Edmond Libertarians: NO Feb. Meeting!

Meeting canceled. Stay posted for March.

Edmond Libertarians January 2007 Meeting

Edmond Libertarians January meeting featured Edmond City Council member and Mayor Pro-Tem Charles Lamb.

Councilman Lamb said, "I moved to Edmond when I was 14 and now live in the house where I grew up...I've watched Edmond grow around me."

Asked about running for city office, Lamb said, "There really isn't a partisan dynamic. You run on your platform, what you stand for. That's why I'm interested in running at this level."

But Mr. Lamb did run into controversy on a stance he took regarding lighting of the cross on I-35. "I was the only one up for re-election in three months who voted against the cross." He stood by his decision that the thousands of watts of light were excessive for a rural/park location.

Lamb first ran for city council in 1989 against an incumbent, but lost. He ran again in 1993 and won, in 1997 but lost by six votes ("Every vote counts" he said), in 2001 and won, and in 2005 unopposed. On running campaigns, he said a mayor's race could cost up to $50,000. A city council race, with a primary, could cost around $5,000. Finance reports are filed with the state Ethics Commission help from the city clerk.

Regarding voter turnout, Lamb said, "There 77,000 citizens in this city, and 10,000 vote in a city election, if you're lucky...other times only 4,000 vote." Voters are restricted to voting for candidates in their ward in the primary. The two top vote getters from the primary go to the general election, where the entire city can vote. When redistricting (every 10 years), the ward districts lines are ultimately decided by council members, but staff usually does the population balancing.

"The Mayor is the center of attention, but work gets done on the board," said Lamb. Subcommittee boards "are the channels to bring problems to the Council as actionable items."

There are workshops where council members together with agencies. "These all require agendas and homework...I spend an average of 30 to 40 hours a week on this, because I'm retired...and the technical issues take a while to get your arms around...To go into a meeting prepared, it takes time."

The Council meets bi-weekly and members serve on many subcommittees, including: Finance (2 council + city treasurer), Public Works (2 Council + 1 citizen), Storm Water Advisory Board (2 council + 3 citizens), Convention Board Planning, Transportation, Arts and Humanities, Historical Board. The Mayor usually appoints members and they must agree. Members also serve on ACOG (one eleven sub-state planning entities, see the 2006 Piglet Book for more info), OMPA (municipal power authority), and the Urban Board.

Lamb also noted that the Edmond charter was passed in 1925 and can only be changed if put to a vote of the people. Lamb also discussed the growth of Edmond, saying it will probably reach 100,000 soon with growth starting to focus on the north.

Meeting Announcement
Edmond's 3-term Mayor Sandra Naifeh is not running for re-election this spring. Edmond City Council seats for Wards 1 and 2 will also be on the ballot. Appointed positions on Edmond's numerous boards, committees and commissions come up on a regular basis the year around.

With this in mind, the Edmond Libertarians will be holding a meeting on the nuts and bolts of how to file and run for city office, and the responsibilities of holding such positions. This non-partisan, informational meeting will be Tuesday night, January 23, 2007, at Johnnie's Charcoal Broiler, 33 W. 33rd, in Edmond. It is the sixth in the Edmond Libertarians' "Knowledge is Power" series.

Dinner and socializing will start at around 6:30pm. At 7:00pm, there will be a brief presentation with a hand-out on the technical and legal aspects of running for local office, followed by a talk on the practical aspects off office-holding by current Edmond City Council member and Mayor Pro-Tem Charles Lamb. Afterwards, there will be time for questions and answers.

The press and public are invited to this free event. As always, those people who attend their first "Knowledge is Power" meeting and fill out a "World's Smallest Political Quiz", will be treated to a free cup of coffee or soft drink by the Edmond Libertarians.

A reminder: Mr. Lamb is not up for re-election this year, and this meeting is not the place to question him about local problems. He is attending to provide information and relate personal experiences about his long association with local government. Please respect the intent and the rules of this forum.

For more information about these meetings, visit us at our MeetUp group or contact:
Clark Duffe
Edmond Libertarians
405.760.3108
rogueokie@sbcglobal.net

Nov. 2006 Meeting with Stan Inman

County Commissioner Stan Inman
The Oklahoma County Jail: Fact & Fiction
(the fifth in our continuing series: "Knowledge is Power")

See a chart with the a breakdown of the inmates here and a chart showing how the sheriff's general fund is taking up to 35% of the county general revenue fundhere (jail's often do not receive funds from the county general fund.).

The county prison, 13 stories high, has a fire-marshal capacity of 2,700-3,000 people. "Right now it's about at its capacity." There originally was no medical floor, but has since added one, causing the loss of some cells. "We sometimes triple bunk." It is maximum security, so it's very labor intensive, and often 23 hours a day are in lock-down. There are no recreational areas.

About half of the prisoner are non-county. "About 600 are mental patients off their meds that are held because the state closed their facility. As soon as you go in the jail, all your medicines are taken away. Most doctors there are ones who lost their licenses and are waiting to get it back. They cost about $80/day." About 600 are from the department of corrections; 400 waiting for a transfer and 200 contracted by the sheriff. Also, there is about 50/day federal prisoner and 25/day for immigration, but the federal numbers are decreasing because the jail does not meet some requirements. Oklahoma City contracts one entire floor and has about 150 prisoners. "It is well-managed."

Police are profiling for drug asset forfeitures and impounding cars. They find illegal immigrants, but the INS will often not pay for jailing and have them go free.

And for the 1,200 county prisoners? 30-35% are pre-adjudication, meaning they have not seen a judge yet. So how can they get out? 1) Bail Bonds can get you out in about a day. 2) County OR program (In Oct. 687 booked in the county jail were eligible but only 167 got them.) 3) Conditional bonds 4) community sentencing. Unfortunately, if you don't know someone to get a bond, you might not know how to get out.

"How much does this jail cost? We don't know...For four years, I was trying to get number on the cost of the jail." Sheriff meets with judges to set rates. For federal prisoners we are getting $48, but it reduced to $43 because not providing some services. Sheriff Whetsel won't tell how much it really costs or work with the Jail Task Force. The national average is about $48/day. The state reimburses OK county of DOC prisoners at wither $24 or $33. The state can commandeer county jails if state prisons are at capacity. "Everyone will give you the records except the sheriff." The county clerk is mad at him because he keeps his books on a separate system from everyone.

The sheriff received about $23 million out of supplemental funds. Meanwhile, the Sheriff has been written up by the state auditor a couple of times. Left over funds go to slush funds and the Sheriff can spend it on anything he wants, "like 50 Dodge chargers and his drug seizure stuff."

"What is Jeff Mcmahan, the state auditor doing?" an audience member asked. "They are not performance audits, they are financial audits. Only office holders can ask for a performance audit of their own office." Inman replied. "Anytime an elected official signs an affidavit, the board of co. commissioners can not question it."

"The finance of the jail are really strange...Nobody is stealing anything, but they're misspending...and there is a lot of abuse of tax dollars in the jail."

The board of co. Commissioners gave up their constitutional duty of jail maintenance and payroll to the sheriff. Whetsel grossly under-estimated his revenue and he still gets about 35% of the general budget from the county. "Canadian county jail does not ask the general revenue for a dime."

"A federal investigation of the jail is coming up and the jail operator resigned."

When they stop you on I-35, they have a coalition among the DA, the highway patrol, and the sheriff's department. "So who's going to complain? Everyone who would complain is getting a piece of the pie." Regarding the out-going DA (Wes Lane): "One of the reasons we have so many in jail, is Wes won't let you plea bargain."

"The hidden costs of operating the jail are the lawsuits against the sheriff." A woman gave birth in her cell and the baby died there. She settled out of court for $300,000. The last case settled out of court cost about $660,000, but the lawyers could have gotten much more, said Inman. A drunk man had mouthed off to an officer, and then in the jail a warden body slammed him, breaking his hip. "We settle out of court so that there is no precedent...And part of the agreement when you settle is they agree not discuss the case in public, "So the Sheriff can stand up in public and say, 'My hands are clean.'"

"So just with those two cases, that's about $1 million that you pay as taxpayers but don't see the bill for." The cost shows up on your ad valorem taxes. "If you count everything up and se your taxes are a little higher, that extra money goes to these out of court settlements."

October 2006 Edmond Libertarians Meeting


Chair of Common Cause Oklahoma, Lynn Howell, spoke about tax increment financing (TIF). This form of special interest funding does not allow voters a chance to decide on new tax districts.





Sept. 2006 Edmond Libertarians Meeting

Planned Parenthood talked about HPV and over the counter Plan B.

August 2006 Edmond Libertarians Meeting


Eric Masterman, spokesman for Oklahomans for Modern Laws, spoke about the need to reform Oklahoma's outdated liquor laws, to allow wine and six point beer to be sold in grocery stores.

Reporter Terri Watkins, of KOCO-Channel 5, conducts an interview in the background of this picture, while Libertarians enjoy a light-hearted conversation before the meeting begins.


July 2006 Edmond Libertarians Meeting

We watched and discussed the short film "Abuse of Power".

What is a Libertarian?

We believe that all individuals have the right to exercise sole dominion over their own lives, and have the right to live in the manner they choose, so long as they do not forcibly interfere with the equal right of others. [more]