Last Updated on February 23, 2023, 11:57 AM | Published: February 22, 2023
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) voted to accept the resignation of Adam Luck from the Oklahoma County Criminal Justice Authority (Jail Trust) Tuesday. Luck resigned February 7 after only four months on the Trust.
Luck’s resignation adds even more uncertainty for a group already faced with mounting difficulties.
The resignation email cited changes in his professional and personal life and a desire to spend more time with his family as reasons for leaving his seat.
Among those difficulties are the absence of a Chair for the trust. Since Jim Couch resigned the Trust in December, the Trust has taken no action to elect a new Chair. Vice-Chair Ben Brown has acted as the presiding officer in the interim.
Before Luck’s resignation, rumors were circulating that he would be the next Chair.
Marty Peercy reports Local government
Commissioner’s response
Brian Maughan, District 2 Commissioner and Chair of the BoCC, issued a statement about Luck’s resignation.
“I tell people all the time how much work and dedication it takes from the citizens who voluntarily serve without compensation. Mr. Luck expressed that things have changed for him professionally and personally that would now keep him from being able to devote as much time as the position needs,” said Maughan.
“I appreciate him being forthright about those circumstances and voluntarily moving aside so that we can find the right person who can be committed and spend the time the trust requires.”
Appointment of Steven Buck
Unrelated to Luck’s resignation, but coinciding, was the appointment of Steven Buck by newly-seated District 3 Commissioner Myles Davidson.
Buck has a resume full of experience including oversight of the construction of a new juvenile facility in Tecumseh and as former Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.
More uncertainty
Another issue of uncertainty is the future management of the Oklahoma County Detention Center (Jail). CEO Greg Williams resigned in December. WIlliams and the Trust were facing pressure from the community for Williams’s removal after 16 deaths occurred in one year under his watch.
A group of ministers in Oklahoma County went so far as to hold a press conference demanding Williams to resign or be removed.
Major Brandy Garner was named interim CEO in a special meeting of the Trust on December 16. Garner joined the Jail staff in January of 2022 after a career in law enforcement.
Search for new Jail CEO
During the Trust’s monthly meeting in February, the process for finding a new CEO was discussed. No vote was taken, as several members of the Trust didn’t want to undermine Garner so quickly into her tenure.
Whether or not the Trust will engage in a nation-wide search for a CEO is still up in the air. No formal Request for Proposals for a firm to conduct the search has yet been issued by the Trust.
The next step for the BoCC will be to select a new Trustee to fill the vacancy left by Luck. Luck was nominated to fill an at-large seat left vacant by the resignation of Joe Albaugh.
As for the Trust, selecting a new Chair and deciding their path forward on choosing a permanent CEO will be parallel priorities with participating in planning and execution of the new jail facility project.
No hard timelines are in place for any of the above.
The BoCC will meet next on March 6 at 9:00 a.m. The Jail Trust will meet that same day at 1:00 p.m.
Columnist covering local government in Oklahoma City and Oklahoma County from May 2019 through June 2023.
