Oklahoma Labor Commissioner Leslie Osborn is ruffling feathers on the far right.
In a Facebook post to its over 32,000 followers, gun rights group Oklahoma Second Amendment Association urged followers to “fire” Osborn in next month’s primary election.
At issue are some comments made during a public discussion at Full Circle Bookstore in Oklahoma City. Osborn urged listeners to research candidates instead of relying on perceptions of personality.
“So just because you like your guy or your girl, and she’s always friendly to you, have you pulled up their voting records? Are they the ones running anti-trans bills, gay bashing bills, abortion bills, gun bills? If that’s what you want, great. That’s not what I want out of government. Are they the ones always voting for a tax cut? We have to get to the point where we educate ourselves.”
Osborn is running for re-election against current state Sen. Sean Roberts who was recently told by the state election boardhe couldn’t tag himself as “The Patriot” on the June 28 ballot.
During her nearly hour-long talk, Osborn explained her background and motivations. She said she married an agriculturist from Tuttle and with her degree in business she sought a job in 1986 at one of Tuttle's two banks.
“We had mostly old agriculturists who wouldn’t want to share their finances with a young lady,” said Osborn.
Osborn worked as a teller in Tuttle for two years before she decided to start her own business selling heavy duty truck parts. She ran Osborn Pickup Accessories for 22 years while raising her children, she said.
Osborn said she became deeply involved in studying Oklahoma’s tax code while serving in the state Legislature at the urging of former Sen. Ron Justice.
Osborn said she came to appreciate how Oklahoma’s low overall tax burden sees core government services like foster care, public schools and infrastructure suffer. In the face of these gaps, Osborn said she doesn’t believe government should regulate the beliefs of its citizens.
“I was never one that ran social issues bills but I do frequently get called a RINO because I’m not the type that believes we need to legislate morality,” said Osborn.
Osborn commented that lawmakers spend a majority of their time on issues best left to spiritual leaders.
“It seems the people at 23rd and Lincoln have forgotten America was founded on the separation of church and state,” said Osborn.
Osborn also mentioned rural health care as being worthy of funding.
“At the Legislature we need to remember our job is to provide a fabric that allows society to function and its citizens to flourish. That means you put money into things that change the trajectory of your future, unless we’re truly happy being a bottom five state,” Osborn said.
