Part-time aide to Ryan Walters receives six-figure salary from state

House Speaker Charles McCall (R-Atoka) and Rep. Mark McBride (R-Moore) issued a formal subpoena, demanding that Walters turn over copies of her chief policy adviser Matt Langston's employment contract with the state, as well as her application, offer of employment and job description.

Walters quickly countered Thursday that no such document exists, and also said Langston moved from full-time to part-time employment with the state Department of Education last summer.

In an email sent by another state employee to Walters' political supporters, Walters claimed that “we are under direct political attack from House Speaker Charles McCaul and Congressman Mark McBride.”

Still, state payroll records show Langston was paid a total of $113,500 during the 2023 calendar year. And his 2024 income is set to exceed last year's, with state pay totaling $45,475 from Jan. 1 through the end of March.

McBride, in an interview with the Tulsa World on Friday, said the subpoena was necessary because Walters had repeatedly asked questions about the matter since early March without any response.

“I wish they'd told me there was nothing. I've always suspected it,” he said. “I don't think it's right or fair to the people of Oklahoma that this guy is making over $100,000 in salary, full-time benefits and not coming to work.”

“Mr. Walters has stopped everyone from working remotely except Matt Langston, who is campaigning from his home in Texas. We are clearly not paying him anything. He is not working for OSDE, he is promoting Ryan Walters as a politician.”

Langston managed Walters' successful 2022 campaign and continues to receive compensation as a campaign consultant to Walters through Texas-based Engage Right, according to the most recent 2024 quarterly election report.

McBride said Langston has been actively seeking to expand his campaign consulting business to Oklahoma candidates while still receiving the benefits of being a state employee.

“Subsequent to filing in April, the Oklahoma candidate received an invitation from Brian Bobek's daughter, Britoni Lantz, to meet with Engage Right CEO Matt Langston,” McBride said, providing a copy of the letter he received from the candidate.

“It's interesting that Langston is using all of his political connections here, even hiring the daughter of the governor's deputy chief of staff (Bobeck) to Engage Right. I don't know if the governor knows about those connections. Who knows?”

The Tulsa World has reached out to Stitt's office for comment.

“The Governor does not know who employs Mrs. Luntz, nor does the employment of any employee's family member influence the Governor's policy decisions in any way,” said Governor's spokeswoman Abegale Cave.

McCaul also defended the subpoena as an unusual step that came after McBride, a lawmaker who specializes in oversight of taxpayer money for education, had repeatedly tried but failed to get answers.

“We don't habitually or frequently issue such information, but we have the ability and the responsibility to oversee taxpayer dollars, and agencies that don't comply with the chairman's requests for information will ultimately be forced by the House of Representatives to provide them,” he told reporters Thursday afternoon.

“The best thing is transparency and communication, and I believe this issue was resolved with Superintendent Walters' information and response, and I appreciate his actions.”