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
November 25, 2014 // Updated: May 2, 2019
For the second time, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt has struck down a provision of this year’s state budget, ruling that the legislature acted unconstitutionally when it pulled $5 million out of the State Health Department’s Trauma Care Assistance Fund… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
November 12, 2014 // Updated: May 2, 2019
This is an expanded and edited version of a column that appeared in the Journal Record
As expected, Oklahoma voters have re-elected Governor Mary Fallin to a second term. Backed by a strong Republican majority in the legislature, the Governor… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
November 11, 2014 // Updated: May 2, 2019
On November 10, Dr. Lawrence R. Jacobs spoke about the future of the Affordable Care Act in the aftermath of Republican gains in the 2014 mid-term elections to a lunchtime audience at the Jim Thorpe Association and Oklahoma Sports Hall… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
November 10, 2014 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Last week’s election raised the number of female members of Congress to 100 for the first time in history, according to a post-election article in Vox. Women now make up 19 percent of the Representatives and Senators serving in Congress.… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
November 4, 2014 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Sunday’s Tulsa Word featured a series of short articles by nine Tulsans explaining why they vote. These citizens spoke eloquently of their sense of civic obligation and responsibility. They spoke of the hard struggles that prior generations had fought to… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
November 2, 2014 // Updated: July 25, 2015
The Weekly Wonk is a summary of Oklahoma Policy Institute’s events, publications, blog posts, and coverage. Numbers of the Day and Policy Notes are from our daily news briefing, In The Know. Click here to subscribe to In The Know.… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
October 20, 2014 // Updated: May 1, 2019
Despite four years of solid economic growth, Oklahoma’s state budget has never recovered fully from the last recession. While total state appropriations are slightly above pre-downturn levels, the FY 2015 budget is $680 million, or 7.9 percent, below FY 2009… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
October 14, 2014 // Updated: May 2, 2019
After Oklahoma voters decided twenty state questions in 2010 and 2012, including several broad and contentious issues, this November’s ballot may seem anticlimactic. Oklahoma voters will have just three state questions to decide, none of which are especially momentous. Two… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
October 8, 2014 // Updated: May 2, 2019
The ruling by Oklahoma federal District Court Judge Ronald A. White that Oklahomans buying health insurance on healthcare.gov are ineligible for tax credits may have been a victory for Attorney General Scott Pruitt. But if upheld by higher courts, it… Read more [More...]
By: David Blatt
October 2, 2014 // Updated: May 2, 2019
On Monday November 10th, Dr. Lawrence R. Jacobs, one of America’s foremost experts on health care policy, will give a lunchtime talk titled, “The 2014 Elections and the Future of Health Reform.” The talk, co-hosted by Oklahoma Policy Institute and… Read more [More...]
OKPOLICY.ORG
For the second time, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt has struck down a provision of this year’s state budget, ruling that the legislature acted unconstitutionally when it pulled $5 million out of the State Health Department’s Trauma Care Assistance Fund… Read more [More...]
This is an expanded and edited version of a column that appeared in the Journal Record
As expected, Oklahoma voters have re-elected Governor Mary Fallin to a second term. Backed by a strong Republican majority in the legislature, the Governor… Read more [More...]
Last week’s election raised the number of female members of Congress to 100 for the first time in history, according to a post-election article in Vox. Women now make up 19 percent of the Representatives and Senators serving in Congress.… Read more [More...]
Sunday’s Tulsa Word featured a series of short articles by nine Tulsans explaining why they vote. These citizens spoke eloquently of their sense of civic obligation and responsibility. They spoke of the hard struggles that prior generations had fought to… Read more [More...]
The Weekly Wonk is a summary of Oklahoma Policy Institute’s events, publications, blog posts, and coverage. Numbers of the Day and Policy Notes are from our daily news briefing, In The Know. Click here to subscribe to In The Know.… Read more [More...]
Despite four years of solid economic growth, Oklahoma’s state budget has never recovered fully from the last recession. While total state appropriations are slightly above pre-downturn levels, the FY 2015 budget is $680 million, or 7.9 percent, below FY 2009… Read more [More...]
After Oklahoma voters decided twenty state questions in 2010 and 2012, including several broad and contentious issues, this November’s ballot may seem anticlimactic. Oklahoma voters will have just three state questions to decide, none of which are especially momentous. Two… Read more [More...]
The ruling by Oklahoma federal District Court Judge Ronald A. White that Oklahomans buying health insurance on healthcare.gov are ineligible for tax credits may have been a victory for Attorney General Scott Pruitt. But if upheld by higher courts, it… Read more [More...]
On Monday November 10th, Dr. Lawrence R. Jacobs, one of America’s foremost experts on health care policy, will give a lunchtime talk titled, “The 2014 Elections and the Future of Health Reform.” The talk, co-hosted by Oklahoma Policy Institute and… Read more [More...]
