Constitution Staff
Republicans face a difficult task on May 3rd, replacing Lynn Windel of Ardmore as Oklahoma's national committeeman at the Republican National Committee. Windel is stepping down after 12 years of service to Oklahoma's Republicans, years filled with excellent and conservative leadership.
Vying to take Windel's spot on the RNC are two candidates, James Dunn and Steve Curry.
Curry is a former chairman of the Oklahoma County Republican Party, while Dunn ran a strong race as the Republican Party nominee against liberal Democrat Attorney General Drew Edmondson in 2006.
James Dunn is running "to represent Oklahoma's conservative values to the Republican National Committee." He contends that, "(W)e must vigorously recruit our youth, young adults and new conservative voters to join the Republican Party."
"My heart was saddened," Dunn said of the rules committees in some counties and some congressional districts that opted to withhold the names and contact information of our Republican delegates from the new members who have recently joined the party. This was done, Dunn contends, to discourage some newer Republicans from participating in the process in any meaningful way. "This conduct is wrong and should be stopped."
A proven way to bring new blood into the Republican Party is to reinstate the caucus-convention method of choosing Republican delegates to the national convention. In a caucus system, grass-roots activists care enough to attend party meetings known as caucuses, where they elect delegates to represent them. This is the system that Oklahoma used to deliver out state's delegate votes to Barry Goldwater in 1964, and three times for Ronald Reagan.
The primary system, on the other hand, decreases such political involvement in the party, yet it is the system favored by Steve Curry. Curry contends that a primary system allows broader participation to include Republicans who refuse or are unable to attend caucus meetings. Curry did, however, tell the Oklahoma Constitution that he would "entertain a blended system" of the caucus and the primary systems. James Dunn told the Oklahoma Constitution that he is open to looking into a return to the caucus system, because it allows more grassroots involvement and tends to help more conservative candidates. He has not made a final commitment on this issue, however.
Curry's father was state chairman of the Republican Party back in the 1950's, and Curry fondly recalls carrying a sign for President Eisenhower in 1956. Curry contends that fundraising and grassroots organization are both important aspects of the job of the national committeeman.
Curry certainly has experience in political fundraising. According to Curry literature, he worked with fellow Oklahoma County Republicans, and "raised an unprecedented $42,000 for candidate reserves and party-building initiatives." In fact, fundraising is an aspect of Curry's present campaign that has drawn criticism from opponents.
The House Republican Party political action committee (PAC) has developed a close relationship with favored consultants over the years, directing favored candidates to these favored consultants, leading to friction within Republican ranks. Certain campaign fundraising has led to an investigation by the Oklahoma Ethics Commission. Some current and former House members (and possibly, Senate) wrote checks that were intended for the state Republican Party, but when the state party declined to participate in the plan, the checks were sent to the Oklahoma County Republican Party instead.
The House PAC hired former U.S. Attorney Robert McCampbell to advise them in an effort to find a lawful way to direct campaign donations as to not run afoul of campaign contribution limits. As one House PAC critic told the Oklahoma Constitution: "The PAC and the consultants knew that they had a gravy train and sought a means to keep their ability to target amounts above the statutory limit."
An Oklahoma County Victory Fund was created, with Steve Curry serving as treasurer. Many good people were elected to office partly as a result of this campaign fundraising effort, but it led to an investigation by the Ethics Commission. One critic of the effort told the Oklahoma Constitution that, "Most troublesome for the Victory Fund are the checks to challengers, which give the appearance of a cash pass through. State law and Ethics Commission rules specifically prohibit giving money to one entity to be redirected to another entity." Some suspect that the Ethics Commission is investigating the amount of money from incumbent House and Senate members that was used to hire Field Representatives and a voter identification survey for challenger candidates, which cost over thirty thousand dollars.
This investigation cloud is creating questions for the Curry campaign, especially since Curry's son, Aaron Curry, was a long time employee and fundraiser for the House PAC, creating fairly or unfairly, fundraising questions involving Steve Curry. Steve Curry flatly denied any involvement in these alleged wrongdoings, telling a lunch meeting of conservative activists that he only wrote two checks, while treasurer of the Victory Fund. He assured the lunch group that he has not even been contacted by the Ethics Commission.
Curry can cite a wealth of party experience, from precinct chairman to 5th congressional district chairman. He twice chaired the state Rules Committee, and represented Oklahoma as a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 2004.
Before running for attorney general in 2006, Dunn did volunteer campaign work for Bill Price for governor, and was similarly active in campaigns for J.C. Watts. Other political activity by Dunn included his post as Chairman of the Board of Oklahomans for Responsible Government. This group favors term limits for state wide officials, such as lieutenant governor and attorney general. He has also served on the board of Yes on Term Limits.
