New commissioner made SUV, chairs among his first purchases at Oklahoma Health Department

Weeks before a novel coronavirus began killing people first in China and then around the world, the new health commissioner for Oklahoma stunned legislators by asking them for less money for the upcoming fiscal year.

"We want to get to be a lean organization," Gary Cox said on Dec. 2 in explaining his request for a $4.5 million reduction in appropriations for the 2021 fiscal year. "We're trying to be frugal."

At the same time, he was seeking to buy a new SUV for himself for his trips around the state for the Health Department, records show.

"The Commissioner does not want the 2020 Ford Police Interceptor, he would like to have the 2020 Ford Explorer," a Health Department employee wrote in a Dec. 30 email.