Debt forces Democrats to lay off staffers

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Mounting debt has forced the Oklahoma Democratic Party to get rid of all its paid staff members. <br/><br/>Chairman Lisa Pryor says an undisclosed debt has eliminated paid staff at the

Tuesday, June 14th 2005, 6:40 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Mounting debt has forced the Oklahoma Democratic Party to get rid of all its paid staff members.

Chairman Lisa Pryor says an undisclosed debt has eliminated paid staff at the party's Oklahoma City headquarters.

Pryor says some of the party's six or seven paid staffers left when she was elected May 14th. The others left later.

She says a thorough review of the party's finances is ongoing, and it's not known when paid staffers will return.

Former Democratic Governor David Walters says the party has raised about seven million dollars in the past four years. But Walters says it's not unusual for a political party to have some debt after an election.

Democrat Brad Carson was unsuccessful in last year's U.S. Senate race won by Republican Tom Coburn of Muskogee.