Ron Lockhart, Sequoyah County sheriff, took a COPS grant reimbursement bill for $15,896.95 to Sequoyah County Commissioners on June 21. The commissioners approved repaying the grant, which the audit indicated had been overpaid. According to the audit, Sequoyah County Sheriff Johnny Philpot received a $79,298 COPS Methamphetamine Initiative Grant on Sept. 1, 2007.
According to the audit, Bennett was to be paid for full-time work as the civilian project coordinator. The audit alleges that Bennett, from August through December 2008, when Philpot’s term ended, worked only part time at the job. The audit indicates that Bennett was, at the same time, working full time for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Documentation provided by the sheriff at the request of the Office of the Inspector General showed time and attendance record and other documentation demonstrating the actual number of hours worked by Bennett from August through December 2008.
In his reply, Bennett said Lockhart is conducting a “smear campaign to benefit his crony, Rep. Bud Smithson.”
Smithson is the incumbent state representative and is seeking re-election. Smithson and Bennett will face off in the general election Nov. 2.
Bennett said in a press release, “This stunt to return the COPS funding is nothing short of political theater in the grossest sense. Rep. Bud Smithson is using his surrogate, Sheriff Lockhart, to lob these outright lies about my time at the Sequoyah County Sheriff’s Department.”
Bennett continued, “The bottom line is that I was asked to by the Sheriff’s Department to continue my work in the COPS program in addition to my current job at the time at the Department of Veterans Affairs. I worked on weekends and evenings to put at least 40 – 50 hours a week as a project manager in addition to my other job.
“The person stating it only takes eight hours to do the job now happens to be Bud Smithson’s niece.
“I know it’s hard for career politicians like Bud Smithson and his buddy, Sheriff Lockhart, to grasp this, but a lot of people in Sequoyah County work more than one job to make ends meet,” Bennett said. “And that’s why as our next state representative, I plan to work to cut our skyrocketing government taxes, fees, and eliminate government waste… Something that Bud Smithson has failed to do during his time in the Oklahoma Legislature.”
Bennett pointed out that he is a lifelong native of Sequoyah County and served in the U.S. Marines for over 17 years, and fought in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He and his wife, Nicole, reside in Sallisaw with their four children.
