from several area educators.
Yesterday, during her “State of Education” speech, Garrett called for extending the Oklahoma school year by five days and adding an hour to the state’s six-hour school day.
Norman superintendent, Dr. Joe Siano, and Moore superintendent, Deborah Arato, both praised Garrett’s proposal; but added the increase would cost both districts “substantial amounts.”
“I think that we could, most certainly, use a longer school year,” Arato said. “We are among the shortest school day in the region.”
Moore schools, she said, “have far more material to teach than time.”
Siano agreed.
Like Arato, he said extending the school year could benefit students.
“My reaction is positive,” he said, late Tuesday afternoon. “I think with the challenges in accountability, time is an important issue. I’m very much in favor of looking at those extended time options.”
But while both superintendents said the extra time would benefit students, both added the cost of extending the school day and the school year would tax already strained budgets.
“You have to look at extended operation dollars and contractual dollars,” Siano said. “There’s a number of issues. Probably the salary increase — in terms of personnel cost — would be the largest amount.”
And that cost, Arato said, could not be readily absorbed.
“An extended year is not something which can be woven into our existing budget,” she said. “It would take quite a bit of extra money: Transportation costs, utilities, salaries, child nutrition, support staff, custodial staff. It would cost a great deal more.”
A longer year, both officials said, would require more funds from state lawmakers.
“The state would have to provide additional money,” Arato said. “In just our district, our funding seems to be a very consistent problem. There are times we reach critical mass.”
This year, Arato said, Moore administrators were forced to “cut school budgets and cut some positions.”
“Our budget keeps us running very shorthanded. So I’m kinda’ curious were the money will come from.”
Moore teachers union president Jill Dudley said she, too, was concerned by how Garrett’s proposal would be funded.
“My concern is it is expensive to do that,” Dudley said. “Teachers will have to be paid for the additional days; and that brings a question to my mind, ‘will the legislature fund this?’ It will cost money.”
The concept, Dudley said, “would also be a hard sell” at the state capitol.
“In light of the fact it’s been such a battle to get any type of increase in teacher salaries, I believe it would be a fight,” she said. “Speaker Cargill said there will be no more raises that aren’t merit pay. So I think the House is going to have issues about extending the school year.”
Still even with the controversy, all three said they were pleased the issue was being discussed.
“I’ll be interested to see what some of those details are,” Siano said. “I hope we get the chance to work on the superintendent’s task force.”
Yesterday, during her “State of Education” speech, Garrett called for extending the Oklahoma school year by five days and adding an hour to the state’s six-hour school day.
Norman superintendent, Dr. Joe Siano, and Moore superintendent, Deborah Arato, both praised Garrett’s proposal; but added the increase would cost both districts “substantial amounts.”
“I think that we could, most certainly, use a longer school year,” Arato said. “We are among the shortest school day in the region.”
Moore schools, she said, “have far more material to teach than time.”
Siano agreed.
Like Arato, he said extending the school year could benefit students.
“My reaction is positive,” he said, late Tuesday afternoon. “I think with the challenges in accountability, time is an important issue. I’m very much in favor of looking at those extended time options.”
But while both superintendents said the extra time would benefit students, both added the cost of extending the school day and the school year would tax already strained budgets.
“You have to look at extended operation dollars and contractual dollars,” Siano said. “There’s a number of issues. Probably the salary increase — in terms of personnel cost — would be the largest amount.”
And that cost, Arato said, could not be readily absorbed.
“An extended year is not something which can be woven into our existing budget,” she said. “It would take quite a bit of extra money: Transportation costs, utilities, salaries, child nutrition, support staff, custodial staff. It would cost a great deal more.”
A longer year, both officials said, would require more funds from state lawmakers.
“The state would have to provide additional money,” Arato said. “In just our district, our funding seems to be a very consistent problem. There are times we reach critical mass.”
This year, Arato said, Moore administrators were forced to “cut school budgets and cut some positions.”
“Our budget keeps us running very shorthanded. So I’m kinda’ curious were the money will come from.”
Moore teachers union president Jill Dudley said she, too, was concerned by how Garrett’s proposal would be funded.
“My concern is it is expensive to do that,” Dudley said. “Teachers will have to be paid for the additional days; and that brings a question to my mind, ‘will the legislature fund this?’ It will cost money.”
The concept, Dudley said, “would also be a hard sell” at the state capitol.
“In light of the fact it’s been such a battle to get any type of increase in teacher salaries, I believe it would be a fight,” she said. “Speaker Cargill said there will be no more raises that aren’t merit pay. So I think the House is going to have issues about extending the school year.”
Still even with the controversy, all three said they were pleased the issue was being discussed.
“I’ll be interested to see what some of those details are,” Siano said. “I hope we get the chance to work on the superintendent’s task force.”
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