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Saturday, July 18, 2026 • Chance of storms. Highs near 90. ⛈️
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We received 176 votes on the Friday poll, “Did you watch President Trump's national address on Thursday night?”
• 25 said Yes
• 151 said No
New poll question at the bottom of today’s newsletter. (You can also suggest a poll question by emailing me at [email protected].)
Oklahoma gubernatorial hopeful Mazzei AWOL from police pension board
Jeff Russell and Mike Brown, two of the board members of the Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement System, listen during a meeting on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, in Oklahoma City. In between them is an empty place for fellow OPPRS board member and GOP gubernatorial candidate Mike Mazzei. (Paul Monies/Oklahoma Watch)
By Paul Monies, Oklahoma Watch
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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.
The missed pension board meetings would typically be just a curiosity or blamed on a busy campaign schedule. But Mazzei’s public and professional life has been dominated by financial management. He was chairman of a budget committee and the chief architect of pension reforms during his 12-year tenure as a senator in the Legislature. Mazzei was Stitt’s budget secretary for 18 months. Professionally, he founded a Tulsa financial planning company, helping grow it into a firm managing $1.5 billion in assets.
Mazzei missed hundreds of votes as a state senator in the years after a catastrophic car accident in 2008. He’s spoken several times on the gubernatorial campaign trail and in campaign ads about his faith and resilience in recovering from that car crash.
“It’s not something I like to talk about,” Mazzei said in a video posted May 1 to his campaign Facebook site. “I’m back to my old self and I can do all the things I used to do, except swing a golf club, which might be a good thing. It’s an expensive sport.”
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The Oklahoma Rundown 📰
Editor’s note: Links requiring subscriptions have an *.
Here’s what’s happening in Oklahoma today:
DHS boss Mullin warns of possible prosecution for election officials over voter roll access (Oklahoma Voice)
Oklahoma Election officials say declassified documents showing breach of voter rolls misleading (KOSU)
Oklahoma AG investigating state Medicaid agency hit by crime ring (The Oklahoman)*
U.S. Senate runoff: Democrats N’kiyla Jasmine Thomas, Jim Priest clash over electability, identity (NonDoc)
Gov. Stitt’s comments raise concerns about food insecurity raises concerns (KFOR)
Multiple Oklahoma Cyclosporiasis cases linked to Taco Bell, OSDH says (News 9)
Tariffs cause delays for Texoma business development (KXII)
Tulsa Public Schools students will take one fewer series of standardized tests in 2026-27 school year (Tulsa Flyer)
Oklahoma's plan to comply with mental health consent decree is approved one year after deadline (KOSU)
Oklahoma sends more swift water rescue teams to aid Texas Hill Country flooding (Fox 25)
Ponca City domestic disturbance leads to police shootout, man arrested (KOCO)
Oklahoma City wants a new flag. Soon, residents will be able to submit their ideas (KOSU)
Edmond's Pelican Bay pool reopens after major $7.2 million fix (The Oklahoman)*
Aguas frescas are becoming Tulsa’s go-to beverage to survive summer (La Semana)
OKC Steakhouse closes after nearly 19 years in business (The Oklahoman)*
5 ways to spend your weekend in Tulsa July 17-19 (Tulsa Flyer)
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