As a convicted felon on a suspended sentence, former state Rep. Gus Blackwell can’t vote. But he can still lobby his former colleagues in the Legislature.
Blackwell, who left office in 2014 and became a registered lobbyist, was convicted in 2017 of “double-dipping” on his per diem and travel claims when he was a legislator. He remained a lobbyist and still can be seen in the Capitol corridors pressing the interests of his client.
It’s a different story for former state Sen. Kyle Loveless. He pleaded guilty last year to felonies related to misspending campaign donations and agreed never to become a paid lobbyist or political consultant or hold any local, state or federal government job.
The cases of Blackwell and Loveless evoke questions that have come up in recent years about who can be barred from becoming a registered lobbyist in Oklahoma and whether elected officials should be banned from accepting jobs as lobbyists shortly after leaving office.
An Ethics Commission rule requiring a two-year “cooling off” period before certain officials could become lobbyists was rejected by the Legislature this year, with some lawmakers saying it was unjust to deny people the freedom to seek private employment.
The issue becomes trickier when it involves someone convicted of a felony, but in some ways it’s similar to any person applying for employment. There are no restrictions in law on who can be a lobbyist, and they don’t have to be certified or have a college degree, although many of them do. They only have to register with the state and abide by disclosure requirements and limits on gift buying for public officials.
State leaders have begun moving away from stigmatizing state job applicants who have criminal records. In 2016, Gov. Mary Fallin signed an executive order requiring state agencies to eliminate questions about felony convictions from job applications.
Oklahoma Watch is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that produces in-depth and investigative journalism on a range of public-policy issues facing the state. For more Oklahoma Watch content, go to www.oklahomawatch.org
