Communications & Public Affairs
March 5, 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Wes Carter, Press Secretary
Oklahoma House Democratic Caucus
Phone: (405) 962-7674

Leader Virgin Responds to GOP Government Accountability Plan

OKLAHOMA CITY – House Minority Leader Emily Virgin (D-Norman) released the following statement after Gov. Kevin Stitt, alongside House and Senate Republicans, announced a partisan plan for government accountability.

“We have reached a point where the term ‘government accountability’ has lost all meaning,” Virgin said. “By taking away the decision-making power of our boards, we are moving decisions from a venue that falls under the Open Meetings Act and is in view of the public to a venue that is literally behind closed doors and lacking transparency.

Additionally, we have had many agency heads that have pushed our state in the right direction in spite of Capitol politics. By removing the oversight ability of the boards, we are creating an environment that will not only allow political patronage but will demand it. This plan isn’t about providing transparency. It is about acquiring power.”

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