Gentner Drummond
OKLAHOMA CITY — Shortly after receiving the oath of office as Oklahoma’s new Attorney General, Gentner Drummond announced his priorities.
The state’s chief legal and law enforcement officer said his top priorities include working to improve relations with Oklahoma’s Native American tribes, eliminating illegal marijuana growing operations in the state, prosecuting fraud and corruption, and ensuring governmental transparency.
“I am deeply honored that Oklahomans have entrusted me to serve as their Attorney General,” said Drummond, an attorney, rancher and businessman. “As a seventh-generation Oklahoman who deeply loves our state, I am committed to upholding the rule of law, protecting the rights of our people, and promoting public safety.”
Drummond, a Republican, earned his law degree at Georgetown University.
Improving tribal relations
Drummond said he will prioritize working with tribal nations “to restore a positive working relationship between them and the State of Oklahoma.” Repeated clashes with tribes over gaming disputes and various issues related to McGirt v. Oklahoma present opportunities to “collaborate with tribal leaders to reach workable solutions in the best interests of all Oklahomans,” he said.
“Oklahoma’s relationship with our great tribal nations has been damaged by divisive rhetoric and combative litigation,” Drummond said. “Oklahoma must forge commonsense agreements with our tribal brothers and sisters that respect their sovereignty and ensure public safety. This is very simple and achievable; we all want good people protected and bad people in jail.”
Open Meeting Act,
Open Records Act
Drummond also vowed to “strongly enforce” the Open Records and Open Meeting Acts to ensure transparency in governance.
Oklahoma Watch and reporter Whitney Bryen sued the City of Tulsa last month, seeking details about an incident that resulted in the violent arrest of a woman in the throes of a mental health crisis.
Four Billings school board members were arrested last month and charged with violating the Open Meeting Act. The board members met multiple times outside of public meetings, including in June to hire a new superintendent, according to a court affidavit. They didn’t notify the public of the meeting or create an agenda, records show, and were subsequently warned by an attorney that convening outside a public meeting would violate state law.
Also in December, a judge ruled the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority violated the Open Meeting Act when it awarded contracts for a controversial turnpike project. Opponents of the “Access Oklahoma” turnpike plan, who are suing to stop the project, argued the turnpike authority’s posted meeting agendas for January and February didn’t contain enough information for the public to be informed of the action being considered.
In 2021, the Oklahoma Supreme Court upheld a county judge’s ruling that the Norman City Council violated the Open Meeting Act when it voted to reduce a proposed increase to the police department’s budget. The meeting notice was worded deceptively and obscured the meeting’s purpose, the judge found.
Illegal marijuana farms
In the wake of Oklahoma’s legalization of medical marijuana, rural Oklahoma has been plagued by “an onslaught of illegal marijuana growing operations, many of which have been traced back to organized crime and foreign nationals,” Drummond said.
“These operations are in direct violation of our laws. I look forward to partnering with law enforcement agencies across the state to rid Oklahoma of illegal operations that threaten public safety and damage rural communities.”
Fighting a culture of corruption, scandal
Despite a flurry of recent cases allegedly involving state corruption, Drummond’s predecessor, John O’Connor, left those investigations and potential prosecution to county district attorneys. Drummond said it is essential that the state Attorney General’s office “not shirk its responsibility.”
“Over the past several years, Oklahomans have been inundated with news stories of scandal and corruption,” he said. “It’s little wonder that so many citizens lose faith in their governmental institutions. Oklahoma taxpayers deserve true accountability for wrongdoing. My office will investigate recent allegations and take appropriate action in the best interest of justice.”
Epic Charter School
Drummond notified newly elected Oklahoma County District Attorney Vicki Behenna that his office will assume responsibility for prosecuting Epic Charter School’s two founders and their former chief financial officer.
“As you and I have discussed and as I have said publicly, I believe the Office of Attorney General should be responsible for the prosecution of this matter,” Drummond wrote in a letter to Behenna dated Jan. 10.
“These allegations involve tens of millions of Oklahoma tax dollars intended for public education, and the State has a strong interest in ensuring proper accountability. Given the statewide impact of this case on public education funding, I believe it is wholly appropriate that it falls under the purview of the Office of Attorney General.”
Ben Harris, David Chaney and Josh Brock were charged by former Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater last June with racketeering, embezzlement, obtaining money by false pretenses, and other allegations. The charges were the culmination of a multiyear investigation by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and an audit by State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd.
Swadley’s Bar-B-Q
The Oklahoma House of Representatives’ Special Investigative Committee delving into the state Tourism and Recreation Department’s prior relationship with Swadley’s Bar-B-Q in the operation of state park restaurants was put on hold, awaiting word from Drummond whether he will take over that investigation.
Tourism and Recreation and Swadley’s signed a master concession lease in March 2020 for operation of five restaurants in state parks; a sixth “Swadley’s Foggy Bottom Restaurant” was added later.
The state paid Swadley’s nearly $17 million to overhaul the restaurants and make improvements at the parks. The state cancelled Swadley’s contract on April 25, 2022, “due to suspected fraudulent activity found through highly questionable billing, invoicing, and record keeping practices which the Department has been investigating for the past several months.”
The state filed a lawsuit against Swadley’s, alleging fraud and breach of contract arising from questions about the agreement between the company and the state. In its lawsuit, which was filed in Oklahoma County District Court on April 29, 2022, the state alleges Swadley’s:
• “Overcharged the Tourism Department for a number of items. For example, the company billed the department for reimbursement of two new smokers “but delivered used smokers of a different model than were invoiced.”
• Made unauthorized price markups on equipment and furniture for which the department was billed.
• Submitted invoices for reimbursement of equipment that Swadley’s “never delivered to any of the restaurants.”
• Paid bonuses to its employees “and then sought reimbursement for these expenses as a ‘loss’ under the contract.”
• Failed to install a commercial fire alarm and commercial fire suppression system in one of the restaurants Swadley’s remodeled.
• Failed to perform required background checks on its employees. Consequently, an “illegally hired employee who had a criminal record” assaulted a fellow employee.
• Refused to provide backup documentation for certain invoices.
• Provided “completely unrealistic” cost and expense projections; “actual expenses charged against revenue greatly exceeded projections,” the state alleges.
• Abused the terms of the contract, thereby receiving “unknown thousands in unjustified payments and reimbursements” from the Tourism Department.
During a hearing in Oklahoma City on Jan. 3, District Judge Sheila Stinson scheduled a pretrial conference in the case for Oct. 18, 2023.