DESPERATE "SAPS" People

VOTE NO on THIS MAPS

Hat Tip to Mark Shannon

Who Makes Money Off MAPS?

So, who benefits from MAPS 3?

Let's look...
Congressman Tom Cole - His company Cole Hargraves Snodgrass is being paid to do polling for MAPS. Cole didn't reveal that when he endorsed MAPS. He also receives campaign funds from many of the principles involved in shoving MAPS 3 down the throat of voters. It's Tom Cole's company that is behind the annoying "robocalls" and the caller "Laurie" is an employee of his company, though you're supposed to be so stupid that you think it's some "regular" housewife. I'm not even sure LAURIE lives in Oklahoma City. FAKE.

Former Mayor Kirk Humphrey on the Oklahoma River that is/has been improved by MAPS 3. He bought it three years ago, but it remains undeveloped. Why do you suppose he's waiting? Hmm.

MAYOR Mick Cornett is directly paid by Ackerman McQueen, who is a MAPS supporter and who has produced commercials and public relations for MAPS 3. Cornett's salary is also being paid by clients of A-M such as THE OKLAHOMAN, OGE, The State Fair Board, The OKC Chamber of Commerce, Baptist Integris, and Chesapeake, among others. All who are pushing MAPS. The Mayor is ON THE TAKE, legally or otherwise, by MAPS 3 supporters.

Some of his clients do business with the city. Anyone see anything UNETHICAL about that? CORNETT'S CONFLICTS

Billionaire Aubrey McClendon/Chesapeake owns property along the OK River, which will directly benefit from MAPS 3.

OG&E reportedly might stand to gain "big time" depending on where the Convention Center is built. It has something to do with the "need" of a new power sub-station, though I'm unclear about the details.

State Fair Board, who receives money from the HOTEL MOTEL TAX, gets even more money. How much profit do they make? How much do they pay their members or employees? How much money does this so-called NON-PROFIT make off the State Fair and the shows there? Where does it go? Two members of Ackerman-McQueen are on their board, as is Clay Bennett and other YESMAPS money backers.

DEVON already received a special TIFF to subsidize the building of their 50 story office building. This TIFF draws off taxes that normally would go to the school district.

THE OKLAHOMAN has benefitted enormously from expensive FULL PAGE ads, already gets heavy money from the STATE FAIR, (to the point most people think the OKLAHOMAN owns the FAIR,) and the Oklahoman publisher is the head of the Chamber, and heading up the MAPS 3 tax increase.

The CITY GOVERNMENT will grow as a result of MAPS. That means more taxes, more salaries, more control. I guess Oklahomans only care about the size of government when it's Obama's government?

And, the only UNION that benefits is not the police or firefighters, but the UNION that represents State, City, and County municipal employees.

And that's just the connections I am aware of, without doing any serious digging. Too bad a certain newspaper, (which is in the MAPS TANKS) doesn't do some real journalism about the "corruption" in this city.

If You Vote - THIS MAPS is Over!

If I had any doubt about the numbers I've been receiving show THIS MAPS failing miserably, I no longer do.

The people of Oklahoma City have sent a loud and clear message to the pollsters, owned and operated by Congressman Tom Cole's CHS company, funded by a group of clients of Mick Cornett's employer, Ackerman-McQueen:

NOT THIS MAPS....NOT NOW....ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!

The evidence that confirms what I'm saying? The MAPS campaign has gone negative! (As predicted in this column earlier this week.)

Their most recent TV commercials now call our Police and Firefighters BULLIES!

These people are desperate.

To refer to these overstretched and understaffed members of public safety as BULLIES is not only complete "B.S." - it's just unbelievable!

AND...its' all a SMOKE SCREEN.

The police and firefighters aren't the issue. The bad timing of many bad projects that will only grow the burden already felt by Oklahoma City taxpayers is the issue.

Swimming pools for seniors that are not needed and who will compete with privately-owned athletic facilities, not to mention the YM and YWCA's.

A whitewater rafting "fantasy" that does will not make break even. (And if it could should be built by private investment, not government.)

A downtown park, which might look good, but which will further burden city government that can barely keep up with what we have already, and that the city cannot provide security for due to the undermanned and overworked OKC Police Dept. (And absolutely no one can fail to see that it will be a gathering place for the homeless and criminal element that already fills that area of the city, and who have already made the nearby Myriad Gardens their home.)

Voting NO will not undue any of the progress this city has made.

It won't stop the building of the DEVON TOWER, it won't send the NBA back to Seattle, it won't hurt Bricktown at all, (in fact many in Bricktown oppose MAPS 3 because it will draw retail away from the still lacking retail business in that part of the city.)

Oklahoma City (the Mayor tells us) is already a BIG LEAGUE CITY, and yet in the middle of the worst recession most of us can remember, at a time when unemployment continues to grow in the city and revenues to the city are down, these disgusting politicians and millionaires want the taxpayers of the city to spend another 777 million dollars for projects the city DOES NOT NEED and in many cases will continue to cost taxpayers long after the 777 million dollars is spent.

Mick Cornett and his clients at A-M and his fellow politicians should be ashamed of themselves, asking taxpayers for more when they don't even know if they'll have a job next week. Not to mention referring to the heroes of April 19, 1995 and the tornados that have torn across this community as "BULLIES."

When your priorities as Mayor appear to be your advertising clients and not the voters who put you where you are, there are consequences.

Especially at election time.

And the first chance to send that message is TUESDAY. VOTE NO.

Roth Sponsored Roadway, Bridge To Campaign Official's Arcadia Tree Farm; Land Value Soars

Hat Tip to Mike @ The McCarville Report Online

Remember the controversy over the roadway that passed by property owned by a maximum donor to the campaign of the Oklahoma County commissioner who sponsored the road project?

Today, there's certain controversy over yet another Oklahoma County road, and a new bridge, that provides access to an Arcadia tree farm owned by a co-chairman, fundraiser and huge personal donor to the campaign of former Oklahoma County Commissioner Jim Roth, now a member of the Corporation Commission seeking election in his first statewide campaign.

That controversy is certain to focus attention as well on what appears to be a close and continuing alliance between Roth and the owner of the tree farm, a man who hired Roth's campaign consultant as a Capitol lobbyist and whose primary business empire Roth helps regulate as a member of the Corporation Commission.

The Alliance Between
Regulator And Regulated

Records examined by The McCarville Report Online show the following:

1 - In June 2005, minutes of a Board of County Commissioner's meeting show, County Commissioner Roth, a Democrat, began the process of sponsoring improvements on a portion of Anderson Road just south of Old U. S. (now State) Highway 66 in rural Arcadia, and the construction of a new bridge over Deep Fork Creek.

The then-existing bridge was in disrepair and, locals say, had been that way for more than a decade; because the road (which deadends to the south) had no through traffic, a source relates, previous Commissioner Beverly Hodges did not push to have the bridge rebuilt and the roadway had been essentially unused.

Oklahoma Department of Transportation records indicate the project cost $705,000; ODOT was sent final paperwork on the project in November 2006, the County Commission's meeting minutes indicate. Oklahoma County authorized $50,502 in engineering and other fees associated with the project, the minutes show.

In addition, $36,000 was paid for easements to Stanley Kolar of Arcadia. His trust owns five parcels that partially abut Anderson Road, records show, including a 1940-built home listed at 13000 East Highway 66 with a 2008 fair market value affixed by the county assessor of $157,700, a $12,000 increase over 2007.

2 - Located on the west side of that stretch of Anderson Road today is the Deep Fork Tree Farm, owned by Chesapeake Energy Corp. leader Aubrey McClendon.

McClendon also owns the nearby Pop's iconic restaurant. The tree farm is south of the restaurant on the west side of Anderson Road.

The tree farm is bordered on the west by Westminster Road near the restaurant. Both entities, Arcadia officials have said, have increased tourism and tax collections for the city.

The value of the tree farm land has skyrocketed in the year since the road improvements were made and the bridge was constructed. Oklahoma County Assessor Leonard Sullivan's office placed its fair market value last year at $60,100. By the end of March this year, it was valued at $449,362.

3 - McClendon, known for his generosity to political candidates in both parties and to public issue causes, donated $5,000 to Roth's 2006 campaign for the county commission.

4 - In 2007, Roth was named to the Corporation Commission by Governor Brad Henry to replace Republican Denise Bode, who resigned, following an unsuccessful bid to win the Republican nomination for Congress in the 5th District, to become CEO of McClendon's American Clean Skies Foundation in Washington.

The commission regulates the energy industry, of which McClendon's Chesapeake Energy Corp. is a part. Among those who supported Roth for the appointment were McClendon and Capitol lobbyist and campaign strategist Pat Hall, former Democratic Party chairman and a Roth adviser who was hired as a Chesapeake lobbyist after Roth was appointed.

5 - After McClendon became a part of the ownership group headed by Clay Bennett that purchased the Seattle Sonics professional basketball team, he and another owner came under fire from homosexual groups in Seattle for donating to an anti-gay marriage group in 2004.

Roth, who is openly gay, engaged in an email exchange with McClendon offering to make a public statement defending McClendon from attacks by Seattle's gay community or by Democrats in the Washington Legislature.

The emails were disclosed in court in Seattle during the legal battle over relocation of the team to Oklahoma City. Roth himself hinted at the close alliance he shares with McClendon in a 2007 letter he subsequently wrote to the sports editor of the Seattle Times, in which he said, "From the beginning, Clay and Aubrey initiated a genuine kindness and friendship toward my partner and me.

They have publicly and consistently supported me, even pushing back when right-wing attacks have occurred. Their support is unconditional and has helped improve the overall climate for expanding tolerance here at home."

6 - In 2007, McClendon funded 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 sided with McClendon and voted to deny pre-approval of the plant, which killed the project.

He was joined in that vote by Republican Commissioner Jeff Cloud.

The vote came about the time the finishing touches were being completed on the Anderson Road improvements.

Given Roth's alliance with McClendon, should he have abstained from voting on the project McClendon so opposed? The question is certain to be asked.

7 - When Roth formed his campaign committee to seek election to the Corporation Commission seat to which Henry appointed him, he named McClendon, and Bennett, as co-chairmen and the two have since hosted fundraisers and signed fundraising letters for Roth.

8 - McClendon is himself a maximum donor. As has been reported by TMRO, KTOK, the Tulsa World, and The Oklahoman, McClendon's Chesapeake associates joined him in pouring money into Roth's campaign. Many of the donations from Chesapeake employees are in the same amount and given on the same day. The donations have pushed Roth's fundraising total to more than a million dollars and more than one source says about half that sum came through the efforts of McClendon and his business associates.

Roth's critics are certain to cite the series of events that demonstrate the connection between Roth and McClendon: June 2005: Roth initiates road and bridge projects that benefit McClendon; 2006: McClendon donates $5,000 to Roth's campaign for the county commission; March 2007: Roth defends McClendon in letter to Seattle newspaper, citing "unconditional support" from McClendon; September 2007: Roth votes against Red Rock power plant proposal opposed by McClendon; May 2008: Roth names McClendon as co-chairman of his campaign for the Corporation Commission; 2008: McClendon, his company political action committee and numerous employees donate more than $100,000 to Roth's campaign; McClendon is said to have helped raise more than half a million dollars for the campaign.

The latest numbers tallied by the Tulsa World show that 104 Chesapeake employees have contributed $100,675 to Roth, including 82 who have given Roth $1,000 each, often on the same day, Ethics Commission reports show.

McClendon, chairman and CEO of Chesapeake, gave a maximum contribution of $5,000, as did Energy for Oklahomans, a political action committee for company employees.

Headquartered in a sprawling complex of new buildings in northwest 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 funded a massive advertising campaign against the proposed Red Rock coal-fired power plant. Roth and Cloud voted to deny pre-approval of the plant, which killed the project. Roth said the Red Rock debate was not about which fuel should be used to generate electricity. He said it was about whether ratepayers should be asked to pay for the costs of the plant before it was put into operation.

At no time during discussion on the issue, or in interviews about it, did Roth disclose his multiple connections to McClendon.

"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 told the World's Tom Lindley in a story co-written by Mick Hinton.

OG&E attorney William Bullard noted Chesapeake's involvement in the case. Chesapeake is a member of the Quality of Service Coalition, which has presented information in the case.

"When a party has an attorney in the proceeding," said Bullard, "does not bother to put one witness on under oath to be cross- examined, but elects to spend several hundred thousand - if not more - dollars throwing out inaccurate and wildly inaccurate information in an effort to influence this commission, we need to think about, are there ways to discourage that."

Were proponents of the Red Rock plant aware of the Roth-McClendon alliance at the time he voted against them and for McClendon? A call to Bullard has not yet been returned.

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, told the World 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, told the World 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.

Sources: Minutes of numerous meetings of the Oklahoma County Board of Commissioners 2005-2007; Oklahoma County Assessor Leonard Sullivan's office; Oklahoma Secretary of State's Office; The Seattle Times; The Oklahoman; the Tulsa World; Oklahoma Ethics Commission; Oklahoma Department of Transportation; Federal Highway Administration; The Journal-Record; Roth2008.Com.

Chesapeake Execs Flood Roth With Cash

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.