Thanks to a tip via The Ogle Mole Network, we’ve learned that Oklahoma County Sheriff Tommie Johnson may be guilty of violating several state, county, and possibly even federal ethics laws that are designed to prevent political candidates and officeholders from using government resources for campaign purposes.
For example, check out this commercial for his reelection campaign launch or the other spot that I believe is making the rounds on local television.
In each of them, you’ll see Johnson walking around doing sheriff-y stuff while in uniform. They also feature county sheriff employees wearing their own county sheriff uniforms while rolling around in county sheriff vehicles…
Before we continue, I just want to remind everyone that Oklahoma sheriffs are the most corrupt and derelict faction in our government, which, knowing what we know about the Oklahoma legislature, is kind of incredible!
Over the years, they’ve become world-renowned for their corruption, abuse of power, general incompetence, unprofessionalism, and tendency to commit all sorts of high crimes and misdemeanors while allegedly out upholding the law.
So on that note, if the most scandalous thing Tommie Johnson has done as sheriff is violate ethics laws involving the use of county property in campaign ads, we should all feel thankful.
I mean, it’s not like he went missing for 90 days and then turned up in an Alabama RV park… or tried to form his own volunteer posse to help overthrow the government… or discussed the best places to bury journalists… or attempted to turn the county jail into a sex dungeon… or, well, I could go on and on and on.
But the law is the law, and based on what a very informed Mole told me, it looks like Tommie Johnson may have committed three different type of campaign ethic violations.
Here’s a paraphrased breakdown they sent me:
1. Oklahoma Ethics Commission Rules 2.3 and 2.4 prohibit the use of public funds, property, or time for political fundraising or influencing elections. These rules could reasonably be interpreted to prohibit the use of sheriff vehicles and potentially officers in uniform in a campaign commercial.
2. Oklahoma County ethics rules disallow the use of "Oklahoma County property, funds, or facilities for campaigning." The use of sheriff cars appears to likely violate that rule, while the use of uniforms may depend on ownership. In some jurisdictions, officers purchase their uniforms, which could classify them as personal property.
3. The sheriff's office receives federal funding, so it and its employees are likely subject to the Hatch Act. The Hatch Act provisions prohibit the sheriff from asking employees to appear in a campaign ad, as the supervisor-subordinate relationship creates a presumption of coercion. Thus, the presence of uniformed officers in the ad could also violate federal regulations.
I clicked on links and stuff and did some crack internet research and it does appear what the Mole told me was correct. Although I bet Tommie Johnson would have a different interpretation of the matter, you have to admit it is a bad look for a law enforcement official to break laws in campaign ads.
Anyway, I guess if someone – like maybe Tommie’s opponent, Wayland Cubit – wants to file a formal complaint with the ethics commission, they can do that here. I doubt it matters in the whole scheme of things, but the law is the law… unless you’re an Oklahoma sheriff who thinks you’re above it.
Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.
