Sooner State News

Joel Kintsel, director of the Oklahoma Department of Veteran Affairs, is running against Gov. Kevin Stitt in the Oklahoma gubernatorial primary set for June 28.

"I am running for governor because we are heading in the wrong direction here in Oklahoma," Kintsel told Sooner State News. "And specifically, I'm running on an anti-corruption, good government type of platform. There are quite a few things going on right now within the administration that I feel are the wrong things for Oklahoma. And somebody has got to take a stand, and that's going to be me." 

"So one thing in particular is I believe that the governor should be there to serve the people and to serve the interest of the Oklahoma taxpayer. And what is happening is the current governor, who is extremely wealthy, is engaging in the business practices that really are – for lack of a better way to say it – crony capitalism where he's working deals and making arrangements to enrich himself and his little cadre of millionaire buddies around him at the expense of the Oklahoma taxpayer. They're moving away from competitive bidding and just giving contracts to their friends. One of the more egregious examples of this is over in the health department. They're paying $95,000 a month to a PR firm that is owned by one of the governors' max donors. And so that's just one example of how this is going on in a number of places around the government."

Stitt has been dogged by accusations of using the office to benefit friends, Oklahoma Business Daily reported. Among the many areas in the Stitt administration drawing attention is his continued use of close allies for state business. Stitt hired Renzi Stone’s communications firm Saxum on a no-bid contract to handle public relations for the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH). Under that contract, Saxum is paid $95,000 per month for strategic communications advice to "shift the narrative on OSDH."

The Oklahoman reports Stone twice contributed the maximum amount allowed under campaign law to Stitt.

Saxum has pulled in $15.5 million from the state since Stitt took office in 2019, according to The Oklahoman.

Stitt’s handling of pandemic relief funds has also been called into question.

In February, Oklahoma State Auditor Cindy Byrd self-released an audit critical of the way Stitt has handled COVID-19 relief funds provided by the federal government. 

Byrd's description echoed other Oklahoma government watchdogs' worries about the Stitt administration's handling of pandemic funds, which included mismanagement and a lack of transparency. She alleged the administration’s spending was "made in violation of the Oklahoma Constitution." Byrd also noted "inconsistency in how the purchasing documentation was maintained" and a "disconnect between the purchasing and finance process."  

The CARES FORWARD account Stitt set up to handle those payments "did not facilitate transparency" and struggled with a "lack of consistent application of processes for data management, incomplete documentation and a general lack of accessibility and transparency regarding expenditures and decision-making," a February 2021 evaluation from the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency noted.

The COVID funding prompted U.S. Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) to call for increased oversight and accountability related to pandemic relief spending.

"We’re still trying to get answers to questions of what has been spent and what category. So, some pretty basic things," Lankford said at a March 17 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing.