Republican Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt held a legislative leadership meeting at his office on Monday “to hammer out the details of this year’s budget— publicly.” Stitt shared a photo from the meeting (below) and wrote: “Nothing like this has ever been done before. I know Oklahomans want smaller government and lower taxes— let’s build a budget that reflects those priorities.”
Stitt is being criticized for the photo as it reveals that all the leaders Stitt called together are white men.
Democratic political advocate Jess Piper replied: “All. White. Men.” Qasim Rashid, Esq. responded: “32% of people in Oklahoma are white men. 100% of people in this room appear to be white men. This is what happens when you only talk about meritocracy but loudly walk in nepotism and favoritism.”
Note. According to the 2019 U.S. Census, the people in Oklahoma who reported that their only race was white consisted of about 74% of the population. As in most states, about half the population are women.
That’s my Leader @KayFloydOK and Leader-elect @JuliaKirt trying to pull a seat up to the table for budget negotiations. We are committed to finding bi-partisan solutions that serve all Oklahomans. pic.twitter.com/xKnp6dPLrZ
— Carri Hicks | OK Senate (@hicks4ok) May 6, 2024
Oklahoma State Senator Carri Hicks, Vice Chair of the Minority Party and a Democrat, replied with another photo taken from that meeting. As seen above, the two women seated outside of the circle are fellow Democrats, State Senators Kay Floyd and Leader-elect Julia Kirt “trying to pull a seat up to the table for budget negotiations.” Hicks added, “We are committed to finding bi-partisan solutions that serve all Oklahomans.”