OKLAHOMA CITY (Free Press) — The Oklahoma County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) voted Monday at hand over duty for redistricting the county to the workers of the Republican-held Oklahoma Legislature.
Presently, Oklahoma County has three districts, every represented by a county commissioner elected from the voters in that district. These districts are redrawn each ten years based on the ten-year Census as are legislative and nationwide election districts.
In different issues, the Board voted to amend a number of contracts with non-public attorneys to signify their pursuits in a number of issues of litigation, in addition to approving controversial college useful resource officers at a number of native faculties.
Authorities based on columnist Marty Peercy
Partisan Redistricting
In a scene paying homage to a lot of the final two years of motion on the BoCC, partisanship received the day on Monday in discussions of redistricting.
District 2 Commissioner Kevin Calvey proposed a decision to permit the redistricting of the Oklahoma County Commissioner Districts to be accomplished by the workers of the Oklahoma State Home of Representatives and/or the workers of the Oklahoma State Senate.
Calvey’s assertion was that the state has the software program and expertise for this process, and that it might save county assets.
District 3 Commissioner Carrie Blumert, certainly one of solely two Democrats among the many county’s elected officers, raised issues. The opposite Democrat is DA David Prater.
Blumert requested first if this decision had been checked out by the District Legal professional’s workplace as to kind and legality. Calvey claimed he didn’t know.
Calvey’s Chief Deputy addressed the query saying that each one counties apart from Oklahoma and Tulsa Counties have historically relied on this technique for redistricting. Calvey adopted up by saying that if it was unlawful, the County would nonetheless be consistent with different counties.
Blumert additionally requested if the merchandise had been earlier than the Coverage and Governance Committee, a board made of every Commissioner’s Chief Deputy. Historically, that committee discusses and researches any main coverage resolution.
Blumert’s counterparts, Calvey and District 2 Commissioner Maughan, every mentioned that this was not a coverage resolution. Blumert countered that the choice will have an effect on governance in Oklahoma County for the following ten years. Maughan responded that it was the identical each ten years since statehood.
Blumert’s Chief Deputy, Joe Blough, added to the dialog that the BoCC beforehand established a good strategy to do redistricting. Moreover, he mentioned, the County has the software program expertise and, actually, essentially the most skilled individual within the space concerning redistricting.
In response to Blumert’s protest, Calvey merely moved the merchandise.
Blumert then tried to amend the decision. She requested to incorporate that each one conferences and information of workers performing the duty of redistricting be topic to the Open Information and Open Conferences Act. She moreover requested for unincorporated highway miles to be divided equally, and to make college districts complete inside county districts.
Calvey moved to desk Blumert’s amendments. Blumert requested, “All of them?” Calvey affirmed and mentioned they have been moot and added an additional layer of forms, although he didn’t clarify how letting an out-of-county authorities physique do the work of the county would remove any forms.
Blumert’s amendments have been tabled by a vote of 2-1. Subsequently, the 2 Republicans on the Board voted to place redistricting of the county into the arms of a physique with a Republican supermajority, regardless of the protests of their solely Democrat counterpart.
Blumert objects
Blumert launched a press release shortly after Monday’s assembly.
“I’ve loads of issues about this resolution,” Blumert’s assertion learn, partly. “…the legislature and their workers aren’t topic to the Open Conferences Act or the Open Information Act. County authorities is topic to these legal guidelines.”
“If a county committee carried out this course of, each dialogue, doc, and file about these boundaries could be open to the general public, wrote Blumert. “Transferring this course of to the legislature eliminates public participation. As soon as once more, Oklahoma County residents have been stripped of their voice.”
No matter kind the redistricting takes, it will likely be up for a vote of the BoCC by yr’s finish.
Pending litigation
The County is the topic of numerous pending circumstances of litigation. Within the curiosity of responding to that, the BoCC on Monday amended a number of contracts for personal counsel.
The primary amended contract was with the agency Pierce, Sofa, Hendrickson, Baysinger, and Inexperienced L.L.P. This contract extends till the tip of this fiscal yr, June 30, 2023. The agency represented the BoCC within the case styled Pendleton vs. Board of County Commissioners, et al. The BoCC just lately settled the swimsuit out of court docket for $1.25 million. The contract for the yr of service by counsel is within the quantity of $215,000. Free Press has beforehand reported on this litigation
The second modification was for a contract with the identical agency, for illustration within the case styled Chrisman vs. BoCC within the quantity of $150,000. Free Press first reported this case in 2023.
The case arises from the dying of Charlton Chrisman whereas within the custody of the Oklahoma County Detention Heart on April 19, 2017. Within the intervening years, the plaintiff within the case, Chrisman’s mom, via attorneys, has argued for discovery about funding and staffing ranges on the Jail below Sheriff Whetsel, together with details about a lawsuit involving the previous medical care supplier within the Jail.
The third contract was for a similar agency’s illustration within the case styled Willis vs. BoCC et al within the quantity of $175,000.
The petition on this case alleges that Michael Willis, who was arrested on August 18, 2017, was severely crushed by jail workers after his consumption. The petition additional alleges that Willis was left face down and bloodied on the ground of his cell the place he was discovered lifeless from his accidents a number of hours later.
Sheriff Requests
Together with the heads of most different County departments, Sheriff Tommie Johnson, III introduced an inventory of contract renewals for the Board’s approval. Amongst them have been a number of requests for Faculty Useful resource Officers (SROs) to be positioned at space faculties.
Summit Center Faculty, Japanese County Know-how Heart, Oklahoma Christian Faculty, Inc., and Christ the King all had Memorandum of Understanding agreements with the BoCC on behalf of the Sheriff’s Workplace authorized by the Board right now.
Whereas SROs have change into a controversial matter amongst legal authorized system reform advocates, all three County Commissioners voted to approve every MOU.
Recess
As non-public counsel was not obtainable for session through the Government Session at Monday’s assembly, the Board selected to not adjourn, however as a substitute to recess the BoCC assembly for 2 days.
The Board of County Commissioners continues their assembly on Wednesday, June 9, at 9:00 a.m.
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Final Up to date June 7, 2023, 1:34 PM by Brett Dickerson – Editor
The publish Commissioners hand off redistricting to partisan workers at Okla Legislature appeared first on Oklahoma Metropolis Free Press.
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