Pinnell points out: Commissioner Dana Murphy Raising Campaign Funds From Entities She Regulates


Tulsa – Matt Pinnell, candidate for lieutenant governor of Oklahoma in Tuesday’s Republican primary, has renewed his criticism of Corporation Commissioner Dana Murphy.
In a press release this past week, his campaign staff pointed out she “continues to lean almost exclusively on campaign money from the oil and gas industry and the other entities she regulates in her decade long role as Corporation Commissioner.”

Pinnell said that according to Murphy’s 2018 Pre Primary Ethics Report, she “raised a whopping 84 percent of her contributions” from April to June 11, “from entities the Corporation Commission regulates. This after Murphy’s campaign [transferred]  over more than $650,000 in funds raised from her past campaigns for Corporation Commissioner.”
In a statement sent to CapitolBeatOK and other news organizations, Pinnell said,  “This is a continued example of what President Trump meant when he said we needed to drain the swamp. Dana Murphy says she wants to offer something different, but the only change is that she has become the career politician and political opportunist that she campaigned against so many years ago.”

In her 2008 challenge against incumbent Corporation Commissiomer Jim Roth, Murphy criticized the Democrat for raising funds from individuals who had cases before the commission. At that time, she called Roth “a lapdog for special interest groups,” saying that as “a career bureaucrat, he has relied on his power, special interest friends.” 
(http://www.muskogeepolitico.com/2008/10/dana-murphy-responds-to-jim-roths.html) 

Now, Pinnell’s campaign asserts, “Murphy is engaged in the same exact practice she campaigned against. In fact, Jim Roth, who is a registered lobbyist in front of the Corporation Commission, hosted a campaign event (https://mattpinnell.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Dana-Murphy-Invitation.jpg) for Murphy. 

“This sends a chilling message to the oil and gas industry from a politician who regulates their industry,” Pinnell said. “It’s simply not right for Commissioner Murphy to run for higher office while using her position on the Corporation Commission to raise money from those she regulates. This should send a strong message to all Oklahomans truly looking for reform and a fresh start to a better Oklahoma.”

Pinnell concluded, “Commissioner Murphy correctly used to believe this practice was wrong, and said so when she ran in 2008. Now that she’s an elected official looking to climb the political ladder, she’s changed her tune. That’s the definition of hypocrisy and the status quo that Oklahoma voters soundly rejected at the ballot box in 2016.”