Rep. Ellen Pogemiller (D-Oklahoma City) wants Drummond to opine on whether Walters violated state law after he issued three press releases last week touting the Teacher Freedom Alliance, a teachers’ union recently launched by the conservative think tank Freedom Foundation.
Walters bills TFA as an alternative to traditional teachers’ associations — groups he says are “laser focused on breaking up the moral fiber of America.” Walters has equated the associations to “terrorist organizations.”
In a corrected release, Pogemiller alleged Walters violated an Ethics Rule that prohibits state officials from using their office “for the endorsement of any product, service or enterprise.”
In an email to StateImpact, Pogemiller said the law provides two avenues of potential violations: using state resources for private purposes and state officers’ obligation to avoid conflicts of interest and preferential treatment.
“Any labor organization, even one claiming to be distinct from traditional unions, is a private entity. The use of public resources to advocate for its membership and superiority over other unions violates this rule,” Pogemiller said. “Superintendent Walters’ endorsement is intended to result in increased membership and financial benefits for TFA at the expense of competing labor organizations, which is a blatant misuse of official position.”
Pogemiller said it is “further believed, but not known” that Walters may have a financial interest in TFA or an affiliated organization. In her request to the attorney general, she also asked for an investigation into potential financial ties between Walters and TFA.
In a statement to StateImpact, Walters called the request “grasping at straws.”
“My office will always communicate with educators about their options, no matter how much it upsets the political establishment,” Walters said.
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