Cherokee Phoenix - Q&A With Gubernatorial Candidate Joe Dorman

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By Tesina Jackson

Oklahoma gubernatorial candidate Joe Dorman recently visited the Cherokee Nation during the tribe's Cherokee National Holiday over Labor Day weekend. Since 2003, Dorman has served as a state representative and is currently a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives representing the 65th District. In 2013, he announced his candidacy for governor. During his trip to the CN, the Cherokee Phoenix had the opportunity to ask him some questions.

Cherokee Phoenix: Why did you decide to run for governor?

Dorman: I have been a state representative for 12 years and worked on policies and have had an amazing experience in public service. The end of last year, I began working on the storm shelter issue, trying to improve safety and security and the opposition we met along the way through our petition process, because we were forced to do a petition, and visiting with Oklahomans and seeing the growing dissatisfaction with the way the business as usual was handled at the capital, it became apparent that people were not happy and they wanted a different direction. A lot of people talked to me. A lot of people did a lot of convincing. It took a while to convince me it was the right decision, but we announced the exploratory committee on Dec. 17 and haven't looked back. It's been wonderful.

CP: What do you plan on doing to work with or help the Native population in Oklahoma?

Dorman: There's so much more that we need to do, and we must do a better job at the state developing those partnerships. There are 39 sovereign nations in the State of Oklahoma, and Oklahoma would be the 40th partner in that. We all have to work together. As the governor, I fully intend to appoint a Cabinet-level secretary to work with Native American issues and help foster those relationships. We all have to work together. A rising tide lifts all boats, so we have to work to develop the positives and overcome the obstacles we face, and we must have that health dialogue to make sure we are meeting the needs of all our citizens.

CP: What do you think of the Oklahoma Indian Affairs Commission being disbanded and would you bring it back or create something new?

Dorman: I think it was a travesty to downsize the degree of importance, what Mary Fallin did with the action she took. I think we need to reinstate that, and I intend to have a full council that will work and then have a liaison who will be the chair and the director, the secretary for our Cabinet level position, to make sure that we work together and find all of the areas that we must address. I want to have somebody integrated in the system that will have direct access to me, and I intend to be fully involved as well. I view the 39 leaders as colleagues, and I will treat them at the same level of respect that I want them to treat me.

CP: What do you think of tribal sovereignty?

Dorman: I am very much in favor of sovereignty. It's the law. There's no other way around it. The tribes deserve to have their sovereignty. They deserve to be treated with that respect. We have to work together. We must honor the compacts. We must honor all of the agreements that have been done by the United States and the State of Oklahoma, and it will be my job as governor to make sure that the compacts in the future are done fairly.

CP: What do you think of the tax increase on smoke shops?

Dorman: As far as specifics, I don't really want to go into the specifics of the compacts until I have the chance to study them more and look at them myself, but I want to make sure that the people are treated fairly, and I'm certainly not in favor of seeing any increase in any burden on citizens through their prices.

CP: How do you think the Baby Veronica situation was handled?

Dorman: I feel it was handled poorly. I think Mary Fallin should have worked harder to take care of Oklahoma citizens, and I feel that it was not done properly. Certainly you have to let the courts and the judicial system play out, but when it comes to a situation where it deals with a person from a sovereign nation, that should take the highest importance.

CP: What other issues are you focusing on during your campaign?

Dorman: One that will be very important to all our citizens, I'm firmly in support of Medicaid expansion. I will bring those dollars back immediately upon election because that is money that will go to not only benefit hospital across the states and the citizens, but when you look at specifically our clinics, there are so many people that go to the clinics that use emergency rooms as their primary care physician and it's increased the burden on health care so all our citizens. It's important they have that access. It's roughly a $10 billion impact to the state over the period of the program, and we cannot afford to let those dollars that Oklahomans have sent to Washington, D.C., remain there. We must bring them back to benefit our citizens.

And I would say, by far, education is my most important issue that I'm championing. There are critical areas of education we must address. First and foremost -- adequate funding for the classrooms and increased pay for the teachers and personnel. We must also reduce the amount of high stakes tests we're doing and instead put that money into remediation and tutoring to get the kids the help they need rather than face that stress from a test, and I want to develop age-appropriate standards that will benefit our schools through all curriculum.

CP: Do you feel that all of the testing is a good thing for students?

Dorman: Absolutely not. Most of this testing is a sham that's being pushed at the national level. We are spending roughly 30 of the last 45 days of the school year testing our kids. They're not learning while they're taking a test. It's unacceptable. I intend to eliminate the third grade high-stakes test. I want to change using the EOI's (End of Instruction) to convert over to using the ACT exam. It's a test with a benefit if the students do well. Then they may go to college. They have the opportunity to apply for scholarships. We must do a better job preparing these students. The money we're spending on these private testing companies, I instead want to turn it back into the programs for remediation and tutoring to help these kids achieve their highest potential, and also, I want to find the resources to help the kids with special needs. We have too many kids with autism, dyslexia and other disorders that are struggling and they're not getting the help they need.

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