Statement in response to Oklahoma Republican Party

This morning the chairman of the Oklahoma Republican Party has issued a statement asking Andy Moore to step down as executive director of FOI Oklahoma. Here is the chairman’s statement, Moore’s response to it and a statement from FOI Oklahoma President Michael Ridgeway and the Executive Committee. 

From OK GOP Chairman David McLain:

The chairman of the Oklahoma Republican Party called today for Andy Moore, the executive director of Freedom of Information Oklahoma, to resign his position and immediately release the names of all donors and expenses to SQ 804 and SQ 810, the initiative petitions to change Oklahoma's redistricting process of which Moore heads. SQ 804 was ruled invalid by the Oklahoma Supreme Court, and SQ 810 was recently withdrawn.
"The irony of Mr. Moore's conflict of interest is beyond comprehension, and must be brought to light," said David McLain. "On one hand, he heads an organization whose mission statement is 'promoting open and transparent government in Oklahoma.' On the other hand, he also has led two initiative petition campaigns which have never made public who their liberal, and likely out-of-state, donors and key supporters are. This is blatant hypocrisy, and while I seriously doubt Mr. Moore will comply, I call on him to promptly release all donors and expenses to SQ 804 and SQ 810, and resign from his position with FIO. If he fails to do either, I request FIO's Board of Directors immediately remove him."
Freedom of Information Oklahoma is a well-respected and longstanding organization in Oklahoma, and is supported by hundreds of well-known and respected business owners, attorneys, journalists and civic leaders from across the state. McLain said the organization deserves for its executive director to display a far better example.
"Just last week when discussing SQ 810, Mr. Moore was quoted in part saying", 'voters want transparency and accountability.'
"Even though the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled SQ 804 invalid, and Mr. Moore withdrew SQ 810, he has absolutely no wiggle room, in my opinion, to straddle both sides of the transparency issue. It is very disingenuous, and he should take appropriate action immediately to correct this obvious disregard for doing what is right."

Response from Andy Moore:

Transparency is at the core of what People Not Politicians is all about. We have followed all campaign reporting requirements and will continue to do so. This is nothing more than a power play for the status quo and the Oklahoma people deserve better from their leaders. The law currently does not require nor provide a way for finance reports to be made until we qualify for the ballot. That changes November 1st when HB3827 goes into effect, and that change is good for transparency and good for Oklahoma voters.

And, finally, the response from FOI Oklahoma board president Michael Ridgeway and the FOI Oklahoma executive committee:

FOI-OK hired Andy Moore because he’s a supremely talented professional with a strong civic spirit and a commitment to our organization’s values of government transparency and accountability. But Andy doesn’t work for us exclusively, and we wouldn’t expect anybody who works for us, or serves on our board, to limit their own political action unless it were directly contrary to our mission. Andy’s support for an independent redistricting commission doesn’t conflict with our purpose at all. Even so, he’s always been up-front with our board about this project, and while we don’t take a formal position on the matter, we trust Andy’s heart’s in the right place. It’s easy to make claims about bias and partisanship. It’s a lot harder to build a reputation for independence, civility, and direct engagement with the questions of our time. But Andy Moore has done that, and we’re glad he works for us.