Tulsa City Council Rejects Mayor's Appointee

A defiant majority on the Tulsa City Council rejected an appointment to the planning commission because of where the nominee lives. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.tulsacouncil.org/" target="_blank">Tulsa City Council</a>

Thursday, March 4th 2010, 9:56 pm

By: News On 6


Emory Bryan, The News on 6

TULSA, OK -- A defiant majority on the Tulsa City Council rejected an appointment to the planning commission because of where the nominee lives.

A split council turned down the appointment of realtor John Judd to the Tulsa Metropolitan Area Planning Commission. Several councilors, led by Roscoe Turner, objected to the appointment because Judd lives in Council District 9. That district covers the affluent neighborhoods of midtown.

District 9 Councilor G.T. Bynum cautioned the other councilors that rejecting an appointment solely on where the nominee lives would set a bad precedent. No councilor suggest Judd wasn't qualified for the position, and Councilor Maria Barnes told him directly "This isn't personal, it's not about you."

Councilor Jack Henderson noted that more than 100 members of various city boards are from district 9, while no other district has more than 40 people. Councilor Rick Westcott pointed out to the council they had approved every one of the appointments, without blocking a nominee before.

Mayor Dewey Bartlett spoke to the council and urged them to approve the appointment. He promised to consider geographical diversity in future appointments and noted he had asked all councilors for names of qualified nominees, but not all had bothered to reply.

Judd sat by Mayor Dewey Bartlett as the council debated, then rejected the appointment. Bartlett and Bynum apologized to Judd afterward for the council's action.

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