A Okie look at all thing Politics, eCampaign, New Media and Warfare - - - I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. - John Adams
DPS Doesn't Have A Clue Where Highway Traffic 'Spy' Camera Revenue Estimate Came From
The Department of Public Safety admits in a solicitation for vendors bidding on Governor Henry's new statewide system of highway traffic "spy" cameras that it doesn't have a clue where an estimate of $50 million in new revenue for the state from the system came from.
That revelation is found in reading questions submitted by bidders, and the DPS response to them (Bid #5850000395). The DPS response to the questions is somewhat surprising given that it is the entity that has been in charge of requesting information from bidders.
Two bidders asked for the source of the revenue estimate; in both cases, DPS replied, "Unknown."
Reading the proposals also reveals that initially, the estimate of new revenue was $95 million. The income would flow from fines assessed against those without vehicle insurance. Even at $50 million, the sum listed in Henry's budget, it is estimated that more than 750 motorists without insurance would have to be fined per day to produce that much money for the state given that the vendor would be paid 25 to 30 percent of the fines collected. DPS reports there are 3.9 million vehicles in the state with 3.5 million of them being properly insured.
A DPS source told The McCarville Report Online he believes the first estimate came during one of the initial discussions about the Oklahoma system. He named the person he believes made the estimate, but TMRO was unable to contact that person during the Memorial Day holiday for confirmation.
The system, which would place 220 cameras across the state to photograph the license plates of passing vehicles, is designed to catch insurance scofflaws, those without the mandatory vehicle insurance.
But privacy advocates and civil libertarians see a much more sinister use of the information that would be gathered by the cameras. They note the apparent ease of tracking the movements of motorists, and the ability of the state to harvest unrelated information about the vehicle owner and place it into a computer database. That fear appears to be reinforced by advocates of the "Automated License Plate Recognition" (ALPR) system.
Governor Henry proposed the system as part of an effort to raise new revenue.
Former OU and Dallas Cowboys football coach Barry Switzer, credited by some as being responsible for Governor Henry's upset victory in the 2002 governor's race, apparently is connected to a company that may benefit from Henry's plan to use highway traffic cameras to identify those without vehicle insurance.
While there's been no announcement that InsureNet will be the company chosen to process information obtained through the highway cameras, it has won contracts in other states as a "sole source provider," meaning it is the only firm able to perform the service.
Former Republican House member Wayne Pettigrew of Edmond is a national officer of the firm.
Switzer was a fundraiser for Henry in 2002 and again in 2006. His endorsement of Henry in the 2002 race, many believe, propelled Henry to victory. Switzer also was responsible for placing a last-minute series of Henry radio commercials with a jingle that became the hallmark of the campaign.
Bulletin ~ The House Transportation Committee heard a presentation last Wednesday on InsureNet, which provides paperless verification of motorists’ insurance status. Former University of Oklahoma football coach Barry Switzer, who implemented the program in Oklahoma, was present at our meeting.
Following the thread of disjointed information about InsureNet's efforts to bring the controversial cameras to Oklahoma highways also shines light on the involvement of others, including Republican Rep. Ken Miller of Edmond, the chairman of the powerful House Appropriations and Budget Committee and a candidate for state treasurer.
Miller authored House Bill 3326 in the 2008 session which authorized creation of the new license plates, which apparently became the first step in instituting the system and was a member of the committee that designed the plates. Miller, however, says the system would have worked with the state's previous license plates. And, as with Henry, there's a political connection between Switzer and Miller.
Oklahoma Ethics Commission reports show Switzer donated $2,500 to Miller's 2010 reelection campaign.
In Henry's reelection campaign in 2006, Switzer repeated his 2002 donation generosity to Henry; he donated the maximum, $5,000.
Anybody think its odd that Denise Bode, now work for a Aubrey McClendon/Chesapeake Energy PUPPET ?
Funny how things work out. LOL
Chesapeake's employees big givers in race By MICK HINTON AND TOM LINDLEY World Capitol Bureau
OKLAHOMA CITY — Employees of Chesapeake Energy Corp., the state's largest natural gas producer, have sunk more than $100,000 into Jim Roth's bid to retain his seat on the state Corporation Commission, an analysis by the Tulsa World shows.
More than 80 Chesapeake employees have contributed at least $1,000 each to the campaign of Roth, a Democrat running against Republican Dana Murphy.
Roth sided with Chesapeake in a key vote last October involving construction of a coal-fired power plant.
"I've never had a contributor ask for anything in return and they must know that they would never get it,'' Roth said.
With five weeks to go before the Nov. 4 election, Roth's fundraising efforts already have set a record for a Corporation Commission race and could reach $1 million before it's over.
A former Oklahoma County commissioner, Roth was appointed to the three-member Corporation Commission by Gov. Brad Henry last year after Denise Bode resigned. Roth and Murphy, an Edmond lawyer and former administrative law judge for the commission, are vying to fill the remaining two years of Bode's term.
Through the Aug. 11 campaign reporting period, Roth had raised $884,143.18 and had $652,805.89 to spend. Murphy had raised $324,307.30 through the same period but only reported a balance of $60,965 after winning a Republican Party primary battle against Rob Johnson of Kingfisher.
Roth's campaign has received maximum $5,000 contributions from a number of prominent Democrats and Republicans, including Tulsa oilman George Kaiser; Clay Bennett, chairman of the Oklahoma City Thunder NBA franchise; Enid oilman Harold Hamm; Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor; former University of Oklahoma and Dallas Cowboys coach Barry Switzer; and oilman (T.) Boone Pickens.
Other Tulsans who have given $5,000 contributions to Roth's campaign are David Chernicky, George Krumme, Janet McGehee, Robert Price, Stuart Price, Joe Robson and Stacy Schusterman.
So far, 104 Chesapeake employees have contributed $100,675, including 82 who have given Roth $1,000 each, often on the same day, according to reports filed with the state Ethics Commission.
Aubrey McClendon, chairman and CEO of Chesapeake, gave a maximum contribution of $5,000, as did Energy for Oklahomans, a political action committee for the company.
Headquartered in Oklahoma City, Chesapeake is Oklahoma's largest natural gas producer and the third-largest overall producer of natural gas in the United States.
Last year, McClendon led a campaign against the proposed Red Rock coal-fired power plant. Two of the state's largest utilities, American Electric Power-Public Service Company of Oklahoma and Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co., wanted to build the plant.
Roth and Commissioner Jeff Cloud voted to deny pre-approval of the plant, which effectively stopped the project.
Roth said the Red Rock debate was not about which fuel should be used to generate electricity. Rather, he said, it was about whether ratepayers should be asked to pay for the costs of the plant before it was put into operation.
"When I stood up to the utilities and said no to their $2 billion plan and advocated using Oklahoma fuel for Oklahomans, I'm sure that it did attract support of employees and businesses here in Oklahoma because they know I'm working for Oklahoma," Roth said.
State and federal law prohibits corporations from contributing to candidates, although individual employees can, as long as they are not coerced into giving and their giving is not carried out by the corporation itself.
Marilyn Hughes, executive director of the Ethics Commission, said that when employers start specifying amounts and to whom, it might appear that an employee's job is dependent on making a contribution.
"I do think that giving the exact amount, giving it on the same day to the same candidate would be facts that would have to be considered to determine whether there was coercion," she said.
Tom Price, Chesapeake's vice president of communications, said Thursday that his corporation is careful to follow the law regarding campaign giving.
"I am extraordinarily proud of the fact that our employees get involved in the political process," he said.
Price said it was the perspective of many Chesapeake employees that Murphy had not been fair in her rulings as an administrative law judge at the Corporation Commission.
In response, Murphy asked: "What do people from the financial department and human relations know about me?"
Price also said Chesapeake employees supported Cloud in his 2002 race against Murphy.
In 2002, Cloud received $37,800 from Chesapeake employees, campaign reports filed with the state Ethics Commission show. Cloud has received $12,500 from Chesapeake employees so far this year.
Price said he finds Roth to be "an analytical and sophisticated decision maker who works as hard as any public official that I have ever had engagement with."
Roth and Murphy are involved in a hard-fought race dominated by contributions from donors associated with the oil and gas industry, which is regulated by the commission along with public utilities, telephone companies and interstate transportation. The regulated industries are traditionally among the largest donors in previous commission races.
Roth said he has strong support from people all across Oklahoma in every type of job because he "has been working very hard for a year and a half to serve Oklahoma."
He said he is building a large campaign fund because "the work is important and a positive message always costs more in a tough political environment."
Murphy said her grassroots campaign features contributors chiefly from independent oil and gas producers who often have five or fewer employees.
"I think it is fascinating that my opponent says he is a consumer advocate when it appears the majority of his money comes from the wealthy," she said.
In the other commission race, Cloud, a Republican who was born in Tulsa and now lives in Oklahoma City, is competing against former state representative Charles Gray, a Democrat from Oklahoma City, in a race for a six-year term. Cloud raised $313,055.90 through Aug. 11, compared with $17,728 for Gray.
