After eight years of seeing our Governor fill her cabinet with establishment handlers, it's nice to see Kevin Stitt going the corporate executive route and surrounding himself with a bunch of ass-kissers, brown-nosers and yes-men.
Last week, select members of Kevin Stitt's cabinet stopped by a Tulsa Chamber of Commerce event to answer some questions and talk about the amazing job their boss is doing.
Via The Tulsa World:
Gov. Kevin Stitt is an “apolitical” chief of state who is more interested in bottom lines than elections, three members of his Cabinet told the Tulsa Regional Chamber on Friday.
“Gov. Stitt is completely apolitical. I mean completely,” said Sean Kouplen, the Bixby banker Stitt tapped as an unpaid secretary of commerce and workforce development. “It is all about the ideas. … There have been so many times our political advisers have said, ‘Don’t do this. Don’t bring them in.’ It is irrelevant to him. He is all about trying to figure out the best way to get us to top 10.”
As a certified ass-kisser who was able to use my charm and brown-nosing skills to overcome general laziness and rise all the way to corporate middle management by age 27, I respect what Kouplen is doing here. The fact that he's not getting paid to kiss so much ass should really pay off for him down the road.
Here's more:
Secretary of State Michael Rogers, a former state representative from Broken Arrow, said, “If he sees something that doesn’t make sense, he calls it out and says, ‘That’s stupid. We’re not doing that.’ "
“That would be a direct quote,” interjected Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell.
Kevin Stitt says in meetings "That's stupid. We're not doing that"? Great to hear! There's nothing more reassuring than someone bragging about their boss shooting down their stupid ideas. If only there was a non-asskisser around to tell Kevin Stitt those same words when his company was violating the Georgia Residential Mortgage Act in 2009.
Pinnell, Rogers and Kouplen all spoke Friday morning during a chamber breakfast at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Unsurprisingly, they had nothing but good to say about Stitt’s first six weeks in office, but they did offer some insights into the new administration’s workings.
Rogers, who had decided to leave the Legislature last year, said he was leery about getting back in.
“When the governor called me in November, … the first question I asked him was, ‘Are you going to get stuff done? … I don’t need a ceremonial position. … Are you really sincere about being top 10 in all of these areas?’ He said, ‘Absolutely.’ ”
That's hysterical. I'm sure he was real leery to accept a "ceremonial" $140,000 a year job working directly for the governor of Oklahoma. He had to make sure Stitt was "really sincere" about making Oklahoma a top 10 state before accepting that high-salaried, door-opening government job that any local unemployed politician would be foolish to turn down.
Pinnell, Rogers and Kouplen aren't the only people who will drop on their knees to serve in Stitt's cabinet. Now our Governor is tapping into the fertile political nepotism ranks to find loyal yes-man:
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has filled two positions in his executive cabinet, including Chip Keating as secretary of public safety and Brian Brurud as secretary of veterans affairs and the military...
Keating, the son of former GOP Gov. Frank Keating, served as an Oklahoma state trooper between 2001 and 2004 and is a director of the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Retirement System. He is a principal with an Oklahoma City-based real estate and oil and gas investment company.
I'm sure that was a fun interview:
"Hi Chip. Why do you think you should be my Secretary of Public Safety?"
"Well, I was a highway patrolman 15 years ago. Also, my dad is a friend of yours and a former Governor."
"Anything else?"
"I think you're doing a great job and I want to help you make Oklahoma a Top 10 State."
"You're hired."
