There can be no half measures in Oklahoma’s Nov. 8 election

Last Updated on August 6, 2023, 2:52 AM | Published: October 4, 2022

The following is opinion intended to foster political thinking and discussion in the state. Oklahoma City Free Press has not, and will not endorse political candidates.

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There can be no half measures in Oklahoma’s Nov. 8 election, especially concerning the future of public education in this state. In order to truly safeguard Oklahoma children’s classrooms from the attacks on teachers, literature, public health, people of color and trans students, two races must go the right way. 

Gov. Kevin Stitt assaulted public education through his advocacy for revenue-draining school vouchers, his signing of HB 1775 and the subsequent suppression of literature and historical discussion, his retaliatory audit of Tulsa Public Schools and a litany of other degrading acts against Oklahoma students and teachers. 

He appointed car-selfie fascist Ryan Walters as secretary of Education to work on behalf of out-of-state, for-profit education interests, and last week he took part in a business-casual cosplay active shooter drill inside an actual public school for political points.

The result of Stitt and Walters’ disastrous time in office is a fundamental erosion of the public’s trust in government, and it works against both conservatives and progressives. 

By claiming that teachers are distributing harmful material and are the enemies of traditional values, Walters and Stitt are making people distrust the system. This, they hope, will drive so-called “values voters” to send their children to Christian private schools and charter schools, but mainly it just creates discontent and distrust of a government service.

What happens to those people if they are part of the rural half of Oklahoma’s population? If they believe Stitt and Walters, they are pissed off, because they think their child’s teacher is promoting something they do not like. Then, they find out there are no charter or private schools within 100 miles of their home. After that, they are super-pissed because they think the government is failing them. 

Progressives, meanwhile, see the attacks on educators, the book bans, the restrictions levied against trans students and the threats to refuse federal funding for public ed and they are pissed off, because Walters and Stitt are systematically dismantling their child’s school system. They have no faith in the system, either. After that, they are also super-pissed because they have one shot at their child’s education, and they see their only option as a private school.

Everything Stitt and Walters have done to public education — and to us — they have done together. So, it does not make sense to vote against one and not the other. Currently, Democratic candidate for State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jena Nelson has a polling advantage over Walters, yet Stitt is ahead of his Democratic challenger, Joy Hofmeister, by a nose hair. 

This should not be the case. 

Now is NOT the time for vote splitting. Those who vote for Stitt but not Walters are, in fact, choosing to kneecap Nelson. After all, if Stitt wins re-election, Walters will remain in the appointed and largely adversarial Secretary of Education role, and he will get in his minivan and undermine Nelson and the schools she will serve on a never-ending basis. 

If you are thinking about voting for Walters but not Stitt, I do not understand – please explain yourself. 

My feeling about the disparity between Nelson’s and Hofmeister’s polling is that it is due to Walters having a leg-up on making people hate him. They also might see Stitt as having some redeemable qualities that Walters does not. 

Don’t believe it.

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