Democrats: Harassment Settlement Involving BA State Rep. 'Unethical'

Democratic state lawmakers are calling an apparent sexual harassment cover-up at the State Capitol in Oklahoma City unethical.

"We were shocked an appalled to learn of the allegations that a member of the Oklahoma House Republican majority has been accused of sexual misconduct," said House Minority leader Scott Inham of Oklahoma City.

Inham spoke Friday morning at a news conference at the State Capitol.

Earlier this week, News On 6 reported that the House of Representatives secretly paid nearly $45,000 to a former assistant of state Representative Dan Kirby of Broken Arrow.

12/21/2016 Related Story: OK Rep. Accused Of Using State Funds To Settle Harassment Claim

The payment was to settle sexual harassment claims from the assistant Hollie Bishop.  

State Representative Inman is also calling for an audit as well as an independent investigation.

The chair of the Tulsa County Democratic Party Jo Glenn released a statement as well Friday...

The news of Representative Dan Kirby's misbehavior in office is most disturbing in several ways.  First that this elected official has abused his position as an employer and public official.  Then we have a Speaker of the House Representative Jeff Hickman, who controls all of the employment decisions of the entire House of Representatives, hiding this behavior to protect his fellow Republican in this past election.  The voters of District 75 should have been informed as to the complaint and the outcome before the election in order to make an informed decision.  Since this has been pending for a year, the Republican Party and the Speaker could have found a new candidate or taken the chance of voter forgiveness.  Instead they chose secrecy and deceit.  

The employment practices of the Oklahoma State Legislature are so partisan and archaic that abuses are bound to occur.  The majority should not be able to dictate every personnel decision and employee complaints should be a matter of public record when they involve elected officials abusing their oath of office.  The Speaker of the House should not be able to cover up an investigation for political purposes.  Voters should be informed of these complaints in order to make choices of their representative.  If there are pending complaints of bad or criminal behavior, that should be disclosed.  Also the offending party should be responsible for the payment of the settlement, attorney fees and costs connected with this complaint.  It should never be the burden of the taxpayers to indemnify the reprehensible personal conduct of a particular legislator or the violation of employment standards of the Speaker of the House.  It sets an awful precedent and invites more conduct of that sort if there is no penalty.

I call on Representative Kirby to resign immediately.  The voters of District 75 deserve the chance to elect a representative who is not under this enormous ethical cloud.  I do not expect him to resign because Representative Kirby would have already done so had he been a person of character.  But I would call on the legislature to insure that the cost of this action be paid by the participants who caused the complaint, Representative Kirby for his behavior and Representative Hickman for his lack of transparency and the employment decisions made in this matter.  I also call on the leadership of the State Republican Party and the Tulsa County Republican Party to join in this call for resignation.  The Republican Party and Representative Dan Kirby in particular, campaign on the platform of family values.  Sexually harassing an employee is not a family value under any definition.  He has disgraced himself, the Legislature, the Republican Party and if he was an honorable man, he would resign immediately.  Representative Hickman no longer serves in the House but he owes apologies to his successor and the entire House for covering up this sordid behavior.  Both Kirby and Hickman should pay this judgment and under no circumstances should it be paid out of taxpayer funded accounts.  My sympathies are to his family whom he has embarrassed and for the voters of District 75 who he hoodwinked into voting for such a corrupt candidate.