A former Putnam City Schools teacher has promised “to support legislation to strengthen the letter and the spirit" of Oklahoma’s open government laws if elected to the state Senate District 47 seat. In signing FOI Oklahoma’s Open Government Pledge for legislative candidates, Democrat Judy Mullen Hopper also promised “to support at every opportunity” the state’s public policy 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.”

The Oklahoma City resident will face incumbent Greg Treat, R-Edmond, and Oklahoma City independent Steven Weber in the general election on Nov. 8.

District 47 encompasses northwest Oklahoma City and portions of Edmond, Deer Creek, and Bethany.

Hopper was a special education teacher at Harvest Hills Elementary School for 35 years until her retirement in 2015.

She is the 170th candidate to sign the pledge since FOI Oklahoma began it in 2008. Some 50 percent -- or 86 of the candidates -- have been elected at least once.

FOI Oklahoma invites all candidates for state, local and legislative seats to sign its Open Government Pledge. Instructions and lists of signers can be found on FOI Oklahoma’s website.

Joey Senat, Ph.D. Associate Professor OSU School of Media & Strategic Communications Mass Communication Law in Oklahoma

The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the commentators and do not necessarily represent the position of FOI Oklahoma Inc., its staff, its board of directors or the commentator’s employer. Differing interpretations of open government law and policy are welcome.