Group launches campaign to oust liberal justices on Oklahoma Supreme Court

We're one month out from the election, and finally, someone is actually attempting to do something about activist liberal justices on the Oklahoma Supreme Court and running a campaign to get folks to vote 'NO' on the judicial retention ballot. Since Oklahoma went to this system in the 1960s, no justice or judge has ever lost a retention vote.

Watch the ad from People for Opportunity:

Below is an article excerpt from OklahomaVoice.com on the campaign:

Ads target three Oklahoma Supreme Court justices

By: Barbara Hoberock - OklahomaVoice.com - October 3, 2024

OKLAHOMA CITY – A group frustrated by Oklahoma Supreme Court rulings has launched an unusual campaign aimed at convincing voters to remove three justices at the November ballot box. 

Critics though said the effort is “tragic” and is a knee-jerk reaction by some who want to alter the makeup of the Oklahoma’s highest court because they disagree with the court’s decisions.

The ads target Justices Noma Gurich, Yvonne Kauger and James Edmondson. The ads list their ages as being older than 71. 

The ads are being sponsored by People for Opportunity, which has board representatives from the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, a conservative activist group that is a regular in legislative politics. People for Opportunity lists OCPA President Jonathan Small as one of its board members, along with Trent England, one of its fellows.

Federal Communications Commission filings show the group has spent at least $156,000 to air television ads critical of the three justices in Oklahoma City and Tulsa areas. The campaign has spent about $85,000 to air the commercial during the University of Oklahoma-University of Texas college football game on Oct. 12.  

The ads say the three justices have “added millions to the cost of doing business” and are “padding the pockets of trial lawyers.”

It labels them as “liberal activist judges,” and urges viewers to vote no on the Nov. 5 retention ballot question that allows voters to decide if they should remain in their posts.

Democratic governors appointed all three targeted justices to the posts.

“The Oklahoma Bar Association, big medical and others have had an outsized influence on the Oklahoma Supreme Court for a long time,” said Dave Bond is a spokesperson for the group, which formed in 2020. “We don’t think that typically works in the favor of most Oklahoma citizens, or of our state economy, or for the ability of good, sustainable jobs to be created in our state.”

Bond also serves as OCPA vice president for advocacy.

He declined to say how much of the group’s money is coming from out of state. Critics allege out-of-state interests are funding the campaign. 

He said People for Opportunity is separate from OCPA.

If the judges are removed, it would give Gov. Kevin Stitt three more appointments to the nine-member panel. He already has three appointees to the state’s high court: M. John Kane IV; Dustin P. Rowe; and Dana Kuehn.

Click here to read the rest of the article over at OklahomaVoice.com. They go on to also interview several prominent figures who are opposed to this effort, including former Democratic Governor David Walters, former Supreme Court Justice Joseph Watt, and GOP political consultant Pat Hall.

I'll have more to write on the judicial retention ballot, but count me 100% on-board with getting rid of these justices.