Councilman Pettis charged with felony embezzlement and tax evasion

[Pete]

http://newsok.com/oklahoma-city-coun...rticle/5594395

[Richard at Remax]

Sad story when people can't get out of their own way

[Pete]

[catch22]

Sad to see someone who promised to do good things, steal from the very people he swore to help.

Greed is a terrible cancer.

[Pete]

From KFOR via AP; expected to plead not guilty:

http://kfor.com/2018/05/14/oklahoma-...-embezzlement/

[Pete]

^

These are large sums of money, at least $165,000.

Reminder that each member of City Council is paid $1,000 per month. The mayor is paid $2K.

[CloudDeckMedia]

What is the process to remove a member of the OKC City Council?

[David]

The News OK article says that is he is expected to resign at the end of May, so it may not come up at least in this case.

[Pete]

The News OK article says that is he is expected to resign at the end of May, so it may not come up at least in this case.

Where are you seeing this?

[David]

Fourth paragraph down in the article.

Pettis is expected to resign by the end of the month from the Ward 7 seat he has held since 2013. He is facing three counts of embezzlement and one count of intentionally failing to file state income tax returns.

[Pete]

Thanks, they added to that article after it was posted.

Also, he still has 2 years to run on his term so if he is planning to resign this does not bode well for his innocence.

[Jeepnokc]

Thanks, they added to that article after it was posted.

Also, he still has 2 years to run on his term so if he is planning to resign this does not bode well for his innocence.

Makes me wonder if he already has a deal worked out to plea with such deal requiring his resignation.

[Johnb911]

Thanks, they added to that article after it was posted.

Also, he still has 2 years to run on his term so if he is planning to resign this does not bode well for his innocence.

I thought i had read something somewhere that he was planning on running for another office? Maybe within the county? Could explain why he was planning to resign?

[Pete]

I thought i had read something somewhere that he was planning on running for another office? Maybe within the county? Could explain why he was planning to resign?

True. He is already a candidate for County Commissioner.

[CloudDeckMedia]

Hopefully Pettis resigns as he indicated. If so, what is the process to replace him? Temporary appointment? Special election?

BTW, here is his bio on OKC.gov: https://www.okc.gov/government/city-council/ward-7

[Pete]

Hopefully Pettis resigns as he indicated. If so, what is the process to replace him? Temporary appointment? Special election?

BTW, here is his bio on OKC.gov: https://www.okc.gov/government/city-council/ward-7

If he resigns, the Council would appoint his replacement until the next election, which is 2 years away.

I suspect the same process would apply if he was removed.

[Pete]

I just learned that Pettis has resigned specifically due to these charges.

His prior plan was to keep his council seat while he pursued the County Commissioner position, just like Holt remained a state senator while running for mayor.

[Pete]

I was incorrect about the process to replace Pettis.

He will be officially gone as of the end of May and the Council will appoint a temporary replacement then call for a special election, which would occur in August I believe.

[Pete]

Press release from the city:

*****************


Ward 7 Councilman John Pettis resigns effective May 31

Ward 7 Councilman John A. Pettis Jr. has resigned his seat on the Oklahoma City Council effective May 31. A primary special election to fill the vacated seat will be Aug. 28.

Councilman Pettis submitted the resignation in a letter received Thursday by Mayor David Holt. The resignation applies to Councilman Pettis’ other positions on City boards, trusts and commissions.

Councilman Pettis was first elected to his seat in the April 2013 general election and was re-elected with a majority victory in the February 2017 primary election.

As required by the Oklahoma City Charter, the Council will take two actions within 30 days of the resignation’s effective date:

Appoint, by majority vote, a qualified person to immediately fill the vacancy.

Call a special election to fill the vacancy for the rest of the four-year term. Aug. 28 is the next available election date.


Special election information

In its future resolution calling the Aug. 28 primary special election in Ward 7, the Council will set a 3-day candidate filing period. If only one qualifying candidate files to run, that candidate is automatically elected to office.

If a candidate earns a majority of the votes in the Aug. 28 primary, he or she wins the seat. Otherwise, the two candidates with the most votes will stand in a decisive runoff Nov. 6.

The winner will represent Ward 7 on the Council for the remainder of the term, which ends in April 2021.

Qualifying candidates must be:
a U.S. citizen;
at least 21 years old;
a qualified Oklahoma City voter;
a resident of Oklahoma City or an area that has been annexed by Oklahoma City for at least three years before the election date;
a resident of Ward 7 for at least six months;
and a registered voter at an address within Ward 7 for at least six months before filing a declaration of candidacy.

The Oklahoma City Council has nine members: the Mayor, who is elected citywide, and one member representing each of Oklahoma City’s eight Wards.

The Council is nonpartisan and members serve part-time at the head of the City’s Council-Manager form of government. The Mayor’s annual salary is $24,000, and Council members’ annual salary is $12,000.

[Urban Pioneer]

Our city really needs to raise the pay of councilors and the mayor. These folks oversee an annual cumulative budget that surpasses one billion dollars. The annual 12k is no excuse for embezzlement, however, it would probably broaden and diversify the field of candidates if the positions paid a living wage.

[Pete]

Our city really needs to raise the pay of councilors and the mayor. These folks oversee an annual cumulative budget that surpasses one billion dollars. The annual 12k is no excuse for embezzlement, however, it would probably broaden and diversify the field of candidates if the positions paid a living wage.

Beyond that, we need better financial disclosure for the mayor and council members.

[Jersey Boss]

Beyond that, we need better financial disclosure for the mayor and council members.

What are the financial disclosure requirements for the City Manager? Many forget about this unelected behind the scenes position that wields much power and influence into how monies are appropriated.

[u50254082]

Our city really needs to raise the pay of councilors and the mayor. These folks oversee an annual cumulative budget that surpasses one billion dollars. The annual 12k is no excuse for embezzlement, however, it would probably broaden and diversify the field of candidates if the positions paid a living wage.

Gotta disagree with you on that. Government positions being full time and well paid just breeds scummy career politicians who think of ways to make the government bigger.

I'm for the idea that you have a legit private sector job and then do government work in your spare time, which is where the $1k/mo seems like reasonable compensation for your time and travels.

[BoulderSooner]

Gotta disagree with you on that. Government positions being full time and well paid just breeds scummy career politicians who think of ways to make the government bigger.

I'm for the idea that you have a legit private sector job and then do government work in your spare time, which is where the $1k/mo seems like reasonable compensation for your time and travels.

which limits those elected to those that are self employed or those that are personally very wealthy

[Jersey Boss]

Gotta disagree with you on that. Government positions being full time and well paid just breeds scummy career politicians who think of ways to make the government bigger.

I'm for the idea that you have a legit private sector job and then do government work in your spare time, which is where the $1k/mo seems like reasonable compensation for your time and travels.

Yeah, much better to have wealthy corporate types wielding the levers of power to personally enrich themselves, their companies and family members. I see how that is working out on the levels of government in this state and country.