TULSA -- Oklahoma Representative Dan Kirby announced his resignation Saturday after a House Committee recommended he be expelled.
According to a press release, Kirby delivered his letter of resignation to the Speaker of the House Saturday morning.
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“I cannot, in good conscience, continue to fight against unfounded accusations and what I believe to be unreasonable committee recommendations when the end result will ultimately be that the people of House District 75 will not have a voice at the State Capitol for the next two years,” Kirby said. “The committee has ensured that this would have been a lose-lose situation for me and my district.”
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In a statement, Kirby expressed his gratitude to the people of House District 75 and to his colleagues for his time in office.
“Being a Representative of the people has been the highest honor of my entire life. I am and always will be proud of the legislation I have carried to protect children, strengthen athletic regulations, make youth sports safer, and many other positive reforms I have carried. I believe I have always treated the people’s business with the dignity and respect it deserves,” said Kirby. “I am so thankful for the 8 years that the people of House District 75 gave me to represent them and I hope we will be well represented in the future.”
Following the announcement Saturday, House Minority Leader Scott Inman released the following statement:
“The allegations that were set forth in the report of the House Special Investigation Committee were troubling and should never be tolerated. For that reason, the House Minority Leader and the House Democratic Caucus were pleased to hear that Representative Kirby has done the right thing and resigned. We hope the victims of this sordid episode find some measure of comfort in the announcement. The Oklahoma House of Representatives can now move forward and attend to the vital business of the state. Nevertheless, the House investigation should not end here. The report of the Special Investigation Committee failed to identify everyone who was involved in the expenditure of $70,000 of taxpayer money to settle a sexual harassment claim against Representative Kirby, and then tried to quietly cover it up. We will insist on a genuinely independent investigation into this matter if the information is not revealed in due course.”
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