OKLAHOMA CITY — Attorney General Drew Edmondson, running as a Democrat in this year’s gubernatorial election, spoke with Oklahoma Watchdog this past week about the report featured here headlined “Spending leaves Oklahoma broke as revenue drops.”

“I’m not surprised,” Edmondson said of the report and the findings that showed Oklahoma in rough financial waters. “The recession was a little slow in getting here.”

Compared to financially unstable states like Michigan and California, Edmondson said, Oklahoma is “in pretty good shape.”

With oil and gas revenues lower than in previous years, Edmondson said the “deficit really got bad” but that “we’re starting to get out of that.”

But it will be in 2011 and 2012 that the economic realities of the downturn and declining revenues that will lead to some serious decision making by legislators.

Expanding natural gas production in the state should also be a priority, he said, adding that aerospace and aviation jobs need to be encouraged as well.

“”Our first obligation should be to grow jobs,” Edmondson said, noting that energy sector jobs are particularly important, something Washington seems not to understand.

And if elected governor, Edmondson – the state’s top lawyer – would want to eliminate waste and duplication by doing away with all the lawyers in the state’s 250 or so agencies.

“I don’t think that’s good government,” Edmondson said of having all those lawyers in state agencies. “It’s not an effecient way of using legal talent.”

Asked about SQ 744, which we’ve addressed here at Oklahoma Watchdog, Edmondson said he is “concerned that it has no funding source.”

SQ 744, which is being supported byhe Oklahoma Education Association, would bring Oklahoma to the regional average when it came to spending per student. The OEA argues that this constitutional amendment would truly make education a “priority,” while circumventing the legislature and bringing the issue directly to “the people.” As Oklahomans For Responsible Government have noted, implementing SQ 744 would cost as much as $850 million and potentially mean a 20 percent across the board cut for every state agency.

“It means money taken away from others areas,” if passed, he said, adding a little tweak to our neighbors to the east , “And I don’t think I’d brag about being equal to Arkansas.”

Asked if he supported consolidating smaller, rural schools in order to save money, Edmondson said consolidating school administrations would make more sense.

“”Close a school, kill a town,” he said.

By Andrew W. Griffin

Oklahoma Watchdog, editor

Posted: March 16, 2010

andrew@oklahomawatchdog.org

Copyright 2010 Oklahoma Watchdog