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Gov. Kevin Stitt (left) appointed Elliot Chambers secretary of the Commissioners of the Land Office in July 2020.
Read Hofmeister's letter to OK County DA
Both Gov. Kevin Stitt and State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister are requesting new responses to allegations of self-dealing and misappropriation of taxpayer funds at the school land office.
Wednesday morning, Hofmeister requested a law enforcement investigation and called for the resignation of Elliot Chambers, the Stitt-appointed secretary of the state agency called Commissioners of the Land Office, which oversees $2.7 billion in real estate and other investments to support public education.
Also Wednesday, State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd’s office said it received a formal request for a financial and operational audit of the CLO from Stitt.
But Trey Davis, spokesman for Byrd’s office, said: “We are unable to honor the request because the State Auditor is a Commissioner of the Land Office, which creates a conflict of interest and independence issue due to government auditing standards. The CLO has a financial statement audit conducted annually which is available on the State Auditor’s website” at bit.ly/landofficeaudits.
In early June, a Tulsa World investigation revealed that an internal auditor at CLO had been sacked less than a week after looking into conflict of interest concerns raised by another top employee about their boss, CLO Secretary Chambers.
Hofmeister, who is one of five members of the commission, said in a press release Wednesday morning that a second whistleblower has come forward and that Chambers should resign immediately.
A CLO spokesman said Chambers had no comment Wednesday.
“As I have said recently, the concerns raised by the former internal auditor at the Commissioners of the Land Office are alarming and need to be fully investigated,” Hofmeister said in a written press statement. “Since that time, additional information has been presented that leaves me without confidence in the direction of the agency under Secretary Chambers. As a result, I believe it is in Oklahoma’s best interest that Secretary Chambers immediately resign and respectfully call on him to do so.”
Hofmeister also wrote to Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater on Wednesday, requesting a law enforcement investigation into the operations and finances of the school land office.
According to Prater’s response a short time later, which the Tulsa World received through a request to Hofmeister’s office, the matter is under consideration.
“I appreciate you bringing this matter to my attention,” Prater wrote in response to Hofmeister. “I will determine how to best investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding the matter and take appropriate action if warranted.”
The Commissioners of the Land Office have a special meeting set for Thursday afternoon to make up for June’s regularly scheduled monthly meeting that had been canceled by agency staff.
Hofmeister told the Tulsa World she personally requested the scheduled executive session to discuss former internal auditor Erin Morgan’s exit from the agency, which was initially a termination she challenged.
The matter was ultimately resolved when Chambers and Morgan signed off on a settlement agreement labeled “confidential,” forbidding either party from disparaging the other, and Morgan was reinstated on administrative leave for about two months so she could become fully vested in her state retirement account and then was allowed to resign.
After her termination and before the settlement, Morgan took the conflict of interest concerns she had documented from CLO’s director of commercial real estate holdings directly to two statewide elected officials who are members of the commission that oversees the CLO: Hofmeister and Byrd.
The primary concern reported to Morgan in early December concerned a company called Victorum Capital, which was being paid by the CLO as a consultant on investments.
Morgan reported being told that CLO Secretary Chambers had a personal investment relationship with Victorum that had never been disclosed to the five commissioners of the Land Office.
Morgan was fired in January.
The CLO board is chaired by Gov. Kevin Stitt, and Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell and Agriculture Secretary Blayne Arthur also serve as members.
Hofmeister, who won the Democratic primary for governor on Tuesday, is challenging Stitt in his reelection bid. The governor won his Republican primary on Tuesday, and the pair will appear on the November general election ballot.
According to data requested from the Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services, the CLO has seen the turnover of 56% of its 57 full-time employees since Chambers was appointed CLO secretary by Stitt in July 2020.
A week ago, Oklahoma attorney general candidate Gentner Drummond also called for Chambers’ resignation, saying: “It is clear to me that Secretary Chambers has an untenable personal conflict and should immediately resign from his position as secretary of the Commissioners of the Land Office.”
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I'm a projects reporter, examining key education topics and other local issues. Since joining the Tulsa World in 1999, I have been a three-time winner of Oklahoma’s top award for investigative reporting by an individual. Phone: 918-581-8470
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I have covered the Oklahoma Legislature since 1994. I cover politics, appellate courts, state agencies and the governor. I have worked for the Tulsa World since 1990. Phone: 405-528-2465
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Gov. Kevin Stitt (left) appointed Elliot Chambers secretary of the Commissioners of the Land Office in July 2020.
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