She is no longer Oklahoma’s Secretary of Agriculture- but that does not change the day to day duties of Blayne Arthur as she continues to serve as the Oklahoma Commissioner of Agriculture and the President of the State Board of Agriculture. Instead of being called Secretary of Ag- she is now officially called the Chief Agricultural Advisor to the Governor.
Earlier this year, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond responded with an opinion requested by a legislator on whether former Transportation Secretary Tim Gatz could also serve as director of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation and the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority simultaneously. Drummond said the law doesn’t allow for it.
That impacted other cabinet secretaries for Governor Kevin Stitt. They sued. The state legislature weighed in on behalf of Commissioner Arthur and another member of the Stitt Cabinet, Susan Winchester, by granting them an exemption and permitting them to be dual office holders. Governor Stitt vetoed SB1196 back in March– saying he believed that the Secretary of Agriculture and other cabinet secretaries could continue to hold a Cabinet Seat and be an agency head- and at the time- he contended in his veto message that the courts would side with him.
They did not. According to an article in the Oklahoma Voice, “Cabinet Secretaries are office holders or officers of the state of Oklahoma and are not excepted from the dual office holding prohibition under law,” wrote Oklahoma County District Judge Richard C. Ogden in a May 31 order.
“The action came after Drummond issued a Feb. 28 opinion saying Tim Gatz could not hold three posts at once. At the time, he was serving as Stitt’s transportation secretary, and as head of both the Oklahoma Department of Transportation and Oklahoma Turnpike Authority.
“Gatz then resigned his cabinet post and was reappointed as the Oklahoma Department of Transportation executive director.
“Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell resigned as Stitt’s secretary of workforce development.”
The Governor has decided to rename the job titles that most of his cabinet Secretaries had held- including Secretary of Ag Blayne Arthur. That position has been apparently eliminated and on the Governor’s website- those positions are now being called “Advisors.”
In case of Arthur- she is now the Governor Stitt’s Chief Agricultural Advisor. According to the webpage on the Governor’s Advisors- “Blayne Arthur currently serves as the Chief Agricultural Advisor. Arthur is the state’s first female to hold the position. She acts as Governor Stitt’s chief advisor on policy development and implementation related to agriculture, food and forestry.”
Commissioner Arthur could offer no comment as she indicated that the litigation is still active. She did confirm there are no longer Secretaries in the Stitt Administration- just advisors.
