Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond declared a pox on both Gov. Kevin Stitt and Department of Veterans Affairs Executive Director Joel Kintsel on Thursday but said he’ll let the Legislature settle the dispute over the Oklahoma Veterans Commission.
“This entire episode has been nothing short of a spectacle,” Drummond said in a late afternoon press release. “It is unfortunate that the Governor has not followed the proper appointment process, and it is equally unfortunate that the executive director of the state Department of Veterans Affairs is acting irresponsibly and not in the best interests of veterans.”
Drummond said Stitt’s appointments to the commission, which oversees the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs, clearly violate state law, but he concluded, “I am encouraged that our state Legislature appears poised to resolve this matter. As such, I believe it is prudent to resist litigation by this office, let the legislative process run its course and ultimately ensure the integrity of the Veterans Commission.”
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Stitt and Kintsel have been at odds since at least last spring, when Kintsel entered the Republican gubernatorial campaign, challenging Stitt for the state’s highest office.
Since then, Stitt has been replacing commissioners in an apparent attempt to find a combination that will fire Kintsel.
In so doing, Stitt has sometimes ignored requirements that six of the nine commission members be chosen from lists supplied by veterans service organizations such as the American Legion and Disabled American Veterans. That has caused an uproar among those groups.
The veterans groups generally support Kintsel’s management of the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs and say they’re concerned that Stitt will try to privatize the state’s seven veterans’ homes if Kintsel is removed.
Last week Kintsel informed the Veterans Commission that he will not meet with it as it is now composed.
Drummond, himself a veteran who flew combat missions in Operation Desert Storm, said he is “deeply troubled that the proposed commission appointments have been made contrary to law.”
House Bill 1080, by Rep. Jay Steagall, would reduce the number of gubernatorial appointees to the commission to two from all nine. HB 1080 was one of the first approved by a House committee this session.
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Photos: World War 2 veteran who survived D-Day receives French Legion of Honor medal
WWII veteran Bill Parker presented with French Legion of Honor Medal
World War II veteran Bill Parker who survived the fighting at D-Day, left, is presented with the French Legion of Honor medal from Honor Consul of France for Oklahoma Grant Moak at the Military History Center on Thursday, October 20, 2022, in Broken Arrow, Okla. The French Consul presents the Honor medal to veterans who helped liberate France during World War II.
WWII veteran Bill Parker presented with French Legion of Honor Medal
World War II veteran who survived the fighting at D-Day, Bill Parker, center, poses for photos with Sergeant Bob Ludlow, center right, and Specialist Shirley Mantaghi both from the Choctaw Nation honor guard, before Parker was presented with the French Legion of Honor Medal at the Military History Center on Thursday, October 20, 2022, in Broken Arrow, Okla.
WWII veteran Bill Parker presented with French Legion of Honor Medal
Maggie Bond, former Miss Broken Arrow, sings the national anthems of the United States and France at a ceremony where World War II veteran Bill Parker was presented the French Legion of Honor Medal at the Military History Center on Thursday, October 20, 2022, in Broken Arrow, Okla.
WWII veteran Bill Parker presented with French Legion of Honor Medal
Word War II veteran Bill Parker wears the French Legion of Honor Medal on his vest after he was presented it during a ceremony at the at the Military History Center on Thursday, October 20, 2022, in Broken Arrow, Okla.
WWII veteran Bill Parker presented with French Legion of Honor Medal
Congressman Kevin Hern, right, greets World War II veteran who survived the fighting at D-Day, Bill Parker after he was presented the French Legion of Honor Medal at the Military History Center at the Military History Center on Thursday, October 20, 2022, in Broken Arrow, Okla.
WWII veteran Bill Parker presented with French Legion of Honor Medal
Peter Plank, veteran affairs officer at the Military History Center, gives opening remarks at a ceremony where World War II veteran Bill Parker was presented the French Legion of Honor Medal at the Military History Center on Thursday, October 20, 2022, in Broken Arrow, Okla.
WWII veteran Bill Parker presented with French Legion of Honor Medal
First Sergeant John Burleson of the Choctaw Nation honor guard raises the French flag as the national anthem is sung at a ceremony where World War II veteran Bill Parker was presented the French Legion of Honor Medal at the Military History Center on Thursday, October 20, 2022, in Broken Arrow, Okla.
WWII veteran Bill Parker presented with French Legion of Honor Medal
Congressman Kevin Hern, left, sits next to Army Air Force veteran Frank Riesinger at a ceremony where World War II veteran Bill Parker was presented the French Legion of Honor Medal at the Military History Center on Thursday, October 20, 2022, in Broken Arrow, Okla.
WWII veteran Bill Parker presented with French Legion of Honor Medal
Jared Parker, left, sits with his grandfather Bill Parker at a ceremony where Bill was presented the French Legion of Honor Medal for fighting at Normandy on D-Day at the Military History Center on Thursday, October 20, 2022, in Broken Arrow, Okla.
WWII veteran Bill Parker presented with French Legion of Honor Medal
Friend of Bill Parker Rayan Fairfield tells Bill Parker’s story of surviving D-Day at normandy at a ceremony where Bill Parker was presented the French Legion of Honor Medal at the Military History Center on Thursday, October 20, 2022, in Broken Arrow, Okla.
WWII veteran Bill Parker presented with French Legion of Honor Medal
French Legion of Honor representative Grant Moak speaks at a ceremony where World War II veteran Bill Parker was presented the French Legion of Honor Medal at the Military History Center on Thursday, October 20, 2022, in Broken Arrow, Okla.
WWII veteran Bill Parker presented with French Legion of Honor Medal
Word War II veteran Bill Parker speaks at a ceremony where he was presented the French Legion of Honor Medal at the Military History Center in Broken Arrow.
WWII veteran Bill Parker presented with French Legion of Honor Medal
Word War II veteran Bill Parker, center, bows his head as a prayer is said during a ceremony where he was presented the French Legion of Honor Medal at the Military History Center on Thursday, October 20, 2022, in Broken Arrow, Okla.
