OKLAHOMA CITY (OP) – Citing the
need “to get some work done around here,”
Department of Finance Director Scott Meacham
put Gov. Brad Henry in time-out Wednesday.
“I’m just frustrated right now,” Meacham
said of the action. “I’m trying to broker delicate
deals between tobacco retailers, tribes, horse racers
and others, and he’s jumping up and down
bugging me to take him to Sonic. I didn’t want to
bring him to work with me, but Susan
(Meacham’s wife) had to go out of town and so
now he’s following me around the Capitol.” Meachum put Henry in time-out for 20 minutes
while he worked on gathering support for legislation
that would raise the sales tax on tobacco.
“I feel a little guilty about it,” Meacham said, “but I really needed to concentrate. I’ve got a job to do here and, if I let him run around this place, he’d just end up giving a press conference or something.”
Meacham said that, to make it up to the
governor, he would take him to Sonic after work.
