January Editorial Winner

Standridge's attack on homeless cruel, hateful

By Kim Poindexter, Tahlequah Daily Press

State Sen. Lisa Standridge probably didn’t expect the backlash she got from her bill that will prevent any city with a population of less than 300,000 from providing services to the homeless. She is now the object of ire in communities across the state, and some of her detractors are Republicans.

Standridge, who inherited Norman’s Senate District 15 from her term-limited husband, admitted to the Norman Transcript that the first draft of her bill would have “unintended consequences” if passed as written. She said she plans to rewrite it in committee, mainly because her first version could ban shelters for victims of domestic violence.

All people of goodwill – and especially those who call them-selves Christians – should hope her legislation, which targets the poorest and most vulnerable segment of society, won’t even make it out of committee. Indeed, a Tahlequah city councilor who is also a pastor said he’s been assured by a couple of local legislators that it’s dead in the water.

Standridge’s heavy-handed measure demands that “any municipality that meets the population requirement … that is providing programs or services to homeless persons on the effective date of this act shall immediately terminate such services and, if the municipality currently owns or leases land for the purpose of building or maintaining a homeless shelter, cease using the land for such purpose.”

What happened to autonomy for Oklahoma’s municipalities? Mayors and city councilors are perfectly capable of deciding how to handle homelessness on their turfs without interference from the state. And Standridge is misrepresenting the “party of less government” by proving she and others who think like her want dictatorial control over everything in their path.

Some of the words letter writers, commentators and social media “influencers” are using to describe Standridge are over the top, but it would be accurate to describe her plan as hateful and cruel. It would also be fair to wonder whether her base intent is to fob Norman’s homeless population upon Oklahoma City.

As many have pointed out, Standridge’s target group includes veterans, since 7% of them are homeless; people with mental health issues, which applies to 23% of the unhoused; and young people under 24, who comprise 11% of that group. Does she really mean to shuttle children to Oklahoma City or Tulsa, where they will be someone else’s problem? If so, she’s been paying too much attention to elected officials like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has gleefully shipped undocumented immigrants to cities up north.

Standridge believes her bill is “misunderstood,” but a compassionate person would beg to differ. Most people will understand her motive very well, and it’s not pure. Her frustration that “hard-earned taxpayer money” is being used to support the unhoused, when it should be used to repair potholes or shore up public safety, is understandable. But her callous attitude toward the less fortunate is not.

And in case anyone thinks this scheme wouldn’t affect Cherokee County, think again. A valuable partnership Tahlequah has made with the Cherokee Nation could be under threat. That means it’s incumbent upon local residents to put pressure on our representatives to make sure they don’t change their minds. Like it or not, unhoused people exist, and if cities decide to offer innovative ideas to mitigate it, they should have the right to do so.

Standridge should keep her nose out of city business, whether it be Norman’s, or ours. We don’t need her kind of “help.”