Last Updated on January 17, 2023, 6:45 PM | Published: January 17, 2023
OKLAHOMA CITY — In their second meeting of the new year, the Oklahoma County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) filled critical open seats on the Criminal Justice Advisory Council (CJAC) and the Oklahoma County Criminal Justice Authority (Jail Trust).
Marty Peercy reports Local government
It’s an important time to have a full complement of seats filled especially on the Jail Trust as they move toward choosing a new chair and hiring a new CEO and jail administrator after the resignation of their last one.
Vacancies
Commissioners had to find replacements for former Commissioner Calvey on CJAC and the Jail Trust.
Calvey did not run for commissioner again in order to focus on his race for Oklahoma County DA, which he lost.
The Jail Trust seat had to be filled. Their indenture requires one seat to be filled by a current County Commissioner and had to be filled.
CJAC, the research group that devised the Jail Trust in the first place, is sponsored by the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce and made up of several elected officials, law enforcement leaders, judges, nonprofit leaders, and the fabulously wealthy.
A county commissioner on CJAC would be better in order to inject the perspective of commissioners who must ultimately make decisions about funding the jail.
Decisions made
District 2 Commissioner Brian Maughan asked his fellow Commissioners to appoint him to CJAC. They did so unanimously.
As for the seat on the Trust, new District 3 Commissioner Myles Davidson expressed a desire for that seat.
Davidson said that over the last four years he has worked closely with the Trust in his capacity as Chief Deputy under Calvey, even sitting in as Calvey’s proxy on the Trust many times in the intervening years.
District 1 Commissioner Carrie Blumert also said that she would love to serve on that Trust, but was willing to acquiesce to Davidson’s request. The Board voted unanimously on the appointment.
This comes at a time when planning for the new jail facility is starting to show signs of life.
Later in the meeting, the Board approved an RFP (request for proposal) for 40–80 acres of land for the site of the new jail.
The Citizens Bond Oversight Committee that will oversee planning, design, site acquisition, and construction was scheduled to take place on Tuesday afternoon.
CJAC and the Jail Trust will obviously be heavily involved and influential over the details of the new jail, especially as a new CEO is hired and a new jail is eventually built. So, these two seats will have some decision-making power over the coming years.
The BoCC will meet again on February 6 at 9:00 a.m.
Columnist covering local government in Oklahoma City and Oklahoma County from May 2019 through June 2023.
