ROPE Report SPECIAL REPORT - OK Senate Ed Committee Members Shame Public For Vetting Candidate

Thursday, May 15th, 2025 was an exciting day for the Oklahoma Senate Education Committee. They had convened to advance a number of appointments to various boards and committees, including a man named Chris VanDenhende, appointed by Governor Kevin Stitt to replace one of the three board members unceremoniously tossed off the Oklahoma State Board Of Education due to what Stitt called, "political drama".

Instead of the usual slate of Aye votes to advance the candidate to a full vote on the Senate floor, this time, Senator Dusty Deevers had questions for the new appointee. In fact, Senator Deevers asked a number of questions of Mr. VanDenhende - a veteran of education boards, having served on the Board of Regents for the Regional University System of Oklahoma (RUSO).

During debate on the appointee, Senator Lonnie Paxton - ProTemp of the Senate - gave remarks in which he discussed emails he had received calling Mr. VanDenhende a Marxist and proceeded to literally shame the people who had contacted his office to ask for a no vote on confirmation of VanDenhende.

Monday morning, we'll go through the video of the proceedings and talk about what occurred. It may be surprising to hear what was said - versus what was covered in the local media. Tune in to see what our Oklahoma Senators think of the people they serve.

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