By Jason Doyle Oden
Republican Rep. Kevin Calvey is calling for Republican Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister to step down because of the felony charges of violating campaign laws and conspiracy she’s facing.
“Joy Hofmeister’s own words make it clear that it is best for the children of Oklahoma that she resign,” said Calvey, referring to emails referenced in the indictment filed by District Attorney David Prater, against Hofmeister and representatives of the Cooperative Council for Oklahoma School Administration (CCOSA) school administrators’ lobby and the Oklahoma Education Association (OEA) teachers’ union, among others.
“This isn’t a case of ‘he said, she said.’ Ms. Hofmeister admits in her own emails that she and CCOSA officials planned the massive illegal dark money negative campaign against her GOP primary opponent in advance, and that this dark money campaign would allow Ms.Hofmeister to focus solely on touting her own background rather than engaging her opponent.”
Hofmeister has pled not guilty to the charges last month. In previous statements, she said she would fight the charges while continuing her focus on education reforms and her day to day duties.
Calvey said Hofmeister does deserve her day in court, however, the charges make it difficult for her to perform the duties of her office.
“Ms. Hofmeister is certainly entitled to the presumption of innocence in the criminal case against her,” Calvey said. “It is a firm principle of the American justice system that felony defendants be presumed innocent of the criminal charges against them. But surely the standard for holding public office is higher than merely avoiding prison. Even if she is acquitted of the criminal charges, the indisputable evidence clearly shows Ms. Hofmeister, CCOSA, and OEA conspired to violate campaign laws to get her elected. The citizens of Oklahoma and the children Ms. Hofmeister was elected to serve deserve better.”
He adds it is difficult for the Legislature to do its job over taxpayer money oversight because of Hofmeister’s legal problems.
“If I were a trustee over a person’s funds, and discovered that the person’s CPA had obtained his license by overstating his credentials, wouldn’t I have an obligation to obtain a new CPA, regardless of whether that CPA had committed actual fraud or not? We legislators are in a position similar to that of a trustee over the citizens’ hard-earned tax dollars. Don’t we have an obligation to seek a new leader for the State Department of Education under these circumstances?”
