Hot RacesBill TrackerLegislative DirectoryOklahoma MediaNational MediaTip Hotline
OklahomaPolitical News Service
"There's a new Web log for political junkies in Oklahoma -- the Oklahoma Political News Service." -- Roll Call

“A source confirms the report in the Oklahoma Political News Service that the Ethics Commission had started looking into alleged campaign donation irregularities.” Jerry Bohnen - News Radio 1000 KTOK-AM (Oklahoma City)

Submit tips or videos to our our tipline, confidentiality guaranteed...........okpns_editor@hotmail.com



Subscribe to the daily update e-mail:

Wednesday, February 21, 2007 

House Bill Making County Offices Nonpartisan Clears Panel

Legislation that would make county offices in Oklahoma nonpartisan passed a vote of the House Elections and Redistricting Subcommittee on Wednesday. House Bill 1452, by Rep. Rob Johnson, would allow all registered voters, regardless of party affiliation, to cast a ballot in their local county elections. "There are two key reasons why Oklahoma needs this change," said Johnson (R-Kingfisher). "First, when you consider county government's responsibilities, partisan politics shouldn't play much of a role. County government deals more with the administration and enforcement of county services and laws. These aren't partisan issues. "Second, partisan county elections, by their very nature, often prevent a large portion of the population from voting on county officers. If all the candidates for a particular county office are of the same political party, the race is decided in the primary, and any voter who's not a member of that party is effectively disenfranchised. This happens regularly in rural counties." Pointing to the office of sheriff as an example, Johnson said, "Whether you're a Democrat or Republican shouldn't affect your job as sheriff. The sheriff's duty is to enforce the laws already on the books. A sheriff's party affiliation should be immaterial to whether or not they can do the job. "We have nonpartisan judicial elections because judges should be unbiased and not partisan, and because all citizens should have a say in the process" Johnson added. "County officials should be the same way. It just makes sense."

Labels: ,

Posted at 2/21/2007 12:53:00 PM


All tips to the Oklahoma Political News Service are guaranteed confidental.
Click here to submit a tip
Advertisement













Should Oklahoma execute repeat child molesters?
Yes
No
  



 Subscribe in a reader

























Content disclaimer: Oklahoma Political News Service content posted by users does not represent the opinion of Oklahoma Political News Service. OKPNS makes no representations as to the accuracy or validity of this third-party content and is not liable in any way for the use of or reliance upon such content. Whenever possible, such information is marked with the name of the source. No content herein has been authorized by any candidate or political party.

Site designed by Set Sail Media

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?

Oklahoma Political News Service Copyright (C) 2006 | All Rights Reserved