Tulsa GOP Candidate demands audit
Upcoming convention March 25th
As reported Friday on Straight Up, Tulsa Republican Candidate for Chairman, Ron Causby was to meet later in the day with former-Chair and current Republican State Committeeman from Tulsa, Bob Jack, on the finances of the County organization.
Causby said, “All Bob Jack showed me was his laptop with an Excel spreadsheet with financial notes. I asked for nine specific things prior to the meeting, and none were provided. No bank statements, no report on funding sources, no specific records of any kind other than a computer screen (no printout provided) and I was forbidden to bring an accountant with me or to record the conversation.”
Asked why Bob Jack was only providing this display, Causby said, “He told me that he had been in charge of the finances for the Republican Party of Tulsa County (RPTC) for the past six years and that his business success and attention to detail was beyond reproach and should not be questioned.”
Republican Joe Hart said when he was working with the Oklahoma State Republican Party, “Bob Jack as a State Committeeman, constantly demanded official bank records and detailed transactional accounting. Why he would think others would not be just as demanding of his records is stunning. Must be a rules-for-thee-but-not-for-me moment.”
Causby said, “Bob told me that he keeps all the detailed records at his home under lock and key and only his bookkeeper (who he refused to name) and himself had access to those records.
“I am calling for an immediate detailed independent financial audit of the Republican Party of Tulsa County. I cannot be convinced of the accuracy of what I saw on Bob Jack’s computer screen without the source documents. When I am elected Chairman, there will be an annual audit and the organization’s complete records available to every County Committee member upon request,” Causby said.
The assertion to Causby by Jack that the RPTC has never had a treasurer since Jack was appointed by former-Chair David McLain is contrary to the memory of several County Committee Members who have been active during this last six-years.
As this writer has published previously, Jack is not as accurate with his record keeping as he claims. The Republican County Convention March 7, 2020, held at Tulsa Community College’s Southeast Campus Preforming Arts Center, that elected him chairman, Jack arranged as finance chairman, but he failed to pay ($1,683.75) for that event for five months (until late August 2020).
When politely reminded by the facility, Jack blamed the failure to promptly pay on the RPCT Treasurer.
In a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) response requested by this writer confirming the payment failure, dates and amount, an email was discovered from a former party treasurer who wrote the following email shown in the email chain as provided.
Causby said, “My meeting with Bob Jack was very unsatisfactory. I do not know if RPTC is in compliance with the ethics requirements or not. Chair Ronda V. Smith promised the crowd at the Young Republican Candidate Debate that people could see the records, but when I made an appointment and went to do that – it was a just Jack’s computer screen.
“There are triggering events that require reporting to the Ethics Commission (more here) including electioneering communications. That would be signage, billboards, TV or radio advertising which directs someone to vote in my opinion,” Causby said. “I called the Ethics Commission for more information, and they wanted an email from me to forward to their legal staff. I will send you that email.” (follows)
From: Ron Ron C <ronaldcausby77@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Mar 18, 2023 at 8:49 AM
Subject: Clarification needed please
To: <ethics@ethics.ok.gov>To whom it may concern:
I have a couple of questions concerning the Tulsa County Republican Party. I was asked to send these in written form so they could be forwarded to the Director and Legal Department for clarification.
1. Please define by law what is an “electioneering communication”? Is it any signage, billboards, or communications trying to influence people to vote one way or another or does it have to be candidate specific?
I was able to view several thousands of dollars worth of expenditures on a spreadsheet, which to me was clearly “electioneering communication” that would not have been allowed near a polling place on Election Day, but was told the signs had to be of certain size and specific to one candidate before the Party had a triggering event and was required to report.
2. I went to my County GOP HQ to view our Party’s financial information, it was not there, and so was told it hadn’t been there in over 6 six years. I was told that only the treasurer and a “bookkeeper” had access to the actual financial records and those were kept off site under lock and key at his residence. Is this typical, if an investigation was to take place, how would the auditor find/view the actual physical records, or do you know?
I’m just trying to hold my Party accountable and learn more about what is going on with finances in Tulsa County GOP.
Thank you,
Ron Causby
Causby continued, “I saw several expenditures of significant amounts on Bob’s laptop. He told me that yard signs less than 18 by 24 inches were not electioneering communications because it fell below regulations set by the Federal Communications Commission. Sounds fishy to me because we are controlled by the Oklahoma Ethics Commission, but it’s another topic to research, I guess. I am new to all of this, but I want to verify everything.
“Bob said as long as you don’t communicate on behalf of a particular candidate, any kind of electioneering communications was fine, but for me I want to follow the rules and win races the right way. Why are we afraid to report?” Causby asked.
When asked if Jack provided an inventory of specialty advertising material Causby said, “Some stuff was in the office, but they keep the majority in a commercial storage unit. He said he buys in bulk from a handler in China then resells merchandise to the smaller counties at a profit.”
Causby said, “Apparently RPTC has two bank accounts, one large and one small. I asked him why he did that and he said it was a common practice, but he wanted to eliminate the duplication.
“Again, from what Bob showed me, the RPTC had a watch party event where they sold tickets for $250 a plate, they had over 300 attendees, but somehow, they lost $7,738.00 on that event,” Causby said.
“There should not be only one person monitoring the finances of the Party for six years. That’s nuts, but why has no one demanded this information before?” Causby asked.
“Bob and I had a very frank conversation. He asserted a long history of business success and claimed everything was above board. I told him that he was asking me to take him at his word without any supporting material to back up his document,” Causby said.
“I believe the entire Tulsa County Republican Party should demand an independent audit before this convention so that we can know the truth. We can no longer rely on summary reports without details. When I am elected Chairman, we will clean all of this up and quickly so it will never happen again. Those financial records are coming back to the office. No one person should be the only person to know the financial health of our County Party for over six years,” Causby declared.