Famed Oklahoma broadcast journalist, political consultant Don Hoover dead at 74

Don Hoover, once considered one of the state’s top political strategists and a national award-winning radio journalist, died Wednesday in Tulsa after a lengthy illness. He was 74. Funeral services are pending.

Known for his frank talk and his many hard-fought political battles, Hoover was considered the top Democratic political strategist in Oklahoma during the 1990s. He was instrumental in the election of David Walters as governor and the passage of numerous state questions.

Hoover consulted on the campaigns of dozens of state lawmakers, led the effort to prevent the repeal of House Bill 1017, served as the Oklahoma coordinator for the Michael Dukakis for President campaign and as the key strategist on the first MAPS campaign.

He was also controversial.

Political fights and fistfights

In 1994, after the gubernatorial campaign, Hoover got into an argument and was punched in the face by a supporter of the independent candidate, Wes Watkins. Hoover told The Oklahoman he was hit by Larry Kelley, the fiance of Judy Fossett, Watkins' press secretary.

Hoover said the pair were arguing over whether or not Fossett and Kelley had been removed from the invitation list to an event known as the Political Hacks Chili Cookoff. Hoover said he wasn't filing assault charges but added that "there's no excuse for physical violence."

After the election, both Walters and Hoover were sued for libel by Price. The case eventually found its way to the Oklahoma Supreme Court which ruled 5-4 in 1996 that the news release issued by Hoover and Walters did not libel Price.

The majority opinion said the lower court correctly found the press release to be privileged. Still, Chief Justice Alma Wilson wrote in her dissent that reasonable people could conclude that Walters and Hoover published a "defamatory statement that was false, and unprivileged."

"This state ought to be the vanguard in protecting its public figures against outright falsehoods," Wilson wrote. "Free speech was intended to protect the public by allowing issues to be freely and vigorously discussed. Grave public injury is certain if this state tolerates reckless disregard for the truth in political campaigning. Such is certain to diminish public confidence."

Pushing back against his friends

In 1994, Hoover was part of the team that defeated a state question to create a state lottery. The proposal was supported by then-Gov. Walters but drew opposition from two groups: religious leaders and racing horse breeders and owners.

According to his close friend, Tim Allen, Hoover was fiercely independent. Allen said Hoover's move against a proposal touted by Walters was strategic.

"Don had worked the '86 and '90 campaigns for Walters, and he was venturing out on his own. He wanted people to know he was independent," he said.

A graduate of Chandler High School and Central State University, now University of Central Oklahoma, Hoover served as a broadcast reporter for two of the country's largest radio outlets: the Mutual Radio Network in Washington, D.C., and WLS Radio in Chicago during the 1970s.

College classes and the duPont-Columbia award

"The first day of class, he walked in and lit a cigarette," Allen said. "He took a puff and asked how many of us wanted to be radio news reporters. A few of us raised our hands and then he said, "Don't do it. Get a job picking up trash. It’s a better gig."

Despite the warning, Allen said Hoover worked hard to teach his students. "He taught us and he taught us well," he said.

Hoover and KOSU reporter Jenifer Reynolds would earn the broadcast equivalent of a Pulitzer Prize, the duPont-Columbia Award, for their stories on efforts to sell the few remaining noncommercial, or educational, broadcast frequencies to a group of generally fundamentalist churches or schools.

The win was the first time a college radio station earned the duPont-Columbia award. The award pushed KOSU to national prominence. This week, KOSU officials confirmed the station would endow a scholarship in Hoover's name.

"Don's legacy at KOSU looms large," station manager Rachel Hubbard said. "So to honor him, the station established the Don Hoover Memorial Fund." Hubbard said the fund would help pay stipends for KOSU's interns.

Still, while Hoover excelled in the academic world, Allen said Hoover preferred to be the person speaking rather than the person who told others what was being said. Hoover, Allen said, wanted to make his state better.

"He had integrity and he had strong opinions," Allen said. "He wasn't shy in sharing those opinions but sometimes that kind of behavior is not well-received."

Difficult, opinionated, but honest

Hoover was known to be honest and blunt, Allen said, adding that "not everyone he shared his opinions with agreed with him."

After his tenure at Oklahoma State, Hoover took a position with the state Senate, working for Senate Pro Tempore, Roger Randle, a Tulsa Democrat. Because Hoover had covered the statehouse at KOSU, he had a deep understanding of Oklahoma politics and its politicians.

At the Capitol, Hoover became friends with Tulsa Tribune political reporter Mike Carrier. That friendship would lead to the founding of what many considered the most powerful Democratic consulting firm at the time: Don Hoover and Associates.

"We became good friends, drinking buddies," Carrier said. "He was lobbying for the Oklahoma City public school district and I was at the Trib."

Carrier said he left the paper after the Tribune's management wanted to relocate him to Tulsa. "Don helped me get a job with Oklahoma City Public Schools," he said. "I was there for a while and we worked closely together."

Not long afterward the pair decided to form their own firm.

"We just said, 'Screw it, we’re gonna go out on our own,'" Carrier said. "And it wasn't long until we became the most successful Democratic political campaign firm in the state. We became the 'go to' firm. We had great connections."

Former Senate Pro Tempore Cal Hobson, a Democrat from Lexington, said Hoover was among the best consultants he'd ever seen.

"He was superb with the written word and with video," Hobson said. "He taught me a very difficult lesson about advertising."

That lesson happened when Hoover and Hobson were on different sides of an election. Hobson was seeking the post of lieutenant governor while Hoover was working for the other candidate in the primary — Jari Askins.

Askins would go on to defeat Hobson and eventually win the post.

One of the best in the business

"He had the ability to cut to the quick," Hobson said. "He was very effective and he had the reputation of someone you don’t want to run up against."

Throughout the 1990s Hoover and Carrier would work with hundreds of political candidates and consult on dozens of policy issues. In fact, during many campaigns, opponents on the losing side would point to Hoover and not their opponent as the reason for their loss.

"He knew how to run a tough campaign," Hobson said. "And he did it well."

Shortly after the Democratic-controlled Legislature passed House Bill 1017, a controversial education reform and tax increase bill, opponents of the measure launched an effort to repeal the law after it was signed by then-Gov. Henry Bellmon, a Republican.

Hoover and Carrier developed the "no-repeal" campaign, pushing a message that said, "To say 'yes to education reform' you have to say 'no' to repeal."

The message stuck and the law remained on the books, though a short time later opponents of the bill launched a second attack — State Question 640, which set the bar higher for future tax increases in Oklahoma. That proposal became law.

"He was brilliant and we were very successful," Carrier said. "At least for a while. Then we sorta drifted apart."

Though the pair would eventually dissolve their partnership, Carrier said they remained friends. "Over the years we stayed in touch," he said.

For Hoover, though, working a campaign was "simply a lot more fun" than reporting on it. In 1992, Hoover told The Oklahoman that working as a political consultant allowed him to make an impact on state government.

"I decided I wanted to be more influential in the process than I could in good conscience be as a reporter," he said.

That attitude, Allen said, carried Hoover throughout his entire life. "Don was a great mentor. He taught me a great deal. Most people don't realize how deeply he cared but he did. He was demanding and sometimes difficult, but he truly cared. He wanted to do big things because he wanted to do something for the greater good."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Don Hoover, Oklahoma political consultant and journalist, dies at 74