Cindy Byrd
Cindy Byrd (born January 18, 1973) is an American accountant and politician. She has served as the Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector since 2019.
Cindy Byrd | |
|---|---|
| Auditor of Oklahoma | |
| Assumed office January 14, 2019 | |
| Governor | Kevin Stitt |
| Preceded by | Gary Jones |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 18, 1973 Coalgate, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education | East Central University (BS) |
Byrd is from Coalgate, Oklahoma. She graduated from East Central University in 1997, earning a Bachelor of Science in accounting. In 2003, she became a certified public accountant. In January 2013, Byrd became the deputy state auditor under Gary Jones. She was elected Oklahoma State Auditor in the 2018 elections. She was reelected to a second term in the 2022 elections.
Early life Edit
Byrd was born and raised in Coalgate, Oklahoma the daughter of Archie and Mary Eddings. In 1991, she graduated from Coalgate High School and went on to attend East Central University. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting in 1996.[1]
Early career Edit
In January 1997, Byrd started working for the Oklahoma State Auditor's office and in 2003 she became a certified public accountant. In January 2013, she was promoted to Deputy State Auditor.[1]
She married Steve Byrd, also a native of Coalgate, on July 26, 2014. The couple continue to consider Coalgate as their home.[1]
State auditor Edit
2018 campaign Edit
Cindy Byrd received 49.5% of the vote on the primary held on June 26, 2018. Byrd advanced to the runoff with Charlie Prater.[2] On the runoff held on August 28, 2018 Byrd defeated Prater with 50.2% of the vote.[3] She moved on to the general election where she faced Libertarian candidate, John Yeutter. Byrd received the most votes for a state official in Oklahoma in history, with 818,851 votes.[4] The election also made her the first woman to hold this office in Oklahoma's history.[5]
First term Edit
- On March 6, 2019 Governor Kevin Stitt sent a letter requesting Byrd audit the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA). The OHCA is already audited annually by the State Auditor's office.[6]
- On September 20, the Oklahoma State Board of Education requested Byrd's office audit Seeworth Academy, an Oklahoma City alternative school for at-risk youth.[7] Oklahoma District Attorney David Prater requested access to the audit for potential criminal charges.[8] The Audit was released in November 2021 and found more than $250,000 in “misappropriated” spending and Prater convened a grand jury to examine public corruption at the school.[9]
- In January 2020, Byrd's office opened an audit of Wetumka, Oklahoma after City Manager Donnie Jett and Mayor James Jackson were forced to resign for being under FBI investigation.[10]
- In April, Byrd's office released an audit of Circuit Engineering District 7 and County Energy District Authority finding they were not statutorily authorized to open an asphalt emulsion plant, they did not abide financial agreements regarding a $2.3 million loan, and that the venture was not properly reviewed by the board.[11]
- In December, Byrd's office announced an audit of Pauls Valley, Oklahoma after 317 valid signatures requesting the audit were submitted.[12]
- In July 2021, Byrd's office launched an audit of Western Heights Public Schools in Oklahoma City at the request of the State Board of Education and a 998 signature citizens petition.[13] When the State Board of Education took over the district, 15 bags of shredded documents were found in the administrative buildings dumpster.[14]
- In September, Governor Kevin Stitt requested an audit of the Oklahoma State Department of Education.[8]
Epic Charter Schools audit Edit
In July 2019, Governor Kevin Stitt and State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister ordered an audit of Epic Charter Schools. In February 2020, Byrd's office subpoenaed Epic Youth Services and in March she sought court orders to comply with the subpoenas. [15] In October, Byrd's office released an audit of Epic Charter School finding the school owed the state $8.9 million and summarized the audit with the remarks “We cannot determine if [Epic Charter Schools] is entitled to the $80 million they received."[16] In December, a second investigation found Epic Charter Schools incorrectly classified as much as $9.73 million.[17] Mike Cantrell resigned from Epic Charter Schools board and was replaced by J.P. Franklin in January 2021 during the investigation.[18] Later in May, Epic Charter Schools cancelled their contract with Epic Youth Services, owned by the schools co-founders Ben Harris and David Chaney. Board member Betsy Brown, J.P. Franklin and Doug Scott were also forced to resign. This was done so Epic Charter Schools could keep their state virtual charter certification after Epic Youth Services refused to cooperate with the audit.[19]
In February 2022, Attorney General John M. O'Connor announced that Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater would investigate and prosecute any criminal case regarding the Epic Charter Schools investigation.[20] On June 23, 2022, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation arrested Epic co-founders Ben Harris and David Chaney and former CFO Josh Brock. They were charged with racketeering, embezzlement, obtaining money by false pretense, conspiracy to commit a felony, violation of the Computer Crimes Act, submitting false documents to the state, and unlawful proceeds.[21]
Documents released after the charges showed that Chaney, Harris, and Brock had donated large amounts of money to political organizations and candidates in Oklahoma. The three men donated $460,119 to candidates in Oklahoma between 2014 and 2020, including Governor Kevin Stitt, Oklahoma State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister, and State Senator Paul Rosino. Stitt and Hofmeister later donated the contributions with the former donating to a christian private school and the later donating to Oklahoma public schools. Rosino received $5,600, the maximum legal donation, two days after Byrd released the audit of the schools and put forth legislation to "which sought to limit the authority of the State Auditor, control how they reported investigative audit findings, and significantly cut their funding.” Chaney, Harris, and Brock also donated heavily to political action committees in the state by giving $774,500 to Prosperity Alliance Inc., $520,000 to Capitol Gains, $450,000 to Conservatives for a Great Broken Arrow, $85,120 to INIT 2 LLC, and $25,800 to Vote Safe.[22] Chaney and Harris also used their “financial and political resources” in order to unseat state senator Ron Sharp, the former vice chairman of the Senate Education Committee and a critic of Epic. In addition to political donations in the race, Epic had sued Sharp for libel. Oklahoma County district court judge Cindy Truong dismissed the lawsuit in February 2020 and Epic dropped their appeal in March 2020. Preston Stinson also served on the board of Epic California, before running for office and receiving $5,600 from Josh Brock for his campaign in 2020.[23]
Oklahoma State Department of Health audit Edit
In April 2020, Byrd's office opened an audit into the Oklahoma State Department of Health on the request of Attorney General Mike Hunter.[24] The audit was completed and turned into the Attorney General's office on May 21, 2021, however, five days later Attorney General Mike Hunter resigned. Hunter's replacement, John M. O'Connor decided not to release the audit. On February 9, 2022, Byrd's office released the audit without notifying the Attorney General's office. Byrd stated "I believe all public records should be open and easily accessible to the taxpayers, this audit is an inspection of existing public records. Consequently, my final audit report is neither confidential nor exempt from the Open Records Act. I feel compelled, both legally and ethically, to release the full audit report to the public. Oklahoma taxpayers paid for it — they should get to see it.” The audit found during the COVID-19 pandemic prepayments were made in violation of the Oklahoma Constitution and $5.4 million in goods have still not been received.[25]
2022 campaign Edit
In the 2022 Oklahoma elections, Byrd ran for reelection against a Republican primary challenge by Steven McQuillen. Political action committees spent thousands of dollars in Pro-McQuillen or Anti-Byrd ads.[26] Some of the ads attacking Byrd were linked to the Epic Charter Schools co-founders David Chaney and Ben Harris.[22] Byrd defeated McQuillen in the primary election on June 28 and since no other party's candidate filed for the race she was reelected by the Republican primary.[27]
References Edit
- ^ a b c "Coalgate's own Cindy Byrd to take office as State Auditor and Inspector." Coalgate Record Register. January 19, 2019. Accessed November 3, 2019.
- ^ "Byrd, Prater square off in Republican race for state auditor nomination". August 26, 2018.
- ^ "Byrd wins Republican runoff for state auditor's nomination". August 29, 2018.
- ^ Ellis, Ashley. "Republican Cindy Byrd to be next Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector". KTUL. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
- ^ "Transparency to be part of Byrd's historic leadership at State Auditor." OK Energy Today. January 24, 2019. Accessed November 3, 2019.
- ^ Savage, Tres (March 6, 2019). "Gov. Kevin Stitt requests Health Care Authority audit". NonDoc. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
- ^ Savage, Tres (September 20, 2019). "Whistleblower letter, booting of board member raise Seeworth Academy oversight concerns". NonDoc. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
- ^ a b Prather, Megan; Savage, Tres (September 17, 2021). "Oklahoma State Department of Education faces audit amid 'record investments'". NonDoc. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
- ^ Savage, Tres (November 16, 2021). "Seeworth audit finds 'fraud' by superintendent, inaction by powerful board members". NonDoc. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
- ^ "Wetumka city manager fired, mayor reported to FBI". NonDoc. January 15, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
- ^ Patterson, Matt (April 29, 2020). "Oklahoma's CED 7 seeks attorney following damning state audit". NonDoc. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
- ^ Patterson, Matt (December 4, 2020). "Another Oklahoma town faces lengthy state audit probe". NonDoc. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
- ^ Prather, Megan (July 16, 2021). "'We need to get answers': Western Heights investigative audit begins". NonDoc. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
- ^ Martinez-Keel, Nuria (July 14, 2021). "Western Heights warned to preserve records after 15 bags of destroyed documents found". The Oklahoman. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
- ^ Savage, Tres (March 24, 2020). "In late-night phone meeting, Epic sets internal audit of controversial 'Learning Fund'". NonDoc. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
- ^ Savage, Tres; Prather, Megan (October 1, 2020). "'Very disappointing' Epic audit claims school owes state $8.9 million". NonDoc. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
- ^ Prather, Megan (December 19, 2020). "Coveducation recap: OKCPS plan, attendance questions & snow days". NonDoc. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
- ^ Prather, Megan (January 26, 2021). "Mike Cantrell leaves Epic board, charter termination hearing depositions to begin". NonDoc. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
- ^ Prather, Megan (May 27, 2021). "Epic Charter Schools cuts ties with Epic Youth Services, co-founders Ben Harris and David Chaney". NonDoc. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
- ^ Savage, Tres; Prather, Megan (February 4, 2022). "With OSBI report finally complete, O'Connor sends Epic investigation back to David Prater". NonDoc. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
- ^ Murphy, Sean (June 23, 2022). "Epic Charter School founders, ex-CFO facing criminal charges". AP News. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
- ^ a b Hoberock, Barbara; Krehbiel, Randy (June 26, 2022). "Lawmakers say widespread political donations made addressing Epic issues difficult". Tulsa World. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
- ^ Prather, Me (August 3, 2022). "Epic founders Ben Harris and David Chaney poured money into state politics". NonDoc. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
- ^ Savage, Tres (April 29, 2020). "Health Department audit request re-kindles old infernos". NonDoc. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
- ^ Savage, Tres (February 9, 2022). "Byrd releases OSDH audit, says PPE pre-payments violated Oklahoma Constitution". NonDoc. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
- ^ Krehbiel, Randy (June 17, 2022). "Dark money campaign hits state auditor race". Tulsa World. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
- ^ "State Auditor Cindy Byrd wins reelection; other state offices head to runoff".
External links Edit
- Profile at Vote Smart