Oklahoma Political News

— Public calls for Oklahoma County Commissioner’s resignation grow as he steps down from board chair amid sexual assault allegations

Oklahoma County Commissioner Myles Davidson faced intense calls to resign as a county commissioner on Wednesday after court filings accused him of sexual assault and harassment.

Davidson denied the allegations made against him but announced late in the Wednesday meeting that he would give up the board chairmanship while keeping his District 3 seat.

And, as of a special meeting Thursday morning, he has stepped down as the Chair of the Board of County Commissioners as Brian Maughan steps into the role of Chair, which he previously held.

Read the full story at Oklahoma City Free Press.

The Edmond City Council voted Monday to place two voting measures on the ballot for the Tuesday, Nov. 18, election. Both measures focus on renewing two existing 10-year sales taxes.

Proposition 1: Renewal of the one-cent general fund sales tax. This tax has been renewed by voters every decade since 1977. It funds the City of Edmond’s General Fund, which operates the city government. Two-thirds of the funds go to police and fire.

Proposition 2: Renewal of the half-cent Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) sales tax. Approved by voters in 2016, this tax funds capital improvement projects, road and driving conditions, and city-wide traffic flow.

Neither proposition would raise Edmond's current 8.25% sales tax rate.

Oklahoma higher education officials on Thursday voted to revoke a policy that allowed some immigrant students lacking legal status to pay in-state tuition at state colleges and universities in limited circumstances.

The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education were previously permitted by state law to do so, but a federal judge on Friday ruled the Oklahoma law is unconstitutional and violates the Supremacy Clause.

Read the full story at Oklahoma Voice.

The decision to end contracts before the Legislature reconvenes has raised eyebrows.

Citing the need to bring a bloated budget back under control, interim Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Commissioner Greg Slavonic confirmed plans Tuesday for broad cuts to contracted services that would take effect Oct. 1.

According to an Aug. 27-dated document from a meeting with Oklahoma legislators, a line-item review of 573 ODMHSAS contracts indicates the agency plans full renewal for only 128 of the agreements. Another 122 contracts face reduced funding. Of the 573 contracts reviewed, 312 are designated not to be renewed at all.

Read the full story on NonDoc.

Election officials turned over at the highest rate in at least a quarter century during the last presidential election, according to new research from the Bipartisan Policy Center.

An analysis of shifts in election officials published Tuesday found nearly 41% of election officials administering the 2024 election were different than those in 2020. Turnover has accelerated over the past two decades, rising from about 28% in 2004 to 40.9% last year.

Read the full story at Oklahoma Voice.