Oklahoma’s attorney general calls for immediate resignation of Oklahoma’s tourism secretary after audit

Attorney General Gentner Drummond has called for the resignation of Oklahoma Secretary of Tourism Shelly Zumwalt.

Zumwalt was appointed secretary by Governor Stitt in January 2024. Zumwalt also served as executive director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) in May 2020.

Drummond’s press release states that this is in response to an audit conducted by State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Bird. Drummond claims Zumwalt used her position to approve state funds for a company where her husband was vice president.

You can read the Attorney General’s full statement below:

“The audit findings released today reveal disturbing and all too familiar patterns of mismanagement, costing taxpayers millions. Today’s report confirms my previous order for a much-needed and long-overdue investigative audit of OMES.

“Among the most egregious findings are the completely inappropriate and potentially illegal actions of Secretary Shelley Zumwalt, who used her position as executive director of the OESC to approve millions of dollars in contracts for a software company of which her husband was vice president. This level of self-dealing represents an inexcusable breach of trust that disqualifies Ms. Zumwalt from overseeing the spending of our tax dollars. She must resign immediately and cooperate fully with my office as I attempt to determine whether any Oklahoma statutes have been violated.”