What’s happening, Oklahoma? It is Wednesday, September 10, and I’m feeling very professorial journalistically.

One of the missions of Oklahoma Memo is to connect Oklahomans with vetted journalism, but another is to help you understand what’s happening in the news. As we inch nearer toward another election cycle — the 2026 elections and national midterms — every news consumer in this state must understand one never-ending truth.

Everything politically, right before an election year, has an agenda tied to it. Everything.

On Tuesday, we heard from Rick Rose at the Office of Management and Enterprise Services. He verbally tendered his resignation to Gov. Stitt a week ago, but the attorney general would have you believe that Rose was forced out due to an abuse of power.

Do I know precisely when Rose tendered his resignation? No, but a source told me yesterday that a series of resignations coming from the governor’s office were more about timing than anything else. Secretary of State Josh Cockroft tendered his resignation, too.

From News 9:
The resignations include Secretary of State Josh Cockroft, Deputy Secretary of State Nitasha Rose, Director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services Rick Rose, and Evan Brown, Executive Director of EDGE (Economic Development, Growth, & Expansion).

State officials confirmed their departures on Monday, saying they did not resign on the same day.

Governor Kevin Stitt announced Rick Rose's departure, saying his last day will be September 26, 2025.

Again, though, all coincidental, I’m told.

Or are they? We journalists are trained to be skeptical. Not cynical, skeptical.

Gentner Drummond would have you believe Rose is resigning because of an abuse of power, and he might really think that to some extent. However, Drummond is a gubernatorial candidate with his sights set on the mansion come 2027 — and that colors everything he does right now.

In another instance, Gov. Stitt is going toe-to-toe with Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols over homeless camps near and in the city. The governor emphasizes that his motives are pure because he’s term-limited.

“Who, me? I’m term-limited.”

However, 2026 is an election year, and a Senate race will be held. MarkWayne Mullin will certainly file for re-election, but might Gov. Stitt be preparing a challenge?

If not to Mullin, then to Lankford in ‘28?

And neither of these guys wants anything to do with Ryan Walters, who seems to crave a position in the Trump administration more than anything else elected in Oklahoma. Maybe he challenges Lankford in 2028?

The reason I’ve brought up Sen. Lankford twice is because he deigned to work with President Biden on a border solution a couple of years ago. It appears that he’s going to be vulnerable on the Right.

I said I was being professorial, so here’s the lesson.

Journalism 101: Follow the money, and in this case, follow the ambition. Why do elected officials make the decisions they do? There are true believers on both sides, for sure. However, practical ambition before an election cycle requires some planning, some forethought — and in the digital age, it requires great storytelling.

A narrative.

What story is it that Drummond and Stitt want to tell voters in 2026 or 2028? How about Walters?

Look there consistently, and you’ll find answers.

And this 100 percent goes for Democrats, too, even though in Oklahoma in 2025, they don’t stand a real chance of winning anything beyond a mayorship or a seat in the state Legislature.

But if I can make an observation that is a little more than one man’s opinion, ambition is an elixir that courses through the veins of anybody elected, more today than ever, ever before.

You can message me anytime at [email protected].

Weather Update ☀️

Are we hot again? I’m spying 90s in the forecast.

🌡️ Wednesday's high in OKC 88°
🌡️ Wednesday’s high in Tulsa 87°

Push to shutter homeless camps ongoing, could spread to other parts of Oklahoma

By Barbara Hoberock, Oklahoma Voice
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OKLAHOMA CITY – Gov. Kevin Stitt’s removal of homeless camps in Tulsa will be an ongoing process and could expand to other areas of the state, an Oklahoma Highway Patrol official said Tuesday.

As of mid-Monday, the Highway Patrol had helped remove about 30 encampments and about a dozen more had been identified, said Lt. Mark Southall. One particular camp was a mile long, he said.

Some of the camps have been around for years, Southall said.

“Once we get these camps that are by the roadways on state property cleaned up, we’re going to have to continue to go back and check on these camps and make sure there’s not people living in them,” he said.

Late last week, Gov. Kevin Stitt announced he had launched Swift Action for Families Everywhere, or “Operation SAFE,” in an effort to end homelessness in Tulsa by dismantling camps on state property. Stitt’s campaign was launched without consulting Tulsa’s mayor. 

Initially, OHP issued warnings to homeless individuals. The Oklahoma Department of Transportation posted notices at encampments on state property telling individuals to vacate the area.

On Friday, OHP and other state agencies began clearing out the encampments. They offered homeless individuals a ride to a treatment or housing facility or a trip to jail if they refused.

Click here to finish the story.

Oklahoma mental health providers caught off guard by $40 million in contract item cuts

By Sierra Pfeifer, KOSU; Jillian Taylor, StateImpact Oklahoma
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Mental health providers across Oklahoma are assessing the impacts of $40 million in contract line item cuts from the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services made public last week.

Teresa Huggins, CEO of Stigler Health and Wellness Center, said Wednesday she was unaware some of her programs were on the list first reported on by NonDoc. That document from a meeting with lawmakers outlined a review of 573 contract line items covering a wide range of services. Of those, 312 are labeled as not being renewed, 122 as facing a funding reduction and 128 as being renewed.

Huggins said she had a meeting with agency officials a few weeks ago and was told the department was reviewing all contracts.

Huggins said Thursday, after speaking with her program director, the line items associated with Stigler had already been phased out because they weren’t sustainable with available funding. For example, she said the center had ended its women and children’s program on the list because they couldn’t cover the cost.

Making those cuts has been devastating, she said.

“We have eliminated every expense possible that doesn't jeopardize patient safety,” Huggins said. “We have nowhere left to cut.”

Stigler Health and Wellness Center also recently announced the consolidation of its two substance use disorder (SUD) facilities serving Southeast Oklahoma. Huggins said she can’t afford to sustain 100 beds on the current daily rate they’re paid, meaning the region will lose 50 beds unless they are adequately funded to cover the costs.

“It's very challenging and it's very heartbreaking, because we're reducing services that save lives and impact families, and nobody wants to reduce mental health services when the nation and the state are in the middle of a mental health and SUD crisis,” Huggins said.

Carrie Blumert, the CEO of Mental Health Association Oklahoma, said cuts to their programs also came as a surprise. She said she knew the budget was tight because of financial instability at the agency, but she didn’t expect such significant changes so soon.

She said turnover at the department has made communication with officials difficult, and her organization received mixed messages about what funding changes to expect. Blumert said she was previously told one of the items not being renewed could go through a reapplication process before losing department support.

Click here to finish the story.

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The Oklahoma Rundown 📰

A hand-curated list of the best journalism from across the state:

• Oklahoma Attorney General accuses OMES director, Gov. Stitt of violating state law (KOSU)

• CVS Caremark agrees to $32M settlement involving Oklahoma employee health plan, AG says (Oklahoma Voice)

• Judge attempts to quash press investigation with gag order (Oklahoma Watch)

• Father sues DHS after employee kidnaps his 1-year-old daughter (Fox 23)

• 3 dead following standoff in Blanchard on Tuesday (KOCO)

• Oklahoma Highway Patrol releases preliminary findings on Minco softball bus crash (KOCO)

• Tulsa mayor says governor’s homelessness plan is interfering with city’s progress (The Oklahoma Eagle)

• Law enforcement stepping up patrols near intersection where Glenpool boy killed in crash (News On 6)

• When will ODOT make changes to 151st in Glenpool? (2 News Oklahoma)

• Duncan PD releases statement on off-duty officer holding man in chokehold at OU game (KSWO)

• Edmond sales tax renewals set for Nov. 18 election, city sued again over rejected Walmart (NonDoc)

• Credit Union employee training helped stop scammer from making off with $50,000 (KFOR)

• Reprimanded special judge attributes ‘hateful’ behavior to not being a ‘morning person’ (NonDoc)

• So far, President Trump hasn't asked Oklahoma National Guard to send troops to D.C. (Tulsa World)

• Judge hears case on fired Osage Nation employee (Osage News)

• Woman hospitalized after dog attack near Calera (KXII)

• OU Board of Regents approves contract extensions for coaches, renovations at L. Dale Mitchell Park (OU Daily)

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