Angry Broken Arrow Residents Demand Councilor Resign

Lester resigned as mayor, but retained his councilor position after court testimony indicated he knew more about the casino development earlier than he let on.

Monday, June 4th 2012, 11:39 pm

By: News On 6

Angry Broken Arrow Residents Demand Councilor Resign

Editor's note: Earlier versions of this story incorrectly reported that Johnnie Parks was elected Vice Mayor. Richard Carter is the councilor who was elected Vice Mayor. News On 6 regrets the error.

Broken Arrow residents say "the trust is gone," and they want Mike Lester off of the City Council.

Lester resigned as mayor just last week after court testimony indicated he knew about the Red Clay Casino development much earlier than he originally claimed.

Angry residents say it's not enough, and they packed tonight's council meeting, demanding Lester give up his seat on the council as well.

"Mike Lester still is one-fifth of the council," Broken Arrow resident Gene Evans said. "His vote still counts as much today as it did when he was mayor, and we can't trust that he's gonna make the best decisions for us.

"How can you trust someone that has repeatedly lied, time and time and time again?"

Also at Monday night's meeting, Vice Mayor Craig Thurman took over as mayor, and Richard Carter was elected to serve as Vice Mayor.