Friday, Oct. 22, 2021
First Watch
Making Oklahoma Politics More Transparent and Accessible
The last time Oklahoma redrew its congressional and legislative districts, digital mapping tools were primarily the province of government agencies and well-financed interests. They were complicated and expensive.
This time around, the tools and training are free and a couple mouse clicks away. If the free mapping program Oklahoma is using — Dave’s Redistricting — sounds like something you can learn to use watching YouTube videos, that’s because it is.
As a non-profit news organization dependent on your support, we appreciate its accessibility and potential to put engaged Oklahomans on the same footing. Our capitol reporter Trevor Brown used the app this week in his story about the congressional redistricting proposals that could reshape state and national politics.
The slider presentation Trevor used to compare congressional maps as currently drawn and proposed in the same visual was particularly useful to those of us who are joining this process in progress. Trevor plans to offer that current/proposed look at the remaining public submissions for congressional redistricting in his Capitol Watch newsletter on Monday.
(One of Trevor’s big takeaways from Tuesday’s public map session: Democrats and even some Republicans are worried about splitting Oklahoma City into two or three different districts.)
Regardless, Oklahoma’s political lines will be drawn for the next decade of elections and representation during the Legislature’s special session, which starts Nov. 15. State House Rep. Ryan Martinez, an Edmond Republican and one of the chairs of the Legislature’s joint Select Committee on Redistricting, indicated that the maps to be voted on could be made public by the first week in November.
— Mike Sherman, Executive Editor
In Focus
Redistricting Proposals That Could Overhaul Oklahoma Politics
Oklahoma’s only competitive congressional district could return to firm Republican control — or give Democrats the best chance they’ve seen in years. [Read More…]
The Latest
Crusading to ‘Keep Communities Free From Violence and Harm’
A Mile In Another’s Shoes: Tiffany Crutcher talks about advocating for Black victims of police brutality and generational trauma. “It reverberates. Starting with the Tulsa Race Massacre to my twin brother’s death to now my mom’s death with COVID-19. Trauma reverberates through my family’s history.” [Read More…]
Recognition
Read Whitney Bryen’s Award-Winning Story on an Alva Nursing Home’s Battle Against COVID
The Institute for Nonprofit News honored Oklahoma Watch reporter Whitney Bryen with its Insight Award for medium-sized newsroom for her investigative story on an Alva, Oklahoma nursing home’s battle to protect its vulnerable residents from COVID-19. The story, published Jan. 5 under the headline “‘God, Please Keep Us Safe’: Amid COVID, an Oklahoma Nursing Home Faces Impossible Decisions,” prompted these comments from judges:
“Compelling, beautifully written, heart-wrenching at times — and packed with insights about the real-life impact of the pandemic, policies and mandates, hour by hour, week by week, on one family-owned nursing home in a small town, their residents, caretakers and families.”
Whitney produced the reporting, writing and images for this award-winning story.
Around the web
- Oklahoma Establishes Nonbinary Birth Certificate Process, Drawing GOP Condemnation: Oklahoma has formalized a process for designating someone’s sex as nonbinary on birth certificates, settling a federal lawsuit by Oregon resident Kit Lorelied against the state health department. “Having a birth certificate that matches my identity means that the government respects my right to exist without having to hide who I am,” Lorelied said in an email to NonDoc.com. “It means that I can be treated with the dignity that any citizen deserves.” Lorelied, who was born and raised in Oklahoma, uses they/them pronouns and identifies as nonbinary. With the settlement, Oklahoma joined 14 states and the District of Columbia in offering a process to select nonbinary designation on reissued birth certificates. Gov. Kevin Stitt and other Republican leaders expressed outrage at the news. State Sen. Micheal Bergstrom, R-Adair, has filed a bill for the upcoming session that would require male and female to be the only options on birth certificates. “I believe that people are created by God to be male or female. Period,” Stitt said in a statement Thursday condemning the settlement. “There is no such thing as non-binary sex and I wholeheartedly condemn the purported OSDH court settlement that was entered into by rogue activists who acted without receiving proper approval or oversight.” A spokeswoman for Stitt did not immediately respond to a message from the Associated Press seeking to clarify who the governor alleged was a rogue activist. House Minority Leader Emily Virgin, D-Norman, expressed disgust with Stitt’s statement: “To insinuate that non-binary Oklahomans threaten our ‘values and way of life’ is an abhorrent statement from someone who repeatedly claims to represent all 4 million Oklahomans.” [NonDoc/Associated Press]
Help Us Make a Difference
During times of crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic, Oklahoma needs high-quality investigative journalism. That is our mission at Oklahoma Watch. We produce stories that hold government and public officials accountable and that make transparent what some prefer to keep secret. We depend on financial support from readers like you to sustain our coverage. Help us make a difference.
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