Did you rest up this Thanksgiving weekend? Enjoy family time? Watch football? Get a start on your holiday shopping?
As you return to a normal routine this week, make sure to catch up on these nine news items you may have missed, including a major deal between Oklahoma and the Cherokee Nation, as well as an unusual pagan prayer in Tulsa that has been misrepresented as “satanic” by politicians.
In Oklahoma City, officials have provided updates on housing issues, and the University of Oklahoma has released its latest financial report tracking key performance indicators.
Read about those topics and more in this roundup.
Cherokee Nation motor vehicle compact set for tribal approval
(Update: On Friday, Dec. 6, Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. signed the revised motor vehicle compact with the state of Oklahoma. Gov. Kevin Stitt’s administration released a copy of the signed compact that day. The following article remains in its original form.)
On Nov. 26, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt announced the Cherokee Nation and the state have negotiated a new motor vehicle compact to be in effect Jan. 1, 2025, through Jan. 1, 2035. The 10-year compact still requires approval from the Cherokee Nation’s legislative branch, but if approved it would end a political stalemate between the two governments that had been barreling toward a Dec. 31 expiration of their existing agreement.
“We’re all Oklahomans and we all drive on the same roads and bridges. It’s important that we’re all contributing to the things that make us a top ten state,” Stitt said in a press release. “I appreciate the cooperation of Cherokee leadership to reach an agreement, especially as it pertains to the ability to collect tolls on our turnpikes.”
Negotiations between the state and tribal government were tense over the previous compact’s “expanded jurisdiction,” which allowed tribal citizens living in the parts of five counties — Tulsa, Wagoner, Rogers, Muskogee and Mayes — neighboring the Cherokee Nation Reservation to use Cherokee tag agencies. Stitt’s office initially maintained during negotiations that the expanded jurisdiction should be immediately eliminated, but the final deal appears to have compromised on the issue.
The new compact, which has yet to be released in full, purports to keep open all current Cherokee tag agencies, share Cherokee tag information with PlatePay and replace the “expanded jurisdiction” with a “new at-large model,” according to Stitt’s press release.
The at-large model will allow Cherokee citizens living at-large to renew their car tags with the Cherokee Nation for four years. After that time period, Cherokee at-large citizens will be able to renew their car tags at a state or Cherokee tag agency. The full effects of the compact are not discernible from the summary, but the agreement would seem to alter revenue sharing between the two governments and require some change in the status of off-reservation Cherokee citizens who register their vehicles through Cherokee tag agencies.
Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. has scheduled a special session of the Council of the Cherokee Nation to approve the compact on Friday, Dec. 6. Speaker Mike Shambaugh introduced the legislation to approve the compact.
“Our goal throughout this process has been a compact that continues to benefit Cherokee Nation citizens, Oklahoman communities, and ensures our tribe continues to serve and provide for our citizens,” Hoskin said in Stitt’s release. “The new compact is a government-to-government agreement that will protect the rights of our citizens and ensure we can continue to provide essential funding for public schools, roads, and law enforcement agencies. I am grateful for the good faith negotiations from our partners in Oklahoma and the support of the Cherokee people for this fundamental exercise of our self-determination and government interests.”
If approved, the compact will also see the Cherokee Nation pay $2 million over three years in exchange for the state waiving all out-standing toll fees assessed against Cherokee plates through Nov. 30, a top criticism voiced by Stitt during negotiations.
As Kauger departure opens Supreme Court seat, JNC processing other positions
Barbara Hoberock of Oklahoma Voice recently profiled the legal career of Supreme Court Justice Yvonne Kauger, 89, who recently became the first appellate judge in state history to lose a retention election after advertisements targeted her for being “too liberal.”
On Nov. 18, Kauger announced her retirement would become effective Dec. 1, despite her term lasting into January.
“I call it a new beginning,” Kauger said. “That iron curtain has dropped. I don’t bear a grudge. Sometimes I think it’s serendipitous because I probably would have never quit.”
The Judicial Nominating Commission has opened applications to replace Kauger after she notified the commission of her intent to resign. Candidates who file for a judicial appointment rarely announce their candidacy publicly, but the commission is expected to release a list of applicants sometime after the 5 p.m. Friday, Dec. 20, application deadline. Then, the JNC will narrow the applicant pool by recommending three candidates to the governor for potential appointment. Under state law, applicants must have lived in Supreme Court Judicial District 4 for one year prior to the appointment, be at least 30 years old, and have practiced law or served as a judge in Oklahoma for five years preceding the appointment. District 4 covers western Oklahoma, stretching west from Garfield and Kingfisher counties to Beckham County and Cimarron County.
It will be a busy few months for the JNC, the private body of appointed citizens and attorneys elected within the ranks of the Oklahoma bar Association. Five other judicial appointments are already pending in Oklahoma, with one list of candidates under review by the JNC, two accepting applications and two lists of candidates submitted to Gov. Kevin Stitt.
In Garfield County, six applicants applied to the JNC to replace outgoing Associate Judge Brian Lovell, who resigned after a dementia diagnosis, sex scandal and at least two shooting sprees:
- Jenna Willene Brown of Watonga, managing attorney for Blaine County;
- Hope Leslie Bryant of Enid, a former assistant district attorney and assistant attorney general;
- Chad Nathan Davis of Enid, a private practice attorney;
- Blake Allen Gibson of Enid, a private practice attorney;
- Sean Karl Hill of Enid, an assistant district attorney; and
- Justin Louis Lamunyon of Waukomis, an attorney and former member of the Enid Public Schools Board.
In Custer County, Stitt appointed Associate Judge Donna Dirickson on Nov. 13 to be district judge for Judicial District 2, which includes Beckham, Custer, Ellis, Roger Mills and Washita counties. Dirickson’s appointment left Custer County’s associate judge office vacant, and the JNC is accepting applicants through Dec. 20.
Creating a similar scenario in Seminole County, Stitt appointed Associate Judge Brett Butner on Oct. 4 to succeed Timothy Olsen as district judge for Judicial District 22, which includes Seminole, Pontotoc and Hughes counties. Butner’s appointment left Seminole County’s associate judge office vacant. Applications were due Nov. 22, and the JNC announced applicants on Nov. 27:
- Christopher Gene Anderson of Wewoka, who was hired as a special judge for Seminole County in 2019;
- Blayne Phillips Norman of Wewoka, an assistant district attorney for District 22;
- Ryan Harley Pitts of Holdenville, a private practice attorney who serves on the Seminole State College Board of Regents;
- Joshua Lynn Pyron of Seminole, a private practice attorney; and
- Peary Livingston Robertson of Seminole, a private practice attorney who has served as a judge in the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma.
In Payne and Logan counties, District Judge Phillip Corley resigned Sep. 1. The JNC submitted the following finalists to Stitt for consideration:
- Louis Alvin Duel Jr. of Guthrie, the associate district judge for Logan County since 2010;
- Jason Allen Reese of The Village, a multi-cycle political candidate and Stitt’s former general counsel who has also worked as a staff attorney for the Oklahoma House and in private practice, where he has represented State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters and the State Department of Education; and
- Katherine Elder Thomas of Stillwater, an appointed special judge for Payne County since 2011.
In Lincoln County, Associate Judge Sheila Kirk resigned effective Dec. 31. The JNC submitted the following candidates to Stitt for consideration:
- Joseph Alan Dobry of Chandler, an attorney who ran for State Senate District 28 in 2014;
- Heather N. Huff of Agra, who was admitted to the Oklahoma Bar Association in 2021; and
- Kevin Lewis of Harrah, a private practice attorney.
Tulsa Council’s pagan prayer erroneously labeled ‘satanic’
A neopagan prayer that opened a Nov. 20 meeting of the Tulsa City Council has drawn the ire of both Gov. Kevin Stitt and Superintendent Ryan Walters after The Oklahoma Lion, a Twitter account which shares a name with a podcast run by freshman Rep. Gabe Woolley (R-Broken Arrow), posted a video of the prayer that went viral.
Woolley — who quote-tweeted the post and tagged Chaya Raichik and her Libs of TikTok account — said he does not run The Oklahoma Lion account that shares a name and branding with his podcast, but that he had “interacted in the past with those that do.”
Amy Hardy-McAdams, a religious leader for members of Tulsa’s Artemisian Faerie Faith, gave the invocation at the request of fellow pagan and outgoing Councilwoman Christa Patrick, according to the Tulsa World. Hardy-McAdams prayed:
As a priestess of the goddess, I invoke the gorgonacea, champions of equality and sacred rage. I call to Medusa, monstrous hero of the oppressed and abused. I open the eye of Medusa, the stare that petrifies injustice. I call upon the serpent that rises from this land to face the Stars, the movement of wisdom unbound.
May these leaders find within themselves the Embodied Divine, the sacred essence of the spark of the Universe and the breath of the Awen. Place in the hands of these leaders the sacred work of protecting the sovereignty and autonomy of all our people.
Gorgon goddess, make them ready and willing to be champions for all in this city, not just those in power. Shine a light for them, that they may walk the path of justice, protected and prepared, illuminating the darkness. Endow them with the fire of courage, the waters of compassion, the air of truth, and the strength of the Earth itself.
As above, so below. As within, so without. As the universe, so the soul. May there be peace among you all. And so it is.
Tulsa’s neopagan community celebrates an annual Pagan Pride Day, and the event’s Facebook page has about 2,800 followers.
Asked about reporting that the prayer represented paganism and not satanism, Woolley doubled down on the “satanic” description.
“I absolutely believe it was satanic, as do many others that I have spoken to,” Woolley said. “As for the Tulsa World’s claims, again, I stand firm in the fact that it was a satanic prayer, and I disagree with their interpretation.”
The Oklahoma Lion account named neither Patrick nor Hardy-McAdams, but it erroneously implied the prayer inspired by pre-Christian European religious beliefs was linked to Christian mythology involving Satan.
“An unnamed Tulsa City Council Member invited a “priestess of the goddess” to say what some are calling a ‘satanic prayer’ at the Nov. 20th Tulsa City Council meeting,” The Oklahoma Lion tweeted.
The tweet went viral and was quote-tweeted by Stitt and Walters.
“Satanic prayers are welcome in Hell but not in Oklahoma. Satanism is not a religion,” Walters tweeted. “Tulsa should immediately move to ensure this never happens again and the person who allowed it should be held accountable.”
Stitt called for voters to hold those responsible accountable “at the ballot box” despite the fact Patrick leaves office next week.
“Satan is trying to establish a foothold, but Oklahoma is going to be a shining city on the hill,” Stitt tweeted. “Tulsa City Council needs to stand strong against actions like this, and Tulsans need to remember who allowed this at the ballot box.”
OKC Key to Home program houses 26 more individuals
Oklahoma City’s Key to Home partnership has found housing for another 26 people who had been living in encampments near downtown and along Oklahoma City Boulevard, the city announced Nov. 25. Launched last year, Key to Home’s Encampment Rehousing Initiative aims to house 500 of the most chronically homeless people in the city by the end of 2025.
“We are thrilled at the progress we’ve made so far, and we look forward to continuing the work of the Encampment Rehousing Initiative because we are making real strides in reducing long-term, unsheltered homelessness in our community,” said Jamie Caves, the Key to Home program’s partnership strategy implementation manager.
Key to Home is more than halfway to its goal: The program has found housing for 332 people since it started in September 2023. The effort involves collaboration from about 50 different agencies and organizations.
“As we continue our efforts, we’re excited to honor the nonprofit service partners who’ve joined forces to achieve this milestone. They’ve shown incredible teamwork and creativity, stepping up to new challenges to serve their clients, and we are grateful for their partnership,” Caves said. “This achievement highlights their success and shows that we are always more effective working together.”
During OKC’s last Point in Time count in January, there were about 1,800 people experiencing homelessness in the city, which has seen climbing rent rates and supply problems exacerbate needs in the housing market.
OKC Housing Authority releases survey
More than half of those living in public housing in OKC are satisfied with their experience, according to a recent survey of residents conducted by the Oklahoma City Housing Authority.
The Oklahoma City Housing Authority manages more than 3,000 apartments and houses in the OKC metro area and administers more than 4,500 housing vouchers each year. Rental programs are based on income.
About 55 percent of those who responded to the survey rated their experience “excellent” or “good” when it came to the quality of facilities, while 31 percent rated their experience as average. Thirteen percent said their experience was poor. ETC Institute conducted the survey this past summer, and it included responses from 614 residents.
Of those who responded, 63 percent said they felt very safe or safe alone at night in their home, while 22 percent had neutral feelings on the question. But not all residents who responded feel secure, with 15 percent of respondents saying they feel unsafe or very unsafe in their home at night.
When it comes to the grounds of public housing facilities, 53 percent of residents said they felt safe in places like parking lots, laundry facilities, hallways or lobbies.
Respondents also gave maintenance efforts fairly good marks, with 53 percent saying nonemergency maintenance repair work was carried out in less than one week. But 20 percent said their work was handled between one and four weeks, while 7 percent said it was more than four weeks.
The survey results come on the heels of a spring inspection report that showed low compliance marks for Oklahoma City’s public housing agency. Heather Warlick of Oklahoma Watch recently reported that a new inspection protocol yielded a score of seven out of 100 for the agency’s 448 “scattered sites,” which are individual houses or small multi-family buildings that provide voucher-eligible renters an alternative to large housing project complexes.
During the agency’s Nov. 20 board meeting, OKCHA assistant executive director Matt Mills said the numbers are similar to last year, the first year the authority conducted the survey.
“We were pleased with the results,” he said. “It really shows us that staff does a good job, not just when they’re being watched, but all year long, (the) staff does a good job relating to the residents and making them feel safe and making sure their maintenance needs are met, so we are really pleased with this.”
Flintco on tap to build new mental health facility, jail still faces funding gap
The Oklahoma County Citizens Bond Oversight Advisory Board voted Nov. 26 to recommend Oklahoma-based Flintco as the general contractor for the new behavioral health center to be built alongside the new Oklahoma County Jail at 1901 E. Grand Blvd.
The $44.5-million health center project would be funded entirely by federal American Rescue Plan Act money the county received during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Flintco contract is set to be voted on by the Oklahoma County Board of County Commissioners on Dec. 20. Oklahoma County engineer Stacey Trumbo said he will begin the process next year of screening potential vendors to operate the behavioral health center, which is intended to provide enhanced mental health services for detainees and to divert those experiencing mental health crises and addiction issues from the new jail’s general population.
Despite all the legal and financial question marks surrounding the massive county project, Trumbo said the behavioral health center could be done by the end of 2026. It would likely be the largest ARPA project in Oklahoma, according to Bill White, who serves as the owner’s representative for the county — essentially, a liaison between the county and constructor who works to ensure the project is completed to the county’s specifications.
“We’ve been doing ARPA projects for about two years, and, as I understand it, this building construction will be the largest project in the state of Oklahoma with ARPA funds and also one of the largest in the country, so we will want to make sure we have our i’s dotted,” White told the board.
In other jail-related news, Oklahoma County continues to face a huge funding gap when it comes to the new county jail. The Citizens Bond Oversight Committee will have a large role in bridging that gap, either through recommending an increase in property taxes for county residents, embarking upon a public-private partnership, or a combination of both. Even with voters approving a $260 million bond package in 2022, Trumbo told board members the county remains about $455 million short if it builds a 2,400-bed jail, or about $360 million short if it opts for a smaller 1,800-bed jail.
Trumbo said the county has about $221 million left in funds for the jail and has spent about $12.5 million on land acquisition and survey work on the proposed 1901 E. Grand Blvd. site.
Additionally, the county is involved in a lawsuit with the city over that proposed site. The OKC City Council rejected a rezoning request by the county earlier this year, and in response, the county took the city to court, arguing it has sovereignty to build the jail where it wants.
“As far as the lawsuit goes, there’s not a lot of new information,” Trumbo told board members. “We’ve given all of our discovery to the city, and we’re starting to receive some discovery from the city. The next step will be depositions. I don’t know if that will be December or January.”
Report shows timeline of OU financial position
At its November meeting, the University of Oklahoma Board of Regents advanced a series of building projects, approved Hollye Hunt’s promotion to vice president of executive affairs, and teased its 2025 ask of the Oklahoma Legislature: create a new $150 million line item for “research university” operations at OU and Oklahoma State University.
“Take the [Power Five] conferences. If you look at the average per-student state appropriation, we’re way behind that. If you look at the public [Association of American University members], we’re even further behind that,” OU President Joe Harroz said after the Nov. 12 meeting. “This $75 million would be a huge step forward and would make us competitive in terms of the funding.”
During OU Board of Regents committee reports earlier that afternoon, Regent Anita Holloway referenced improving financial positions while discussing the board’s most recent report tracking key performance indicators, called “KPI.”
On Nov. 22, the university released the report in response to a request under the Open Records Act. The 16-page document (embedded below) provides data that underscore the challenges OU has faced over the past decade, including the pandemic period, revenue restructuring and cuts that predated increases in state appropriations.
On June 30, 2017 — the end of Fiscal Year 2016 — OU had less than one month of cash on hand, according to the KPI report. The timeframe coincided with the unusual Cross Village financing deal made shortly before the OU Board of Regents negotiated the retirement of longtime president David Boren.
OU’s cash on hand metric has improved significantly since, more than tripling to 90 days as of June 30 this year, although still shy of its 120 day goal.
Other items of note from OU’s November 2024 KPI report include:
- A significant increase in “unrestricted cash,” which “has improved year-over-year primarily due to increased state funding and growth in overall enrollment, along with reduced tuition discounting and a slight increase in the nonresident enrollment.” (Page 1)
- An improved “composite financial index,” which weighs several measurements to judge an entity’s fiscal health between -4 and 10. For only the third time in 16 years, OU finished FY 2024 with a score (3.3) above its target of three, a score that “typically means the university has adequate balance sheet strength and operating performance to invest in new, strategic priorities.” (Page 5)
- Enrollment growth among both in-state and out-of-state undergraduates, as well as among graduate students. (Page 8)
- An analysis of “net tuition and fee cost,” which shows that while OU’s sticker price has climbed 10 percent since FY 2019, its “net cost” for Oklahoma residents has dropped 28 percent when factoring in tuition waivers, grants and scholarships. (Page 10)
- A roughly 75 percent six-year graduation rate, which has increased slightly in the report’s most recent years but which remains below the median rate of 84 percent among universities with AAU membership, something OU leaders are pursuing. (Page 11)
- Data tracking the percentage of OU students that graduate “debt free,” which has fluctuated between 54 percent and 57 percent in recent years. That rate is above the media for comparable large public universities but below the media for AAU members. (Page 12)
The board’s next meeting period is scheduled for Jan. 30 and Jan. 31.
‘Ahead of his time’: Former U.S. Sen. Fred Harris remembered
Fred Harris, a former U.S. senator from Oklahoma, presidential hopeful and chairman of the Democratic National Committee who brought in reforms after the party’s turbulent 1968 convention in Chicago, is being remembered as a statesman who was ahead of his time.
Harris, 94, died Nov. 23 in New Mexico, where he had lived since 1976. He was a political science professor at the University of New Mexico, and he wrote and edited more than a dozen books.
Harris was born near Walters, Oklahoma, in a home that had no electricity or indoor plumbing. In 1956, he won election to the Oklahoma State Senate and served for eight years. Harris then served eight years in the U.S. Senate, first winning in 1964 by upsetting popular former University of Oklahoma football coach Bud Wilkinson to fill a vacancy. He made an unsuccessful bid for the presidency in 1976.
Harris was the last surviving member of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, informally called the Kerner Commission, which looked into the big-city riots of the late 1960s.
Harris served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee in 1969 and 1970 to regroup the party after its chaotic 1968 convention. He brought in rule changes that allowed more women and minorities to serve as convention delegates and in leadership posts.
During this year’s Democratic convention in Chicago, Oklahoma Democratic Party Chairwoman Alicia Andrews hosted Harris for a breakfast with the Oklahoma delegation “where he regaled us with stories.”
“Just looking at this man and listening to him, because all of that was obviously before my time, it was an honor to listen to someone who was before his time, listen to the things that he did, the impact that he made,” Andrews said Nov. 25. “Just kind of made me proud to be from Oklahoma and to know that, once upon a time, we sent statesmen to D.C. — serious folks with serious ideas. And his fight for civil rights and equity were way ahead of his time. If he would have run for president today, I think he’d be more aligned with our time, considering the things that he championed in his time.”
Andrews said it was a privilege to meet Harris, whom she’d held Zoom meetings with since 2019.
“I do feel like the United States, Oklahoma and New Mexico lost a great statesman,” she said.
Mike Turpen, a former state attorney general and chairman of the Oklahoma Democratic Party from 1992 to 1995, said Harris was left-leaning, supporting abortion rights and desegregation busing, ideas which were not widely embraced in the late 1960s and early 1970s in conservative Oklahoma.
“He was progressive,” Turpen said.
Turpen said Harris was a wonderful leader of the Democratic Party and credited him for putting “Humpty Dumpty back together again at a critical time.”
In addition to writing books on politics, Harris was a well-known orator, who Turpen said “could put words together and make them make music.
“Every time I heard him speak, man, he just lit it up,” Turpen recalled.
In May 2013, Harris came to Oklahoma City to talk to the Oklahoma Democratic Party during its convention. In a stirring speech, Harris, 82 at the time, encouraged Democrats to work harder for candidates in Oklahoma, where eight years earlier Republicans had gained control of the Oklahoma House of Representatives for the first time in 80 years. In 2010, Republicans captured the State Senate and all of Oklahoma’s statewide elected positions.
“We’re due for a turning,” Harris said then. “We’ve got to keep fighting.”
Court hears Walters’ motion to dismiss Miller’s lawsuit
(Update: On Monday, Dec. 23, Judge Daman Cantrell denied State Superintendent Ryan Walters’ motion to dismiss in the defamation lawsuit discussed below. Cantrell said the plaintiff, Bixby Superintendent Rob Miller, had proven enough to make a prima facia claim against Walters, “especially the comments regarding “‘all kinds of financial problems in his district.’” The section below remains in its original form.)
On Nov. 26, Tulsa County District Judge Daman Cantrell heard Oklahoma State Department of Education Superintendent Ryan Walters’ motion to dismiss a defamation lawsuit brought by Bixby Public Schools Superintendent Rob Miller.
After a July board meeting, Walters called Miller a “liar” and “clown” in response to Miller’s comments criticizing the timeline for the OSDE passing federal funding to local school districts.
Although Walters was absent from the courtroom, his attorney, Chad Kutmas, argued Walters was acting within the scope of his employment and that the lawsuit is unfounded on the basis of the Oklahoma Governmental Tort Claims Act and the concept of sovereign immunity. Miller’s attorney argued otherwise.
“There’s no sovereign immunity for acts of a government employee that are in bad faith,” Michael Barkett told media after the hearing. “I think necessarily, maliciously and falsely defaming somebody is in bad faith and outside the scope of government appointment.”
Kutmas is a partner at the Tulsa-based law firm Norman and Wohlegumuth. Attorney Joel Wohlgemuth — one of the founders of the firm and the newly hired legal counsel for the State Board of Education — was also present in the courtroom.
Miller did attend the hearing, alongside his attorneys Barkett and Rusty Smith. Barkett said Walters’ July 31 statements constituted defamation of Miller’s name and professional capability. They said Walters’ accusation that Miller was mismanaging federal funds and unfit for his role were knowingly false.
Additionally, Barkett provided the court with a letter he said was sent from OSDE to Miller two days before Walters’ comments. Barkett said the emailed letter contained Walters’ recommendation for accreditation with no discrepancies. Miller’s attorney argued it would be impossible for Walters to grant full accreditation if Bixby Public Schools were facing an abundance of financial issues — a claim also made by Walters during the July 31 press conference.
“There’s no way Superintendent Walters would issue a ‘no deficiency’ accreditation to the entire public school district two days before he led with the attack that they somehow were having all kinds of financial difficulties,” said Barkett after the hearing. “The language that he used [to] accuse Mr. Miller of being unfit to perform his duties and handle their finances, there’s no way that you would get a ‘no deficiency’ accreditation two days beforehand if that were true.”
After both parties made oral arguments, Walters’ attorneys asked the judge to grant dismissal of the lawsuit on the basis that Miller’s counsel did not provide “clear and specific evidence” of derogatory and defamatory comments. Cantrell, the judge, has 30 days to rule on the motion.
