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Osage chief ousted for Open Records, contracting violations

It's heartening to see these laws taken seriously. Osage Nation Principal Chief John Red Eagle was removed from office by the tribal council and banned from ever holding tribal office again: The six counts included abuse of power, interfering with an Osage attorney general's investigation, refusing to uphold tribal law,...

Posted by Michael Bates on January 22, 2014 7:40 PM

Tulsa city employees union files open records court petition

American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 1180, which represents non-sworn employees of the City of Tulsa, has filed a petition for declaratory judgment against the City of Tulsa for the City's failure to comply with the union's request for public financial information in a timely fashion,...

Posted by Michael Bates on June 5, 2013 9:55 PM

State Rep. Jason Murphey praises House leadership transparency and reform proposals

One of my favorite Oklahoma state representatives is Jason Murphey, a Republican from Guthrie. If Rep. Murphey is happy about something at the State Capitol, Oklahoma citizens are likely to be pleased as well. So it was encouraging to see two posts earlier this week on his blog praising the...

Posted by Michael Bates on February 14, 2013 8:57 PM

Cassidy Tandy for Tulsa County Clerk: A commitment to transparency

Tulsa County Clerk Earlene Wilson is retiring after 12 years in the office. Three candidates are running for the Republican nomination to replace Wilson: Pat Key, Dean Martin, and Cassidy Tandy. It is the only contested county election, and the winner of the Republican primary will win the seat --...

Posted by Michael Bates on June 13, 2012 9:51 PM

Putting blinders on TGOV: What's Bartlett Jr trying to hide?

Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett Jr is pushing for a policy change to Tulsa's local government cable channel that would hinder public transparency and accountability in city government. Today, Monday, January 23, 2012, at 2 p.m., in City Hall room 411, the TGOV Coordinating Committee will meet to discuss: Whether or...

Posted by Michael Bates on January 23, 2012 8:21 AM

Gov 2.0a, May 6-7, 2011, in Oklahoma City

A fascinating conference/workshop on technology and government is returning to Oklahoma City for its second annual edition in just over a week: Gov 2.0a. Gov 2.0 stands for Government 2.0, the application of increased connectivity and new technologies to better help government achieve its goals by being transparent, participatory and...

Posted by Michael Bates on April 28, 2011 1:01 AM

OSU journalism prof to Bartlett Jr: "Sealing court records isn't supporting the public's right to know"

OSU journalism prof Joey Senat, writing on the blog of FOI Oklahoma, an organization that promotes open meetings, open records, and government transparency, chides mayoral candidate Dewey Bartlett Jr for having public records pertaining to his divorce sealed shortly after pledging himself to transparency in government. Bartlett's request came a...

Posted by Michael Bates on September 5, 2009 3:08 PM