It looks like Kevin Stitt’s final F-you to the Oklahoma people will be making us house poor!
Late last week, while I was dealing with a very high-stress, self-inflicted case of Thundermania, KFOR’s Dylan Brown was reporting that Kevin Stitt is – once again – looking to build a brand new $6–8-million mansion for future Oklahoma governors to call home.
The only catch is that we’re still not supposed to call it a mansion.
A state commission meeting Thursday brought to light plans for a First Family Residence, a home that was planned to be built on the Governor’s Mansion grounds…
Sources close to the current ideas for the First Family Residence told News 4 that [construction is to start] in the next two to four weeks and would be built by November 2026…
Sources close to the current possible project have told News 4 that the cost could be anywhere from $5 million to $8 million.
Great stuff, huh?
When I think of all the pressing issues facing our state, from improving our education rankings to diversifying the economy to getting back the $1-million debt owed to us by CANOO, making sure our state’s first family lives in a big, nice and fancy “First Family Residence” has to be a top priority, right?
Like, how can we truly expect our state’s chief executive to be focused on the job when they have to live in a regular old run-down historic mansion, or in Stitt’s case, his own private Edmond mansion:
As KFOR notes in their report, this is the second time Stitt’s tried to get his grifter YPO buddies to fund and build a new mansion. The story first broke in 2022 in a well-timed October surprise that had little to no impact on the gubernatorial election.
If you remember correctly, that’s when we learned the new mansion wasn’t a mansion, but a “private family residence.”
I’m not going to lie. I still miss Stitt's old She Troll Carly Atchison. To the great pleasure of the Lake Hefner goats and Hobbits everywhere, she left town, got married, dyed her hair, and is now a consultant, political pundit, and columnist for the DailyWire.
Just like the first time around, I guess the big controversy with building the new non-mansion mansion is that the individuals and corporations who are funding the project to curry favor with the governor will remain private, bringing to light some ethical and transparency issues:
News 4 reported on the previous attempts, and a major roadblock in reporting previously was the fact that the donor list was never given. News 4 tried again with the Governor’s Office to try and get details, including a possible donor list this time around, but didn’t hear back Thursday.
“If we have donors put in money and we have them build some fancy building that we’re going to have to pay to maintain, I think the public should have a say in that, and what I’m seeing is another surprise,” said Senator Julia Kirt (D-OKC) after she was told it was on the agenda.
“We need conflicts of interest analyzed so the Speaker, Pro Tem, and the Governor can work together to make sure no one has too much power to make decisions for the people. Right now, we don’t have that.”
Although it looks bad from an optical perspective, and it’s fun to lampoon politicians for prioritizing petty and personal things like building an extravagant new mansion and not wanting it to be called a mansion, if I’m being honest – and I try to do that 90% of the time – it’s actually not a bad idea to build a new first family residence.
Our pal Spencer Hicks was a PA for Governor Henry, and according to him, the palace is a dump. It’s like one of those old historic homes in Heritage Hills that looks cool and charming from the outside, but on the inside is a dated and antiquated money trap.
The only catch is that instead of building a customized and lavish $8-million mansion, we go with one of the standard designs from Ideal Homes and save some money.
After perusing through their collection, I’d recommend the Prescott Farmhouse – a 2400 square foot, $450,000 two-story charmer complete with three beds, two and a half baths, a study, and an upstairs landing to make emergency declarations before the family heads out for Santa Fe.
Seriously, you’re telling me a first family of four with a dog wouldn’t feel comfortable living in that thing? Even better, with the $5-8 million that donors would be saving in construction costs, they could even afford to upgrade the lights and fixtures!
Plus, if some Mormon-style evangelicals like the Stitts win the next governor's race and run out of room, don’t worry – there’s still plenty of space on the mansion grounds to park a trailer:
Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.
