TULSA, Okla. — Governor Stitt and some of his closest advisors are suing Attorney General Gentner Drummond. The governor tells 2 News he wants the AG to provide more clarity on his opinion.
Stitt is joined in the suit by Blayne Arthur, Deborah Shropshire and Shelley Zumwalt. All three of them have two high level jobs within state government.The same can’t be said for Tim Gatz, who just resigned two of his three jobs. Gov. Stitt sees it as a political stunt.
"Just tell me what the rules are. We just need clarity. It’s not fair to pick on these people," Stitt said.
The wording of the rules could cause confusion. Title 74 says candidates may be “appointed as a cabinet secretary from among the agency heads within the cabinet area.” It later goes on to say their cabinet jobs shall not affect their status as department heads. Stitt says the lawsuit is intended to clear this up.
Drummond is calling the suit “needless” with “dozens of exemptions” in the law. He says his opinion is narrow and clear.
Sen. Mary Boren asked Drummond for the opinion on Gatz. She says she has no plans of asking for a similar opinion in regard to someone like Shelley Zumwalt.
"She’s not involved in authorizing $15 billion worth of resources to dislocate my constituents," Boren said.
Stitt is pressing on, convinced it will be an open and shut case.
"We think we win this it’s pretty standard, it’s pretty normal. And again, I believe in efficient, smaller government," Stitt said.
Both Boren and Stitt say this is a first for Oklahoma. Stitt doubling down to say, he has just been following the precedent of past governors' strategies.
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