James Oakley (politician)

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On November 20, 2016, San Antonio Police Department Detective Benjamin Marconi was shot and killed by an otherwise uninvolved passerby who stopped his car, got out, and shot Marconi while he was writing a traffic ticket in his patrol car. [56] [57] Otis Tyrone McKane was suspected of being the shooter [58] and was arrested the day after the shooting [59] and charged with capital murder. [58] [60]

The San Antonio Police Department posted McKane's mug shot to Facebook with an announcement of his arrest, and Oakley shared the photo and commented that it was "Time for a tree and a rope...", [61] a juxtaposition which clearly evoked the spectre of lynching. [62] Oakley subsequently apologized, [63] calling his reaction "off the cuff," [26] "curt and harsh," and described his choice of words as "unfortunate." [61] His apology was subsequently described as "fake" [62] and as "NOT an apology ... [and] not even a very good excuse" on a piece cross-posted to the progressive blog Crooks and Liars [64] Oakley added that a more appropriate posting would have been "a comment that more clearly reflects my opinion on the cowardly crime of the senseless murder of a law enforcement officer," [65] and declared this his view of McKane "is the same regardless of ethnicity." [26] When contacted by the Huffington Post , Oakley stated that he did not intend to make a racially charged comment, and that "I never made that connection but I do see how somebody could make that connection and be offended towards that. That was not my intent. Maybe I watched too many Westerns when I was little." [61] In defending himself, Oakley noted that, as an administrative judge, he "[does] not preside over criminal court." [26] In an addition described as not doing himself any favors, [62] Oakley explained that he is a supporter of the death penalty "in cases where the ultimate crime has been committed and there is clear and complete evidence and where all steps of the judicial process have been respected" [65] and in line with due process. [26]

Oakley's comments drew widespread attention and criticism raising questions of his fitness for the position of County Judge. The Southern Poverty Law Center produced a report, Ten Days After, [66] which reported incidences[ spelling? ] of harassment and intimidation in the immediate post-election period; 23% of these were classified as "anti-black" in which references to lynching were described as common. [67] [68] [69] The Department of Justice is already investigating an increase in hate crimes. [70] It is unclear whether suggestions of Oakley's resignation or impeachment will spread beyond progressive / liberal blogs and commentators and into the mainstream media, though there were calls for Oakley to be removed from the CAMPO board [47] and a motion was put to the PEC board calling for his actions to be investigated, [19] suggesting that the controversy may hamper Oakley's future ambitions. The Texas Monthly included Oakley's actions in an article on "Judges Gone Wild" in December 2016. [71]

PEC board membership

The PEC made a statement distancing the organization from Oakley's comments shortly after they were made. [26] Landaker, through PEC Truth Watch, branded Oakley as a racist [61] (a term also used by Juanita Jean [64] ) and continues to advocate for his removal from the Board [26] and has added a call for him to resign from his position as County Judge. [72] PEC officials called an emergency meeting after an official complaint was filed against Oakley by Cristi Clement, another of the directors. Republican supporters of Oakley argued that the complaint was politically motivated as Clement is a Democrat, declaring that "active local Democrats have been instrumental in working with director Clement on seizing this unfounded opportunity to try to unseat Judge Oakley (from the PEC board)." [73] Democrats defend that it is an issue which transcends politics and that the "people who are the most offended are not necessarily people representing the Democrat party but those representing the African-American community." [73] Oakley has since speculated that moves to unseat him may be partisan, and stated that he has been surprised and overwhelmed by the many letters of support which he has received, and reiterated that he is not planning to resign his directorship. [20]

A public meeting of the PEC board was held on November 30, at which Oakley had an opportunity to make an address [19] before public submissions were received [74] and the board members then retired to an executive session. Oakley explained that his comments weren't intended as a call for "instant vigilante justice," [74] which was an interpretation of his words that did not occur to him because "due process is an assumption in my mind"; he also requested "humble forgiveness" for "a mistake on my part that I own." [19] The emergency meeting heard from PEC employees and managers that Oakley's actions had created a hostile working environment and that employees were afraid to speak about his comments for fear of retaliation. [19] Oakley referred to his role with TCOLE to explain his strong instinct to protect people working in law enforcement (he repeated this his post was expressing his anger and frustration over Marconi's killing) but a former police officer responded to him directly, saying that he has encouraged violence and "put a target on [law enforcement officers'] backs" and "made their job more seriously dangerous." [19] His claim to be speaking of the crime and not the perpetrator was greeted with scepticism, one stating: "Time for a tree and a rope. For crying out loud, I think we all know what that means. We're going to lynch someone." [74] Amongst the 23 people who contributed public comments, 14 argued for Oakley's removal from the Board, while nine defended him, inclined to forgive Oakley and speaking of his good character. [19] One defender stated the Oakley "was using a figure of speech, poorly chosen, everybody gets that, but he wasn't talking about a lynching. ... He was talking about old west Texas justice. Go watch a few western movies will ya?" [74] Comments were also made that "[t]here's not a racist bone in [Oakley's]" and that Oakley's critics were "just up here making trouble." [19] A reporter for DailyTrib.com (formerly the local newspaper the River Cities Tribune ) described the scene when Reneé Semien spoke while fighting back tears, with African-American PEC employees and others gathered around her and with audience members standing in support, saying: "Director Oakley felt that it was appropriate to call for the lynching of a black man accused of a crime. For those ignorant of United States history, black men were lynched to instil fear and compliance in the black population for centuries. ... This is a human decency issue. Black employees should not and are not the only ones who have a problem with what Director Oakley did. It is not acceptable and should not be tolerated." [19]

At the executive session, the board accepted Clement's complaint [75] and appointed a three-member committee to report back on the complaint against Oakley by December 9, [19] the three members being PEC Board President Emily Pataki and directors Kathy Scanlon and Paul Graf [76] (who is the board's secretary/treasurer). [20] The panel could recommend that Oakley be dismissed [19] or reprimanded, with a meeting to decide on January 17. [74] The PEC issued a written statement announcing the review, and affirming that the organization "does not condone any type of offensive language. Consistent with our cooperative values, we proudly welcome and serve all members." [77] The three-member committee took further public submissions on December 7 for about 75 minutes, then went into executive session for about three hours with their special counsel. Oakley was waiting outside the meeting, and approached Scanlon when she emerged from the executive session, asking if they were done; Scanlon continued walking but said "You're a dishonourable man" to Oakley and reportedly stormed off. [76] The Special Counsel subsequently made a statement that the "committee does its work and reports its findings to the board. The board will make the final decision on the matter. The board can agree, disagree, or amend the committee’s recommendation." [76] The report will not be made public until included in materials for the PEC Directors for an upcoming board meeting, [76] and any removal involves a 30-day process and so cannot be finalised until January 2017. [75] There has been speculation that a decision may not been reached for several months, and that the board may be concerned about Oakley's action being a reminder of controversies which resulted in criminal convictions. [20] The committee is being lobbied by activists such as John Watson, who has declared to the board that:

Should you fail to recommend the removal of Director Oakley for his inappropriate and unacceptable Facebook posting ... you will be, in effect, condoning his behaviour ... That is a terrible message to send ... And it would reflect poorly on the PEC as an organization. It would amount to a dereliction of duty on the part of each Board member refusing to take the right and decent stand that Mr. Oakley's continued presence on the Board has become unsustainable and unacceptable. [20]

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References

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  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "County Judge James Oakley". Burnet County, Texas . Retrieved November 24, 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Former Burnet County commissioner eyes judge's position". DailyTrib.com (formerly the River Cities Tribune). June 10, 2013. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
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  9. ↑ Glassman, James (2015). The Houstorian Dictionary: An Insider's Index to Houston. Arcadia Publishing. p. 48. ISBN   9781625855824.
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  11. ↑ Parker, Janet (January 4, 1999). "Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Burnet County Commissioners Court" (PDF). Office of the County Clerk, Burnet County, Texas. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  12. ↑ Parker, Janet (December 22, 2006). "Minutes of the Meeting of the Burnet County Commissioners Court" (PDF). Office of the County Clerk, Burnet County, Texas. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  13. ↑ Parker, Janet (January 1, 2007). "Minutes of the Emergency Meeting of the Burnet County Commissioners Court" (PDF). Office of the County Clerk, Burnet County, Texas. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Regional Review Committee (RRC)". Capital Area Council of Governments . Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Regional Review Committee – 2016 Membership Roster" (PDF). Capital Area Council of Governments . Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Community Development Block Grant Program – CDBG". United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  17. ↑ Barrington, James (October 14, 2011). "Sheriff named as chair". Houston Chronicle . Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  18. ↑ "PEC ranks among top 100 U.S. cooperatives". Pedernales Electric Cooperative. November 11, 2016. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Clifton, Daniel (December 1, 2016). "PEC holds emotional meeting over James Oakley's 'tree and rope' comment". DailyTrib.com (formerly the River Cities Tribune). Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 Grisales, Claudia (December 9, 2016). "Decision on PEC exec's comments could take months". San Antonio Express-News . Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  21. 1 2 Swinney, Connie (June 22, 2015). "Two new faces chosen, incumbent re-elected to PEC board of directors". DailyTrib.com (formerly the River Cities Tribune).
  22. 1 2 "James Oakley, District 5 Director/Vice President". Pedernales Electric Cooperative. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  23. ↑ Swinney, Connie (June 8, 2016). "PEC candidates differ on facility closures and election system". DailyTrib.com (formerly the River Cities Tribune). Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  24. ↑ Swinney, Connie (June 21, 2016). "PEC voters return incumbent Oakley to District 5 spot". DailyTrib.com (formerly the River Cities Tribune). Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  25. ↑ Swinney, Connie (March 20, 2015). "PEC and state lawmakers wrangle over at-large voting system". DailyTrib.com (formerly the River Cities Tribune). Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  26. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Hall, Katie (November 22, 2016). "Burnet County judge apologizes for 'time for a tree and a rope' comment". Austin American-Statesman . Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  27. 1 2 "Burnet and Llano counties swearing in elected officials on Jan. 1". DailyTrib.com (formerly the River Cities Tribune). December 30, 2014. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  28. ↑ "Burnet County GOP chair Linda Rogers announces run for county judge". DailyTrib.com (formerly the River Cities Tribune). November 13, 2013. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  29. ↑ "Marble Falls Mayor George Russell announces for Burnet County judge position". DailyTrib.com (formerly the River Cities Tribune). November 1, 2013. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  30. ↑ "Oakley, Russell in runoff for Burnet County judge; other GOP races decided". DailyTrib.com (formerly the River Cities Tribune). March 4, 2014. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  31. ↑ Walker, James (April 23, 2014). "City Council, County Judge Candidates Take Podium". Burnet Bulletin . Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  32. ↑ "Oakley defeats Russell in runoff for Burnet County judge". DailyTrib.com (formerly the River Cities Tribune). May 27, 2014. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  33. ↑ "2014 Republican Primary Runoff Cumulative Report — Official — Burnet County, Texas — PRIMARY RUNOFF ELECTION — May 27, 2014" (PDF). Burnet County, Texas. June 5, 2016. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  34. ↑ "ELECTIONS: Yes to BCISD bond; other Burnet County results". DailyTrib.com (formerly the River Cities Tribune). November 4, 2014. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  35. 1 2 Swinney, Connie (December 16, 2014). "Outgoing Burnet, Llano county judges reflect on service". DailyTrib.com (formerly the River Cities Tribune). Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  36. 1 2 "Texas Constitution (as amended) – Article 5: Judicial Department" (PDF). statutes.legis.state.tx.us. State of Texas. pp. 17–18.
  37. ↑ "Texas Courts: A Descriptive Summary" (PDF). txcourts.gov. State of Texas – Judicial Branch. 2015. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  38. ↑ "Texas Courts: A Descriptive Summary" (PDF). txcourts.gov. State of Texas – Judicial Branch. 2015. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  39. 1 2 Rice, Harvey (December 2, 2011). "Galveston County judge's courtroom ability raises concern". Houston Chronicle . Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  40. ↑ "Gettin' hitched on Valentine's Day? Let KBEY help you". DailyTrib.com (formerly the River Cities Tribune). February 3, 2015. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  41. ↑ "Several say 'I do' with KBEY 103.9 FM". DailyTrib.com (formerly the River Cities Tribune). February 16, 2015. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  42. 1 2 Clifton, Daniel (September 9, 2016). "Officials discuss bridge below Wirtz Dam as solution to 281 traffic". DailyTrib.com (formerly the River Cities Tribune).
  43. 1 2 Walker, James (January 21, 2015). "Commissioner calls out Judge Oakley". Burnet Bulletin . p. 1. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
    Walker, James (January 21, 2015). "Commissioner calls out Judge Oakley (cont.)". Burnet Bulletin . p. 3. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  44. 1 2 Swinney, Connie (November 18, 2015). "Bridge across river to Horseshoe Bay would bypass Marble Falls". DailyTrib.com (formerly the River Cities Tribune).
  45. ↑ Walker, James (January 7, 2015). "New judge looking ahead to 'customer service'". Burnet Bulletin . p. 2. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  46. ↑ Walker, James (January 7, 2015). "Freitag out as Oakley takes tourism lead". Burnet Bulletin . p. 1. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
    Walker, James (January 7, 2015). "Freitag out as Oakley takes tourism lead (cont.)". Burnet Bulletin . p. 2. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  47. 1 2 Crossley, Jay Blazek (December 1, 2016). "James Oakley, Member of CAMPO Board, Repudiated for Lynching Comments". Texas StreetsBlog . Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  48. ↑ Swinney, Connie (October 5, 2016). "Two opportunities coming to offer input on Wirtz Dam bridge project". DailyTrib.com (formerly the River Cities Tribune).
  49. 1 2 3 Clarke, Matthew (2015). "Jails in Trouble as IRS Investigates Tax-Exempt Bonds". Prison Legal News . 26 (9): 18.
  50. 1 2 3 4 Brashier, Vanesa (August 25, 2015). "Company withdraws plans to build immigration detention facility in county". Houston Chronicle . Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  51. ↑ Stinnett, Casey (May 8, 2013). "County judge and sheriff tour state-of-the-art jail in Burnet". Houston Chronicle . Retrieved November 29, 2016.
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  56. ↑ Grinberg, Emanuella; Marco, Tony (November 20, 2016). "San Antonio officer shot to death during traffic stop". CNN. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  57. ↑ Elizalde, Elizabeth (November 20, 2016). "San Antonio cop fatally shot in head near police headquarters, chief says". New York Daily News . Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  58. 1 2 "Otis Tyrone McKane arrested in killing of San Antonio Detective Benjamin Marconi, police say". Newsday . Associated Press. November 21, 2016. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
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  60. ↑ Salter, Jim; Warren, David (November 22, 2016). "Suspect in fatal police shooting upset over custody battle". New Jersey Herald . Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  61. 1 2 3 4 Golgowski, Nina (November 24, 2016). "Texas Judge Suggests Lynching Black Suspect, Denies It's About Race". Huffington Post . Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  62. 1 2 3 Chandler, D. L. (November 27, 2016). "TX Judge Fake Apologizes For Racist "Tree And A Rope" Facebook Comment". Hip-Hop Wired. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  63. ↑ "Texas official apologizes for suggesting suspect's lynching". Bristol Herald Courier . Associated Press. November 23, 2016. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  64. 1 2 Jean, Juanita (November 27, 2016). "Texas Judge 'Apologizes' For 'Time For A Tree And A Rope' Facebook Comment". Crooks and Liars . Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  65. 1 2 Mendoza, Madalyn (November 23, 2016). "Texas judge apologizes for 'tree and a rope' comment aimed at S.A. cop killing suspect". San Antonio Express-News . Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  66. ↑ Southern Poverty Law Center (November 2016). "Ten Days After – Harassment and Intimidation in the Aftermath of the Election" (PDF). splcenter.org. Southern Poverty Law Center . Retrieved November 30, 2016.
  67. ↑ Sidahmed, Mazin (November 30, 2016). "Trump's election led to 'barrage of hate', report finds". The Guardian . Retrieved November 30, 2016.
  68. ↑ Mathias, Christopher; Abbey-Lambertz, Kate (November 30, 2016). "There's Been An 'Outbreak' Of Nearly 900 Hate Incidents Since Trump's Win". Huffington Post . Retrieved November 30, 2016.
  69. ↑ Wagner, Meg (November 29, 2016). "Nearly 900 hate attacks reported in 10 days after Donald Trump's election". New York Daily News . Retrieved November 30, 2016.
  70. ↑ Garcia, Feliks (November 19, 2016). "Department of Justice to investigate 'alarming' trend of hate crimes following Donald Trump election". The Independent . Retrieved November 30, 2016.
  71. ↑ Reigstad, Leif (December 6, 2016). "Judges Gone Wild". Texas Monthly . Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  72. ↑ Kenney, Tanasia (November 23, 2016). "A Sitting Texas Judge Called for the Hanging of A Black Suspect". Atlanta Black Star . Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  73. 1 2 Swinney, Connie (December 5, 2016). "PEC committee to discuss James Oakley disciplinary action". DailyTrib.com (formerly the River Cities Tribune). Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  74. 1 2 3 4 5 Goudeau, Ashley (November 30, 2016). "Possible reprimand for judge who made 'tree and rope' comment". KVUE . Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  75. 1 2 McCullough, Logan (December 7, 2016). "PEC to decide fate of board member after Facebook post". Hays Free Press News-Dispatch . Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  76. 1 2 3 4 Clifton, Daniel (December 7, 2016). "UPDATE: PEC releases counsel statement but no decision on Oakley". DailyTrib.com (formerly the River Cities Tribune). Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  77. ↑ Grisales, Claudia; Hall, Katie (November 30, 2016). "Pedernales Co-op weighing fate of director after comments". San Antonio Express-News . Retrieved December 3, 2016.
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James Oakley
County Judge
Burnet County, Texas
Assumed office
January 1, 2015