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Another False Claim From Gumm Debunked
Senator Gumm claims on his website that Josh didn’t file his financial disclosure form with the Ethics Commission. Because this involved Josh’s ethical conduct, rather than the usual silly personal attacks like “Josh doesn’t own a truck,” we asked our deputy treasurer to follow up with the Commission to make sure that they had the form on file. The Chief Investigator on the Commission was kind enough to send us this morning an email stating, “We normally do not forward confirmations concerning receipt of documents filed with the Ethics Commission. However, in this case, we did receive the F-1R [Statement of Financial Interests] for calendar year 2009 of Mr. Josh Brecheen . . . A copy of the F-1R is on file at our office and stamped as received June 18, 2010, 3:24 pm.”
False statements about Josh’s Ethics Commission filings will not be enough to keep Gumm in office. We look forward to voting tomorrow for Josh Brecheen and the start of a new, honest chapter in Southeastern Oklahoma politics.
Smears Against Brecheen Addressed
Brecheen Campaign Refutes Gumm’s False and Misleading Smears in his Latest Media Ads
Coalgate, OK – Incumbent Senator Jay Paul Gumm is running last-minute television ads containing false allegations intending to mislead District 6 voters about Josh’s background and character. These misrepresentations and smears insult the intelligence of our friends and neighbors and degrade the ideal of public service. We are disappointed that the members of the media involved chose to run these negative advertisements and hope that the media and print news organizations take seriously their duty to the public to investigate the allegations and expose these misrepresentations.
Specifically, the campaign responds to these attacks as follows:
1. Allegations that Josh is not really a rancher and doesn’t have a ranch because he does not pay property taxes. Response: These are knowing and intentional lies by Mr. Gumm. As everyone in Clarita and Olney knows, Josh raises and trains cow horses and operates a 160 acre ranch (as a lease with annual lease payments) 300 yards southeast of the junction of highway 48 and 31. Josh and Kacie have paid annual taxes on the 35 Quarter Horses they own (Coal County and the American Quarter Horse Association have the records). He and Kacie pay property taxes on their own home in Olney, located on 5 acres that have been in the family for two generations.
2. Allegation that Josh doesn’t own a ranch truck. Response: Josh owns a truck with farm tags. (Is this really important to Mr. Gumm?)
3. Allegation that Josh didn’t vote before he began work for U.S. Senator Tom Coburn. Response: Before his work for Senator Coburn, Josh voted in Stillwater (Payne County) where Josh attended OSU College of Agriculture. Mr. Gumm intentionally misleads voters by referencing only Coal County election records.
4. Allegation that Josh “took $250,000 of government payments from the taxpayers.” Response: This is almost six years’ worth of salary added together for effect, which he earned as the field representative for U.S. Senator Tom Coburn in Southeast Oklahoma. This full-time position paid Josh an average of approximately $45,000 per year, which is about what Mr. Gumm makes in four months as a member of the third highest part-time paid legislative body in America.
Senator Gumm himself has left many questions unanswered, such as what exactly he did for his large payments for “consulting” from special interests in the district. Investigative journalist Andrew Griffin researched this just recently and did not receive an answer from Mr. Gumm: http://oklahoma.watchdog.org/1196/questions-raised-over-gumms- work-for-the-choctaws/. Questions remain on how he affords, on a legislator’s salary, a new house and large new automobiles and multiple rental houses – see information here: http://bryan.okcountytreasurers.com/name/name_search.aspx and http://wwwtmrcom.blogspot.com/2010/08/republicans-eye-brecheen-challenge-of.html And also, how his 2006 campaign managed to spend $260,000 on a campaign in which he didn’t even have an opponent. http://www.ok.gov/ethics/public/candidate.php
We expect that the false charges and desperate attack ads from Senator Gumm will continue right up until Election Day, but trust that our neighbors in the district will thoughtfully consider the source and focus on the opportunity to finally bring a man described by Senator Coburn as a person with “no arrogance” and “no guile” to represent us in Oklahoma City.
We respectfully ask that voters ignore the false charges from Senator Gumm and vote for Josh Brecheen.
PRESS RELEASE
Brecheen Campaign Requests Clarification Reporting From News Agencies In Light of Jay Paul Gumm’s Amended Campaign Financial Report
Coalgate, OK – Monday night, at the stroke of the midnight deadline, Jay Paul Gumm (D-OK), filed his financial report with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission showing that he had raised about $120,000 since August10th and had cash on-hand of about $99,000.
His opponent, Josh Brecheen, filed a report showing $132,000 in contributions for the period and cash on-hand of $41,000.
Before most people in the district were awake on Tuesday morning, Gumm filed an amended return, showing that in fact he had only $33,239.42 in cash on–hand – over $60,000 less than he had earlier reported.
Various news agencies, relying on Gumm’s initially filed report, were duped into reporting that Gumm had a 2-to-1 cash on- hand advantage over Brecheen in funds remaining.
We respectfully request that all news agencies making this error to correct their reporting to the public and clarify that Brecheen in fact had reported a significant cash advantage, particularly in light of Brecheen’s strong post-filing fundraising as shown on subsequent Form C-4R filings. These news agencies should also ask the Gumm campaign and its treasurer, Brent Wilcox, for a complete explanation of why the misleading report was filed and corrected only hours later, and whether the campaign was attempting to purposely mislead the public.
Anyone in the public wishing to compare the two reports Mr. Gumm filed may view them at www.ok.gov/ethics/public/candidate.php and search on Gumm and form C-1R for the period 08/10/2010 – 10/18/2010.
Josh Brecheen Announces Candidacy for Oklahoma State Senate District 6
http://www.durantdemocrat.com/view/full_story/7835932/article-Brecheen-announces-candidacy-for-Senate-District-6?instance=home_news_lead
Josh Brecheen Challenges Jay Paul Gumm
http://capitolbeatok.com/_webapp_3129293/Josh_Brecheen_challenges_Jay_Paul_Gumm
Josh Brecheen Opens Durant Headquarters
http://www.durantdemocrat.com/view/full_story/8943365/article-Josh-Brecheen-to-open-Durant-headquarters-?instance=secondary_news_left_column
U.S. Senator Tom Coburn Endorses Josh Brecheen
http://wwwtmrcom.blogspot.com/2010/08/republican-brecheen-draws-huge-durant.html
Republicans Eye Brecheen Challenge of Gumm
http://wwwtmrcom.blogspot.com/2010/08/republicans-eye-brecheen-challenge-of.html
In Little Dixie, The Classic Battle
http://wwwtmrcom.blogspot.com/2010/10/in-little-dixie-classic-battle.html
It’s True, Brecheen is Surging
http://oksenategop.com/?p=285
Brecheen Has Lead on Gumm
http://wwwtmrcom.blogspot.com/2010/10/mcferron-brecheen-has-lead-over-gumm.html
McCarville, Ferron, Gumm & Brecheen: Not a Law Firm
http://capitolbeatok.com/CustomContentRetrieve.aspx?ID=3512371