Former Executive Director David Blatt joined OK Policy in 2008 and served as its Executive Director from 2010 to 2019. He previously served as Director of Public Policy for Community Action Project of Tulsa County and as a budget analyst for the Oklahoma State Senate. He has a Ph.D. in political science from Cornell University and a B.A. from the University of Alberta. David has been selected as Political Scientist of the Year by the Oklahoma Political Science Association, Local Social Justice Champion by the Dan Allen Center for Social Justice, and Public Citizen of the Year by the National Association of Social Workers.
By: David Blatt
December 13, 2016 // Updated: May 2, 2019
As Oklahoma’s 2017 legislative session approaches, the combination of continued budget shortfalls at the state level and a new national Administration and Congress committed to far-reaching changes to critical programs have created an unprecedented level of uncertainty and apprehension. OK… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
December 8, 2016 // Updated: May 2, 2019
This time last year, Oklahoma was in the middle of a massive budget crisis. As revenues came in below projections, the state twice made across-the-board budget cuts that hit our schools, health care, roads, and other key building blocks of our… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
November 18, 2016 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Download this fact sheet as a pdf.
The state continues to face a dire budget outlook
Through the first four months of the current fiscal year, General Revenue collections have come in 1.8 percent below the estimate and 8.7 percent… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
November 14, 2016 // Updated: May 2, 2019
While most of the attention in Oklahoma last week focused on the geological earthquake that shook the state and the political earthquake that shook the nation, the state election results got less detailed coverage. Here are a few of our… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
November 7, 2016 // Updated: May 2, 2019
With Election Day tomorrow, many of us are busily getting prepared to exercise one of our basic civic rights by attending candidate forums, poring over election guides, studying the seven state ballot measures, and reviewing sample ballots. But many Oklahomans… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
November 1, 2016 // Updated: May 2, 2019
A central claim being made by opponents of State Question 779, the ballot measure that would increase the sales tax by one percentage point to boost funding for education, is that less than half the money will go to raise… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
October 25, 2016 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Note: This is an expanded and revised version of a column that appeared in the Journal Record.
Vote Yes on State Question 777 or else more Oklahoma children and seniors will go hungry?
That’s the highly misleading message that supporters… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
October 4, 2016 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Robert Zahradnik is a director and Steve Bailey and Jon Moody are senior associates with The Pew Charitable Trusts’ states’ fiscal health team. This post originally appeared on the Pew blog and is reposted here with permission.
Volatile revenue sources… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
September 28, 2016 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Oklahoma voters will decide seven state questions in November on subjects ranging from agriculture to the death penalty to the use of public funds for religious purposes. Of the seven questions, three were placed on the ballot through the initiative… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
September 8, 2016 // Updated: October 21, 2021
Every State Question, or ballot measure, in Oklahoma must include a ballot title that will appear on every voter’s ballot. Oklahoma law (Title 34, Section 9) specifies that the ballot title must fairly and accurately describe the measure in 200… Read more [More...]
OKPOLICY.ORG
As Oklahoma’s 2017 legislative session approaches, the combination of continued budget shortfalls at the state level and a new national Administration and Congress committed to far-reaching changes to critical programs have created an unprecedented level of uncertainty and apprehension. OK… Read more [More...]
This time last year, Oklahoma was in the middle of a massive budget crisis. As revenues came in below projections, the state twice made across-the-board budget cuts that hit our schools, health care, roads, and other key building blocks of our… Read more [More...]
Download this fact sheet as a pdf.
The state continues to face a dire budget outlook
Through the first four months of the current fiscal year, General Revenue collections have come in 1.8 percent below the estimate and 8.7 percent… Read more [More...]
While most of the attention in Oklahoma last week focused on the geological earthquake that shook the state and the political earthquake that shook the nation, the state election results got less detailed coverage. Here are a few of our… Read more [More...]
With Election Day tomorrow, many of us are busily getting prepared to exercise one of our basic civic rights by attending candidate forums, poring over election guides, studying the seven state ballot measures, and reviewing sample ballots. But many Oklahomans… Read more [More...]
A central claim being made by opponents of State Question 779, the ballot measure that would increase the sales tax by one percentage point to boost funding for education, is that less than half the money will go to raise… Read more [More...]
Note: This is an expanded and revised version of a column that appeared in the Journal Record.
Vote Yes on State Question 777 or else more Oklahoma children and seniors will go hungry?
That’s the highly misleading message that supporters… Read more [More...]
Robert Zahradnik is a director and Steve Bailey and Jon Moody are senior associates with The Pew Charitable Trusts’ states’ fiscal health team. This post originally appeared on the Pew blog and is reposted here with permission.
Volatile revenue sources… Read more [More...]
Oklahoma voters will decide seven state questions in November on subjects ranging from agriculture to the death penalty to the use of public funds for religious purposes. Of the seven questions, three were placed on the ballot through the initiative… Read more [More...]
