Jones said he still believes the allegations he made against Comanche County Memorial Hospital trustees were correct, and it was his duty as a then-Comanche County commissioner to expose wrongdoing when he found it.
"I was not thrown out of office," Jones said. "I was narrowly defeated in my bid to be re-elected."
The lawsuit
The lawsuit Jones filed was against former state Auditor Jeff McMahan and a number of his associates, including former state Sen. Gene Stipe.
McMahan twice defeated Jones in races for state auditor — in 2002 and again in 2006. However, McMahan subsequently was convicted of accepting bribes and conspiracy to deprive Oklahomans of their right to honest public service after a trial in which a co-conspirator testified he funneled more than $100,000 into McMahan's 2002 campaign.
Gov. Brad Henry appointed Burrage, an Antlers banker, as state auditor and inspector in 2008 to fill McMahan's unexpired term.
Jones filed a lawsuit against McMahan and his alleged accomplices in November, accusing them of conspiring to steal the elections. The lawsuit is pending in Logan County District Court.
Jones said the lawsuit alleges fraud and racketeering. The "mental anguish" allegation in the lawsuit is just standard language that attorneys commonly include in civil lawsuits, he said.
Burrage campaign officials issued this statement when asked if they wanted to respond to Jones' comments about their ad: "We stand behind every statement in our campaign's ads. Each point is based in fact, can be backed up with solid evidence and research and would not be included in an ad if it couldn't be."
Ongoing coverage: Elections Candidate bio: Steve Burrage Candidate bio: Gary Jones
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