Jennifer Palmer’s story about two requests for proposals by the State Department of Education raised a lot of eyebrows (see story on page 1 of this week’s issue of the Newcastle Pacer).
Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters asked for proposals from national public relations firms that could place at least three monthly op-ed pieces and score at least 10 monthly media bookings. They would also be expected to write speeches and handle some communications.
“Why would an Oklahoma elected official need a paid staff person to arrange national media appearances in order to do their job in the state of Oklahoma?” said Erin Brewer, communications chair for Oklahoma Parent Legislative Advocacy Coalition, a grassroots education advocacy group. “It sounds like campaigning to me.”
The benefit to Oklahoma students is unclear. No one at the department was willing to answer any of Jennifer’s questions, so if there is a benefit to Oklahoma education, they’re keeping it a secret.
Plenty of politicians stroll the pickets of a darn narrow fence when it comes to public money funding election campaigns. Franking privileges, for example, offer members of Congress free postage, a deal meant to allow elected officials to let constituents know what’s going on in Washington.
When one of those politicians is running for office, their desire to communicate all the great things they’ve done tends to become suddenly important. Much of that mail looks and sounds like campaign literature, coming just shy of saying, “Vote for Me!”
Because that would be illegal.
The courts have frowned on public money being used to bolster a politician’s chances of election. In Rising v. Brown, sitting Congressman George Brown Jr. of California used his frank to mail 300,000 postcards two weeks before a 1970 election in which fellow Congressman John Tunney opposed Brown in a U.S. Senate race. Although the postcard purported to seek constituent input regarding environmental proposals and never mentioned the election, the court prohibited Brown from using his franking privilege until the case was tried.
“There is an understandable unwillingness on the part of the judiciary to become involved in disputes of a purely political nature, especially at election time,” the court wrote, “but the public has an overriding interest in being protected against abuses of the franking privilege especially where, as here, the size of the mailing is so large.”
Since then, franking privileges have been narrowed multiple times, requiring more individual accountability and restricting how close to election day mailings can go out. That’s because the public shouldn’t pay for a politician’s personal gain.
Walters has already found his way to far more national media bookings than any Oklahoman in recent memory and has used those appearances to say that teachers’ unions are Marxist and make other inflammatory remarks.
EDITOR’S NOTE: “Oklahoma Watch, at oklahomawatch.org, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that covers public-policy issues facing the state.”
