Councilman Pettis charged with felony embezzlement and tax evasion

[catch22]

Pete,
My attorney was a city councilman for several terms and I never had trouble seeing him in his office. I don't know about "full-time job". I know it does take time and I thank all of them for their service but it certainly isn't full time.
C. T.

It *should* be a full time job. You’re one of several people responsible for the week to week running of the city and it’s billion dollar budget. If you hold that seat, you should be spending 8 hours a day working for the people. There should never be an issue in your ward that you don’t intimately know about before a vote.

So many things get the rubber stamp in OKC - I wonder how much of that is the fact that the issues haven’t been fully studied and only thought about the day of the vote?

[Pete]

Just take a look at the weekly agenda for City Council meetings. Often close to 100 different items.

Just preparing for that meeting each week alone -- including doing independent research, talking to people, etc. -- is a full-time job.

[Teo9969]

Council people should really be paid closer to $75k and the Mayor closer to $100k. Politicians as a whole should be paid more so that special interests can have less of a seat a the table. Whether you're a city council person in OKC making $12,000/year or a US senator making $175,000/year, when people are whispering in your ears to the tune of 10 times what you're taking home serving your constituents, it's so much harder to say cut those people off from the get go.

You cannot blame the salary for the decisions that John Pettis and others like him make - but you can certainly make an argument that a salary nowhere near in line with the responsibilities and skill and dedication necessary to do your job to the level that it demands for the public to *actually* be served by your actions incentivizes this sort of shady behavior.

[HOT ROD]

It would still be a significant pay cut. The only reason I would take that job at that salary would be if I intended on using its inherent political connections to make money elsewhere. If I ran a business that would really benefit from the exposure of me being a city councilman, then it would make sense. But as it is, it's a lot of work (if you want to do a good job) for very little gain.

DING DING DING DING - Folks, we have a winner!!

THIS is why we have the city government we have, those who run (and win) office are those who also run or own business that will benefit from having significant 'voice' in city government. This is why so many items are rubber stamped and as alleged by many, most city council members hardly know or even read the city docket. It should be a full-time job where the council members are accountable to the voters and citizens of the city yet there are many items that are passed which are invested by lobbyists and committees that are not accountable or not HELD accountable by anyone.

Now, I'm not picking on OKC as we've had an incredible run the past 20-years or so. But it is time to change. If we want to be a big city then we have to act like it and make our government accountable. We can't just let one person - the leader of the Economic Council for Development be the IT person for OKC's development initiatives or managing OKC's TIF. We can't allow our City Engineer to only allow auto-centric and suburban roadways in the urban core. We can't only have the deep pocket's folks keep light rail OCS out from in front of this or that. We can't continue to ignore those who really need help.

Now Im not saying we should get rid of those committees or remove Cathy of her role; but I do think she welds far too much power and was very surprised to see this play out time and time again - just as Pete predicted; she has the thumbs up, there's an 'executive committee' meeting, and then next week the council approves with the usual objectors from Ward 2 and 7. THIS has to change - it should be, folks meet with Cathy AND city staff and based on city charter, regs, and process - items are recommended approval. Items are forwarded to council where in special committees (think Ways and Means Committee, or Armed Forces committee in Congress) which review the full details IN PUBLIC or at least RECORDED then recommends the 'bill' to be sent to the council for full vote. During the actual council meeting, members of the public can voice support or opposition and then the vote is on the record.

If we can bring this level of accountability and responsibility to our city council, I think OKC can get even much MORE done and avoid the debacles of Project 180, the idiocracy that was delaying the streetcar and possibly only having single track the entire route, the heavy-hand from Devon to 'require' overhead tunnels on the periphery of their fortress [no chance for double decker buses in OKC - very common here in Seattle, Vancouver and other cities], stripe-then-restripe crosswalks and ill-informed/executed bike "lanes", inadequate street lighting and bus shelters (not to mention sidewalks), the passage of Lower Bricktown to Hogan without any penalty or clawback if land isn't developed, the destruction of Stage Center without a fully-funded shovel ready plan to build, granting TIF without requiring underground parking, Sunday bus ??? Evening bus??? (laughs), not requiring overhead scaffolding as a requirement in pedestrian ROW during construction projects the core density areas (laughs again), allowing OSU to stick their name on a city venue without prior approval, the mysterious removal then selective reappearance of items in Maps projects, the lack of political influence/leadership to demand BEST design/density in exchange for civic help/TIFF, allowing property owners to SIT on land/property in the rapidly developing core without penalty,

Shall I go on?

These are just things I've observed, thinking, WHO is running this city? Are they not paying attention to what has worked elsewhere or the trouble you can get into by eliminating or restricting infrastructure?

I mean this with all due respect because I do think her heart is in the right place, but there is NO WAY that Cathy should weld as much power as she has with no accountability. The council points to the Alliance and the Alliance says, well, the council voted on it. End of story. ... (does this make sense?). I once thought Roy Williams had the most power but we can put that to rest, as at least he had checks/balances with his membership and bilaws adopted by the Chamber to which he had to run by. the Alliance? No bilaws, no checks/balances, yet controls millions in TIF and IMO too loosely uses TIF without any real benefit to the city UNLIKE how other cities get development and use TIF.

The only way to change this is to change the council (not necessarily the members, but the expectations OF) and pay them a living wage that is fair and equitable to those who WOULD be great for city office but couldn't do it without a normal salary. ... THIS is what I'd like to see OKC adopt, immediately and then re-evaluate the duties/responsibilities of the city leadership. Do we even need a city manager? Why not just elect all city leadership officials instead and have THEM report to the mayors office (full political tie)? What about emphasis to get council and city staffing from local neighborhoods to better represent the city mosaic (love to see Asian, Hispanic, American Indian, Black, Non-religious, and Gay figures have major office). Perhaps a very good step in that direction would be to adopt/develop neighborhood/district councils that have charter for their area but report to the city council; in Asia District, its council would govern the area for planning, civic functions, beautification/placemaking + landscaping/cleanup/mtc, maybe even a little TIF monies then report to Ward 2. Ditto for 39th Street. And so on. These local leaders would get experience and support from the local community with the hopes to 'graduate' to full city leadership. ...

anyway, these are just some ideas I have that could improve upon the already wonderful but appears to becoming corrupt city leadership we have enjoyed mostly due to how far behind OKC was. Now that we've caught up, let's now move forward with a new model that trusts the people and rewards hard work in city office. Again, I strongly support $48K city council and at least $72K mayor. I also like the idea of OKC having "at-large" council members (I think 2 would do) and real committees that function like those in higher forms of government. This would balance the deep pockets of the good-ole-boys (not eliminate them, just have a balance) to that who would really be accountable to the citizens.

[HOT ROD]

I agree Teo, I am not saying any of the above in support or affirming what Pettis was allegedly doing with those charities. I probably could see how he 'could' have thought that as CEO he's entitled to a salary or whatever and that maybe his $1000 per month stipend from the city probably helped necessitate those decisions. That argument is for his legal team to defend.

But I for one couldn't and wouldn't work for OKC as it's currently structured and paid, and I don't see a whole lot on here who would either unless their business benefited and allowed the commitment.

[Pete]

Former councilman accused of pressuring businesses

https://newsok.com/article/5598226/f...ing-businesses

[CloudDeckMedia]

I’m thankful that the Oklahoma County District Attorney’s office was able to act on this. Can someone clarify this for me: Was OCPD intentionally not involved because of a possible conflict of interest in investigating crimes at the city level, or did it automatically go to David Prater’s office because he would ultimately make the decision to investigate and file charges?

[Pete]

I believe public corruption issues are generally handled by the OSBI or FBI.