Senator Jolley gratified as both lawsuit and ethics filings are dismissed
CapitolBeatOK Staff Report
Published: 11-Jul-2012
Published: 11-Jul-2012
Edmond, OK - Senator Clark Jolley announced Wednesday (July 11) that both ethics allegations and a lawsuit against him have been dismissed.
In a press release sent to CapitolBeatOK and other news organizations, Jolley said the Ethics Commission notified him by mail that members voted to dismiss charges filed against him during the weeks preceding the primary election.
There had been no meeting of the Commission scheduled between filing of the complaints and the primary election on June 26.
Jolley said letters from Commission Executive Director Marilyn Hughes stated the matters were “brought before the Commission in its regular meeting held June 29. …It was considered in executive session. The Commission discussed the information and facts. In open meeting, referring to the matter by number so as to protect your identity, the Commission voted that this information did not provide an adequate basis for the belief that a violation of the Constitutional Ethics Rules occurred.”
Jolley said he was pleased: “I’m very happy that the Ethics Commission handled this appropriately, quickly and confidentially. The public dissemination of the charges by people who opposed my re-election effort was purposefully done to damage my reputation prior to an election.”
Jolley said he supports a proposal by Commissioner Jo Pettigrew to fashion a “black-out period” on ethics filings before elections.
Sen. Jolley also applauded the decision by his primary opponent, Rev. Paul Blair, to dismiss him from the lawsuit filed before the election. “I appreciate Paul’s decision to dismiss me from the lawsuit,” said Jolley. “It allows us to move on towards the future without this litigation pending.”
In his press release, Jolley said that to his knowledge the lawsuit has not been dismissed against the remaining defendants.
Jolley filed his legally required statement of organization (SO-1) for his reelection campaign this year, months after he had started his reelection drive. He filed the new SO-1 long after his race for attorney general – which ended in 2010 – was over.
In the primary, with all 29 precincts recorded, Jolley defeated Blair 4,385 (56.61 percent) to 3,361 (43.39 percent).
Sen. Jolley will face Independent candidate Richard Prawdzienski in November.
Note: Editor Patrick B. McGuigan contributed to this report.
