PERSPECTIVE OKLAHOMA FARM BUREAU
®
October 22, 2010
Farm Bureau sponsors “NO on 744” Caravan
VOTE
NO
ABOVE – A Tulsa Channel 2 reporter captures video while Rep. George Faught lists likely consequences should SQ 744 pass during OFB’s “No on 744” Caravan stop at the Muskogee County office.
on State Question
Rep. Leslie Osborn talks about misinformation being circulated by SQ 744 supporters at a stop at the Canadian County office.
744
Get ready to vote on November 2 By Lori Kromer Peterson, OFB Vice President of Public Policy On Nov. 2, Oklahoma registered voters will go to the polls to decide many important issues that will shape how this state moves forward. With elected offices to be decided and 11 state questions, expect long lines and a long ballot. On each ballot, elected offices are on the front and state questions are on the back. Every voter will have the opportunity to vote for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, State Auditor and Inspector, Attorney General, State Treasurer, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Labor Commissioner and Insurance Commissioner. Each voter will also have the opportunity to vote for U.S. Senator and then depending on the congressional district in which you are registered, U.S. Representative. Voters will be asked to decide whether or not to retain Oklahoma Supreme Court Justices and Justices of the Court of Civil Appeals. Next on the ballot will be legislative, district and county officers followed by judicial officers for that district. The ballot title for all 11 state questions will appear on the back of every ballot. Candidates appearing on the ballot for the office of Governor are Mary Fallin (R) and Jari
Elections
2010 Askins (D). Fallin is the U.S. Representative for the 5th Congressional District and former Lieutenant Governor. Askins is Oklahoma’s current Lieutenant Governor and former member of the House of Representatives. For Lieutenant Governor, Todd Lamb (R) and Kenneth Corn (D) will face Richard Prawdzienski (I). Both Lamb and Corn are State Senators. Prawdzienski will be making his third run for an elected office. Current State Auditor and Inspector Steve Burrage (D) will seek re-election. His challenger is Gary Jones (R), former Chairman of the State Republican (See Get ready to vote, page 3)
A caravan of OFB leaders made brief stops in six locations across the state Oct. 18 to support a “no” vote on State Question 744. “We want voters to know the devastating impact of 744,” said OFB President Mike Spradling. “Farmers and ranchers support education, but 744 could cost up to $1.7 billion. How are we going to pay for that? The answer is severe budget cuts and higher taxes that will cost all Oklahomans with no guarantee of improving education.” The caravan made stops at county Farm Bureau offices in Shawnee, Muskogee, Tulsa, El Reno, Clinton and Lawton. Each stop was attended by OFB leaders, legislators, businessmen and women, education leaders and members of the media.
OFB Legal Foundation files injunction against vet board The Oklahoma Farm Bureau Legal Foundation has filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction to stop the Oklahoma Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners from enforcing emergency rules contradicting legislation passed this year. During the 2010 legislative session, lawmakers passed House Bill 3202 clarifying certain acts of traditional animal husbandry, including pregnancy checking and equine teeth floating, were not exclusive to the practice of veterinary medicine. In August the board passed emergency rules prohibiting nonveterinarians from performing some types of animal husbandry. “We believe they are circumventing the legal process and going against the desire of the state legislature,” Mike Spradling, president of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau, said. “This goes against the intent of HB 3202 and is an attempt (See Foundation, page 2)