An unopposed candidate for the Jenks School Board has signed FOI Oklahoma's Open Government Pledge.
 
In signing the pledge, Melissa M. Abdo promised to comply with the spirit and letter of the state's open government laws.
 
She also pledged to "support at every opportunity the public policy of the State of Oklahoma that the people are vested with the inherent right to know and be fully informed about their government so that they can efficiently and intelligently exercise their inherent political power."
 
Abdo will replace School Board President Joe Hidy in representing Ward 3. Hidy chose not to seek re-election after serving two five-year terms.
 
Abdo is president of the Tulsa Area Parent Legislative Action Committee. The organization was created five years ago by a small group of parents, including Abado, whose children attended Jenks Public Schools.
 
The nonpartisan group has grown to include parents from the Sapulpa, Sand Springs, Union, Owasso and Broken Arrow school districts. Members visit the Capitol during the legislative session to lobby for or against specific education bills.
 
FOI Oklahoma began the Open Government Pledge in spring 2008 as part of a national effort to spur public commitments to government transparency from candidates for president down to city council contests.
 
Signers are listed on the FOI Oklahoma website.
 

 
Joey Senat, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
OSU School of Media & Strategic Communications