Gov. Fallin sued; Paris Air Show expenses in question

Staff report

(Oklahoma City) In a lawsuit filed Tuesday The Oklahoma Democratic Party is suing Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin for her failure to provide details of the funding and persons involved in her trip to the Paris Air Show in June of 2015. The request was originally made on June 16, 2015 under the Open Records Act and to date the Governor’s office has refused to disclose this information.

The Oklahoma Open Records Act provides that a “public body must provide prompt, reasonable access to its records.”

In a press release today Oklahoma Democratic Chair, Mark Hammons stated, "We have been more than reasonable and patient while waiting on the Governor's office to provide the information we requested. Even in November we reached back out to her office requesting the information or at minimum a timeline of when we could expect the information to be provided. The response from her office was essentially for us to wait in line. The Governor's office has a bad habit of dragging out litigation in an apparent attempt to wear down her opposition or find a loophole to avoid providing information that the taxpayers of Oklahoma have a right to know.”

Hammons goes on to say, "We have gone well past the timeframe originally outlined to the Governor's office in which we would seek legal relief for this situation but her office has continued to refuse to comply. The Governor and her staff left us no option other than to pursue this through the courts.  The simple fact is that the Governor's refusal to provide information requested is a bad habit and she has been subsequently sued multiple times for this same reason. It is our goal to not only uncover exactly what happened regarding her trip to Paris but also bring to light the continued incompetence of the Governor and her office in fulfilling her duties and responsibilities as executive of the State of Oklahoma."

Governor Fallin’s office in the past has claimed the trip was paid for by private funds from the Oklahoma Business Roundtable, a group comprised of some of the largest corporations operating in Oklahoma. The Democratic party, in a statement made by Hammons last June, wants to know if there are any limitations to this funding, were there any public funds expended and if there were any ethical violations according to Oklahoma by-laws.

At question also, is whether it is ethical for private business to pay the personal expenses of the Governor’s husband, who accompanied her on this trip. The lawsuit requests the release of all information regarding who traveled with the Governor on her trip and all sources of funding as well as the names of anyone involved in supplying the funds.