By Richard Engle

State Representative Josh Cockroft (R-Tecumseh) has determined to file legislation that would prohibit party nomination of candidates for county office.

He intends to put forth two such bills, one making only the office of Sheriff non-partisan and another doing the same to all county offices. This suggests that such offices are not, or should not be political. If indeed these offices are not political then they ought not be elected at all.

Any office which has discretion regarding the expenditure of public funds or makes policy impacting the property and liberties of the citizens is political. Anything that is political is the proper purview of political parties.

Cockroft cites the fact that the Oklahoma Sheriff's Association has voted to support making their positions non-partisan. One is forced to ask why none of these elected officials chose to run in a non-partisan manner? They all could have run as independent candidates. Additionally, and more importantly, why should the citizenry be limited by the desire of their elected servants?

Cockroft says that his intention is to make those offices non-partisan, but one should consider that he is actually working to prohibit people from nominating candidates for office in the same manner in which he and most in office are nominated.

Political parties are free associations of citizens who join together to nominate candidates for public office because they share political ideals. In non-partisan races those citizens are prohibited from nominating whom they chose. An individual who wishes to run for office without the nomination of any political party may do so by running as an independent.

If passed, Cockroft's legislation will give additional rights to nobody. It reduces the right of people in organized parties to nominate for office. It does not help the citizens, it restricts them. It does not improve the quality of candidates; every candidate wishing to run may do so all the same.

And, it is not inclined to better inform the citizens. Indeed, the opposite is true. One need only look at the various judicial races (to the degree Oklahoma actually has judicial races) and one can easily see that voters seldom have any information whatsoever upon which they must make their decision. Similarly, non-partisan city and school races are almost never about issues. Instead, voters are usually forced to make their choice based on name recognition alone.

Candidates who run in a primary must appeal to the membership of their party showing that they are the best candidate to represent the party in the general election. They must show the primary voters that they are in general agreement with the ideals of the party. They must show that they are the highest quality candidate of their party for the office. And, they must show that they have a campaign that is well able to reach the general election voters with a message of principle, qualifications and competency. Candidates who self-nominate (independent candidates) are not obliged to prove any such qualities.

To pass legislation imposing non-partisanship on additional elective offices is a bad idea on many levels. In addition to the above stated reasons, this legislation will have unintended consequences.

In the current political climate of Oklahoma, Republicans are in a period of political dominance. There is no evidence that this will change anytime soon. Oklahomans are largely conservative, and the Republican Party has consistently shown itself to be the more conservative party. The GOP holds every single statewide (partisan) office, it holds wide majorities in both houses of the legislature and has elected every member of the U.S. House and Senate representing Oklahoma. The only remaining area of growth opportunity for the GOP is county and local office. The Republicans are not going to simply twiddle their thumbs waiting for a Democrat to win a race. They will continue to advance their conservative agenda by working to elect at the local level. Democrats also, will be involved at the local level as is their tradition.

In 2012, Oklahoma Republican Party Chairman Matt Pinnell created the County Courthouse Committee. I chair that committee with Holly Gerard of Bryan County. While the various county party committees have long been active in county races, this was a first for the state Republican Party. The effect was significant. Statewide, eleven Republican candidates for various county offices defeated incumbent Democrats. Meanwhile not a single Democrat defeated an incumbent Republican for similar office. Republicans also won more than their share of open seats. In that strong Republican year, Oklahoma Republican pick-ups in county offices exceeded the pick up numbers in the State House, Senate, and Congress combined.

These Republican victories were not limited to counties with significant Republican numbers. In the overwhelmingly Democratic Marshall County, Ed Kent, a Republican, was elected Sheriff for the first time in history. Did the voters make an informed choice based on the persons running or did they make a choice based on the conservative (fiscally responsible, law and order) ideals represented by the Republican Party? We don't know which factor most influenced their decision, but I will suggest that either is perfectly legitimate.

On the flip side, Democrat Sheriff John Whetsel defeated his Republican challenger in heavily Republican Oklahoma County. The voters clearly know how to make a choice despite party affiliation if they know or trust the person running.

If these races are made non-partisan by legislated imposition, Republicans will continue to support candidates who are registered Republican even if that registration is not revealed on the ballot. Becoming accustomed to supporting non-partisan county candidates, the Republican Party will most certainly begin supporting candidates for city, school, Career Tech, and possibly even judicial races. Candidates for these races will campaign (judicial races excepted) in a manner that publicizes their political affiliation.

Already, the Canadian County Republican Party, under the leadership of former gubernatorial candidate Robert Hubbard, has begun to support Republican candidates for city office which had significant impact on the defeat of incumbent Piedmont Mayor Mike Fina (a registered Democrat), replacing him with Valerie Thomerson, a registered Republican. Cockroft's legislation would make partisan involvement in local office the rule rather than the exception. One option for Cockroft and those who wish to run without the support of their party is legislation allowing persons who are registered in a party to run as an independent. That way they can vote in the primaries as they wish, and yet lose in the general election to their heart's content.