How Cargill's political ascent reversed course

How Cargill's political ascent reversed course
By John Greiner and Michael McNutt
Capitol Bureau
Wed January 30, 2008

A phrase in Lance Cargill's swan song as House speaker probably best describes his political career.

"This has been a very remarkable journey for me thus far,” the Harrah Republican said as he stepped down Monday as House speaker, barely a year into his first term as the No. 1 man of the House.

As Cargill put it himself, he goes from the front of the House chamber where the speaker sits to the back of the chamber where he said he will continue to pursue his ideas.

But what brought him to this point? Of all the controversies Cargill has faced, none became more personal with voters than revelations that he failed to file state income tax returns and was routinely late paying his property taxes, a Republican colleague said.

"For the most part, stuff that's been in the media with regard to Ethics Commission stuff and political kinds of things, most people kind of take that with a grain of salt,” said Rep. Gary Banz, R-Midwest City. "When it was taxes, it immediately connects with the people at an emotional level where they live.”

Rise to the top
Cargill came from the small town of Harrah and from a blue-collar background, he said.
After attending Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, Cargill came home to Oklahoma, he said, because he wanted to live here; he also aspired to be a servant of the people.

He has had a topsy-turvy tenure in House leadership positions.

After achieving the rank of Republican House floor leader, he resigned under pressure in 2006 amid members' complaints about bills being put on or left off the agenda. The floor leader usually sets the agenda.

Cargill survived that, and later that year, went on to be picked by his colleagues to be their choice to succeed Todd Hiett as speaker. The 36-year-old Cargill became the youngest speaker in the U.S. when he was formally elected to the position in January 2007.

Hard fall
The end of his leadership came quickly.
He caused some controversy shortly after becoming speaker last year when he met privately with lobbyists in an office complex near the state Capitol to raise money. He said he was leading by example by holding meetings outside the Capitol with lobbyists.

The state Ethics Commission also is believed to be investigating whether Cargill had anything to do with how checks intended for the state Republican Party instead went to the Oklahoma County Republican Party in 2004. Cargill has denied wrongdoing.

He said that stepping down as speaker puts him in a "better position to respond to and defend against the false charges that have been made against me, whether they be in the Ethics Commission or in other forums.”

An advocate of tax cuts, Cargill was stung by reports in The Oklahoman that he failed to file his 2005 and 2006 state income tax returns until getting a warning from the Tax Commission, and that he was late in paying property taxes on his Harrah law office six years in a row.

Elected officials not following tax laws or paying taxes late tarnishes the basic fundamental trust that constituents have in them, Banz said.

Banz said constituents brought up Cargill's delinquent tax payments "everywhere I went — everywhere.”

Cargill was one of five legislators who failed to file their state income tax returns, but constituents especially were irritated over Cargill's actions because he was in a leadership position, Banz said.

House Republicans also were disappointed.

"When it's the face of your caucus and it's the voice of your caucus, then that elevates it to another level,” Banz said.