Alva Review-Courier -

Former Attorney General Drew Edmondson has long been a popular figure with those who believe the government should be open to all citizens. He said, "Secret meetings and backroom deals are the everyday norms at our state capitol.

"The legislature has exempted itself from the Open Meetings Act and the Open Records Act, but they should be held to the same standards as other public bodies in Oklahoma.

"Government belongs to the people," Edmondson said. "Every meeting they hold, every document they create – those things do not belong to the legislature, they belong to the people. The legislature should conduct its business in the open, for all to see. Instead, the deals are done, and then spoils are distributed in private. What we see in committee hearings and on the floor of the house and senate is simply a ceremony."

A recipient of Freedom of Information Oklahoma's Marian Opala First Amendment Award, Edmondson has long been recognized as a champion of open government.

Visit to Northwest Oklahoma

Drew Edmondson attended a come-and-go reception in his honor at the First Sister Art Gallery in Waynoka on Friday afternoon.

Edmondson reviewed his history. He grew up in Muskogee. He served ten years as a district attorney, took a tour in the Navy, and then was elected to Oklahoma Attorney General, a seat he held for 16 years.

Drew has been married to Linda Larason of Fargo for 50 years. He is famous among friends for asking her to marry him on their first date. The rest is history and they have two grown children.

Edmondson agreed to a video/newspaper interview about four topics of high interest to rural Northwest Oklahoma.

Higher Education Cuts

The administration at NWOSU says funding has been cut 25 percent in the last three years. We asked Edmonson what is his suggested remedy. He said the answer is to restore the budget to previous levels in Oklahoma City. "I'm not looking to raise taxes but to restore taxes to what they were. For example, gross production tax used to be 7 percent for all wells. It needs to go back to 7 percent. Companies that are making millions of dollars extracting oil and gas from underneath the State of Oklahoma need to pay their fair share. They don't need to be subsidized. I'm not against oil companies. I'm glad they are here. But they need to pay their fair share of taxes."

Medicaid Rejection by the State

"There are two things about our failure to opt into the Medicaid expansion 7.5 years ago. First, I believe this is the worst decision made by the government in my lifetime. Worse things have happened by accident, but this was the worst intentional decision. We have ended up sending hundreds of millions of our tax dollars to other states, instead of providing for the 150,000-180,000 Oklahomans who would have qualified under Medicaid expansion.

"The upshot is that those 150-180,000 people still get sick. It's just that our hospitals and practitioners are not being reimbursed for their care, and that's why several hospitals have already gone bankrupt. There are dozens of others who don't know at the beginning of the month if they are going to be able to make payroll at the end of the month.

"The other upshot to that bad decision, is we have lower reimbursement rates for the care of those who ARE eligible for Medicaid. So that's a double hit for hospitals and nursing homes."

Teacher Pay Raises in Jeopardy

When we asked Edmondson what he would do it governor about the pending Teacher Pay raise issues. He said, "By the way, when the teachers announced they would walk at the capital if the legislature didn't properly fund education, I would walk with them. My campaign and I personally was there every day.

"They got about half of what was needed: about $400 million dollars, but you've got to give credit to the house and senate members who voted for it because that's the first increase in revenue since 1992.

"We'll know as maybe early next week to see if the Coburn initiative petition passes supreme court muster. If it passes the Supreme Court, there's a relatively low bar of 41,000 signatures needed to get it on the ballot.

"My reply is, 'I hope the people who supported the teachers keep that support in mind, because it is likely to be on the ballot in November. So be sure you are registered and be sure and go vote.'"

Department of Corrections

Knowing that Edmondson has a 10-year history as a DA and 16 as the AG, that's a strong background likely favoring locking offenders up.

He answered, "There are multiple factors at work. We HAVE had members of the legislature and local prosecutors thinking the only way they can be re-elected is to be tough on crime. When I was a DA, I knew my first duty was to protect the public. I'm not sure we do that by locking up a shoplifter, or a bogus check writer, or a person in simple possession of a drug and giving them felony prison time.

"We've gone a little too far on some of our draconian prison sentences. I am particularly bothered by the inability of judges, prosecutors or defense attorneys to have had options of deferred sentences. This removes a tool for the judges and prosecutors.

"I support the Department of Mental Health's Smart on Crime proposal. Let spend $3,000 to $5,000 to treat someone at mental health facilities rather than spending $21,000-$30,000 per year in a prison when we have done away with most mental health treatment options."

"Someone who needs mental treatment help will eventually come to the attention of law enforcement, and the result is they're going to end up in the penitentiary. Then our costs skyrocket."