Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner Todd Hiett stepped down as chairman Wednesday as a new drinking accusation emerged.
He remains on the commission and said he remains “committed to serving my constituents and fulfilling my duties with dedication and professionalism.”
The new accusation involves a party in Oklahoma City last year. Hiett drove drunk from the party after refusing offers of help, according to two eyewitness accounts.
Both witnesses are employees of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.
They told The Oklahoman in interviews Tuesday that he didn’t stop for a stop sign after leaving Broadway 10 Bar & Chophouse on June 21, 2023. They said he then went the wrong way in his truck down a one-way street. One employee also said he made a pass at her at the party.
Hiett, a Republican, already is facing an investigation over a drinking incident at a regulatory conference in Minnesota in June. He has acknowledged he abused alcohol at the conference and said he is getting outpatient treatment.
The three-member commission regulates oil and gas drilling, public utilities, cotton gins and key aspects of the transportation industry. Hiett was elected to his second six-year term in 2020.
More: Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner Todd Hiett to face independent investigation
At the time of both incidents, Hiett was chairman of the commission. Hiett said on Wednesday he was stepping down from that position to focus on his recovery.
He promised to cooperate fully with “any personnel investigation being conducted by any appropriate body.” He asked for the public’s understanding and patience as the investigation proceeds.
Witnesses to the June 9 incident said he groped a man in the lobby bar of the Renaissance Hotel in Minneapolis. Hiett has said he doesn’t remember but must have been joking around.
The newest corporation commissioner, Kim David, called last week for an independent investigator to look at that incident and any others. She confirmed Tuesday night that she was aware of the incident last year involving the two employees.
“They indicated that there was behavior that occurred that created concern,” David said. “Very serious allegations of misbehavior have been brought forward, as well as eyewitness accounts to these allegations. This speaks to the critical nature of why the investigation I called for in last week’s meeting should move forward as quickly as possible.”
David was elected chair of the Corporation Commission on Wednesday and took over a meeting immediately.
Hiett has not responded directly to a request for comment about the Broadway 10 incident. He instead directed The Oklahoman to a statement he made July 15 about getting care from experts after falling into the “trap” of using alcohol to deal with stress.
Both employees spoke to The Oklahoman on the condition they not be identified. The women said Hiett became intoxicated at a launch party for a new law firm in an upstairs area of the bar.
The first employee said she had to help him walk down the stairs when the party wound down.
“We’re trying to tell him, like, ‘Hey, we don’t really think you should drive. Let us call an Uber. Let me drive you home in my car. I can drive your truck to your place … or whatever we need to do so that you’re not driving.’ And we’re trying to talk him into that.
“And he doesn’t even know where his truck is,” the employee said. “So we’re pushing the button on his key fob trying to find his truck.
“So we get to his truck. And I have the key so I get in it and I’m like, ‘Commissioner Hiett, I will drive.’ I’m in the driver’s seat and he’s like getting mad at me and irritated. … He was very stern.”
More: Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner Todd Hiett apologizes for drunken behavior
The first employee said she has seen the commissioner intoxicated at other times including at the conference in Minneapolis.
The second employee said she also assisted Hiett last year out of Broadway 10 “after he had too much to drink.” She said she had to hold him up at one point.
She said she pleaded with the commissioner after they got to his truck. “I said, ‘Commissioner Hiett, please don’t drive. Please don’t make us let you drive.’ And I started crying. … He insisted.”
Hiett, 57, lives south of Kellyville but has an apartment that he stays at when in Oklahoma City. Both employees said they tried to follow him to make sure he got there safe but lost him when he drove the wrong way down the one-way street.
With them was a man who works for a utility company. They caught up with Hiett outside his apartment where he fell several times before getting inside, according to their accounts.
About the pass at the bar, the second employee said the married commissioner wasn’t explicit and did not touch her. She recalled him saying “how are me and you going to do this.”
“I was just floored, of course, and … someone walked up and kind of interrupted it. So it was perfect timing. And I just kind of giggled my nervous giggle and let it go.”
She said he spoke to her about the incident the following week. “He said, ‘I just want to apologize for my behavior the other night. It was not acceptable. I’m really embarrassed and I’m sorry that I put you and anybody else through that,'” she recalled.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Todd Hiett steps down as Oklahoma Corporation Commission chair
Source Agencies
