Maybe there’s something to those “Where’s Mike Mazzei?” posts circulating on social media.
Over the weekend, the pesky rascals at Oklahoma Watch took a look at Mike’s attendance – or lack thereof – as a voting member of the Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement Board, a group that oversees the state’s nearly $4-billion police pension system.
According to their reporting, Mazzei was appointed to the position by Stitt in March 2023 but has missed 30 of the 40 monthly meetings held since then.
Via a Paul Monies report for Oklahoma Watch:
At a recent monthly meeting of the state’s police pension board, the only sign of GOP gubernatorial candidate Mike Mazzei was his nameplate in the corner of a meeting table.
Mazzei last attended a meeting in April 2025, right around the time he kicked off his campaign for governor.
His meeting absences go back farther. Since Gov. Kevin Stitt appointed Mazzei to the Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement Board in March 2023, Mazzei has missed three-fourths of the meetings. He’s made just 10 of the 40 monthly meetings since joining the board.
That’s nice.
A few months ago, I was approached by someone about joining the board of a well-known nonprofit organization, but I turned them down because I didn’t have the time to commit to it. Who knew I could just say yes, not show up and everything would have been fine! Joke’s on me, I guess!
In all seriousness, this isn’t a good look.
The big knock on Mazzei is that, for a guy campaigning for governor, he’s been AWOL on the campaign trail – dodging debates, limiting public appearances and not oversharing online videos like Gentner Drummond – which has led to vague questions and circulating Internet rumors about his health, commitment and even sobriety.
Here’s what his PR team had to say about the report:
After providing an initial response, Mazzei’s campaign did not respond to follow-up questions about his meeting attendance. A communications advisor, Jahan Wilcox, accused Oklahoma Watch of manufacturing a controversy. Wilcox previously worked for Scott Pruitt when he headed the Environmental Protection Agency in the first Trump administration.
“This is an unpaid, volunteer position, and upon becoming a candidate for governor, Mike Mazzei offered to step down but agreed to remain only until a replacement was selected if his financial expertise was needed,” said the written statement sent by Wilcox but attributed to Carissa Mazzei, a campaign spokeswoman.
Yeah, apparently he was staying on the roster only in case his expertise was needed. Basically, he was like a field goal kicker for the football team.
Then again, at least field goal kickers show up to practice!
If Mike's financial expertise was important enough to keep him on the board, don’t you think it would also be important enough for him to occasionally attend a meeting? And if it wasn’t, shouldn’t Stitt have replaced him with someone who takes overseeing a $4-billion pension system seriously?
Anyway, I don’t know where this thing ranks on the scandal scale, but you have to admit the optics are bad. Fair or unfair, Mike’s behavior and absences have reinforced the growing perception that there’s something off – or, as Stitt would say, “goofy” – about him and his campaign.
That perception may not be entirely fair, but Mazzei and his campaign haven’t done much to dispel it. Between the missed meetings, skipped debates, limited public appearances and generally strange campaign presence, every new absence becomes another piece of evidence for people who already wonder whether he’s fully committed, prepared and qualified for the job.
Basically, “Where’s Mike Mazzei?” stops being a cheap social-media jab and starts becoming a legitimate campaign question.
Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.
