Taxpayer Money Used To Pay A Drunk's Salary

Taxpayer Money used to Pay a Drunk's Salary

By the Watchman

  What is it about our politicians continuing to make our state look like a bunch of fools? Have they lost their moral compass or is it they just don't care what people think. Why isn't his driver's license been suspended? Why hasn't he been in jail? Why this man is even allowed to be in control of our states money? There has to be a reason somewhere. We the citizens of Oklahoma are being a disservice by having this man holding the position.

Preston Doerflinger. - Photo credit, the Lost Ogle. 

  What brought our attention to this story was this article  Sooner Politics.org. This article was dated November 7, 2016. We saw that he was back in court again only this time it was on two counts. He had been charged with speeding and failure to provide proof of insurance. We find it hard to believe that an individual with his salary cannot afford to maintain insurance on a vehicle. We were unable to locate any information as to whether or not his vehicle was impounded during this stop. This article also gave credit to a report from The Lost Ogle, so we went there to see what we could find.

  Our search for the report of The Lost Ogle on this incident produced this Mary Fallin's right-hand man is in trouble… again | The Lost Ogle. This report, dated June 22, 2016, is one that we urge you to open the link and read. It spells out in plain English what having money and friends in high places can get you. The man was arrested on a Driving Under the Influence charge in Oklahoma City in January of 2015. To quote the Lost Ogle "Because he's not poor or a minority, has friends in very high places and can afford an attorney, the charges were eventually reduced to a speeding ticket as part of a plea deal. "He had several other catches in the plea deal. He was required to go through assessment and treatment, attend DUI school and AA. He was also required to maintain a clean driving record. He has failed to do so on several of these items.

  The next article of interest we found was this Preston Doerflinger - Wikipedia. We urge you to open this link and look through it. Here you'll find that Governor Fallin actually appointed him to fill a position that had previously been two different departments. We can't help but wonder if that may be part of the reason for all of his problems. Could it be possible that the job is simply overwhelming his capability to perform the job being asked of him?

Doerflinger's arrest record according to the Lost Ogle

  The next article we found was this Finance Secretary Preston Doerflinger cited for driving with revoked license - Tulsa World: Capitol Report. This article is dated June 22, 2016. It seems he had pleaded No Contest to a charge of Actual Physical Control of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol in an Oklahoma City Municipal Court in 2015. The revocation started on June 8, 2016 and was to last for a 180 day period. On the 13^th of June he asked a District Court to modify the suspension as it caused an undue hardship. We were unable to locate a ruling on his request but the article does go on to say that on that same day he was cited by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol in Tulsa County for operating a motor vehicle while his license was revoked. One gets the opinion that he believes he is above the law.

  His wayward activity did not go unnoticed. The next article we found was this Representative files 'no confidence' legislation, calls for removal of Oklahoma Secretary of Finance | KFOR.com. This article is dated March 21, 2016. The Representative makes a valid point here. It becomes even more valid looking at the troubling budget for next year. The article indicates three straight years of a budget failure. Going into the next session our state will have a fourth straight year of budget failures with an almost $900 million dollar shortfall. How much longer can we tolerate this?

  The next article of interest we found was this Jan. 23, 2015: Oklahoma City police arrest Oklahoma Secretary of Finance Preston Doerflinger | News OK. This is an article that you need to open the link and read for yourself. You won't believe all of the sordid details that led to his arrest. It started with a phone call from a witness who saw a women that looked like she was being held hostage and forced into a vehicle as it drove away. It ended in his arrest. We think he should consider himself to be lucky just to be charged with only a DUI. Based on this story alone one would think he took a hostage and kidnapped her.

  The next article of interest we found was this Oklahoma Finance Secretary Preston Doerflinger arrested on alcohol complaint - Tulsa World: Capitol Report. This report clearly indicates that the Department of Public Safety was trying to have his license suspended. It also indicates that he was trying to work out a plea arrangement. With enough money and friends in high places, he was able to do so. If it was just one of hard working individuals we would have been thrown in jail and paid a fine. This is not in compliance with the American or the Oklahoman system of equal justice for all.

  There was also this article on the incident State Sec. of Finance, Preston Doerflinger, accused of being in control of a vehicle while drunk - KJRH.com. This just verifies that this was a story that was statewide news. This is another black eye on the already tarnished reputation of the state of Oklahoma. He should have done the moral and correct thing and offered his resignation but apparently his greed for power out weighted his moral compass.

  Then we found this article Oklahoma Could See Revenue Surplus, Finance Secretary Preston Doerflinger Says | KGOU. He actually is trying to claim that we should expect a revenue surplus this year. The man is out of touch with reality. At the time of this report we already knew the state was facing at least a $500 million dollar shortfall in the budget. That shortfall has now grown to nearly $900 million. Maybe he should get his nose out of the bottle and into the books more. Maybe then we would have a better understanding of what's going on with our state finances.

  As it turns out there were a lot of people upset with his behavior. We found this petition www.wethepeopleoklahoma.com/We The People Press release 3-13-16.pdf. This was a petition that was to be presented to the Governor calling for the removal of Preston Doerflinger from office. This petition was not well known or widely circulated or they would have received more than enough signatures to present it to the Governor. What we didn't find was any news coverage about the petition. It appears that the media was supporting Mr. Doerflinger by not reporting on the story. There's nothing like a little media bias to help you keep your job.