Oklahoma
Oklahoma County jail trust member resigning, leaving two open seats
The number of empty seats on Oklahoma County’s jail trust is back to two.
Chad Alexander, who was appointed to the trust in October 2021 by then-Commissioner Kevin Calvey to fill a seat formerly held by Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb, is stepping down.
Alexander, who has missed several recent trust meetings, submitted his resignation earlier this month to Joe Allbaugh, chairman of the trust.
More: The Oklahoma County Jail under the Jail Trust. A timeline of trouble
Allbaugh notified Commissioner Myles Davidson of Alexander’s resignation on April 12. Davidson’s office will appoint a replacement.
“I must regretfully resign my position on the Oklahoma County Jail Trust. Family and work commitments are not allowing me the time needed to fulfill the position,” Alexander wrote. “I appreciate the trust put in me to help move the detention center forward.”
Who makes up the Oklahoma County jail trust, who appoints them and how long do they serve?
Oklahoma County’s jail trust consists of nine members, seven of which are appointed by Oklahoma County commissioners (the other two trust members are an elected commissioner who is willing to serve — currently Commissioner Davidson — and Oklahoma County’s sheriff, currently Tommie Johnson III).
The commissioners each get to fill a single trust seat representing his or her district. The other four are considered at-large positions and require at least two commissioners to support their appointments.
When the trust was initially formed, appointees’ lengths of terms — either two, four or six years — were determined by a random drawing. However, all trust seats will transition to six year terms in 2025.
None of the original trust members appointed in 2019 are still on the board.
More: Jail’s troubled history leads to its being removed from sheriff’s management
There have been numerous recent changes to the board.
Attorney Shelly Perkins attended her first trust meeting earlier this month. She succeeded Sue Ann Arnall, who resigned from her at-large position in February after nearly five years.
Rochelle Gray, a manager in Deloitte Consulting’s government and public services practice, was appointed in January to succeed former state Sen. Ben Brown, who submitted his resignation from the trust in June of 2023.
Gray, however, couldn’t serve after her employer raised potential conflict of interest concerns that might create because of contracts it had with various state agencies, said Brian Maughan, chairman of Oklahoma County’s board of county commissioners. Brown’s seat, which Maughan will fill, remains vacant. Maughan hopes to appoint someone to the post soon.
James Johnson Jr., a criminal justice/social work professor at Rose State College, was appointed to the trust in August 2023 by Commissioner Carrie Blumert to fill a seat previously held by M.T. Berry. Berry resigned in June 2023 after serving about four years.
Meanwhile, Allbaugh rejoined the trust in June 2023 after leaving in 2022 to seek elected office in Kay County.
Allbaugh succeeded Adam Luck, a former member of Oklahoma’s Pardon and Parole Board. Luck had resigned from his seat on the trust in March 2023, just months after accepting an appointment in September 2022.
Steven Buck was appointed to the trust in February 2023, succeeding Jim Couch, Oklahoma City’s retired city manager. Couch resigned from the trust in December 2022.
Maughan said serving out a full term as a trust member isn’t easy to do because the appointment brings additional responsibilities (mostly through reading requirements and occasional meetings with jail staff) that most appointments don’t require.
No trust member has been forcibly removed by a county commissioner because they have the power to serve an entire term once they are appointed without fear of removal.
“It’s like a judge,” Maughan said.
Commissioners also configured the trust to make it possible for someone to serve even if they don’t live inside of Oklahoma County.
Because businesses located in Oklahoma County have a vested interest in the jail’s operation, just being one of those entities’ employees qualifies a willing individual to serve, Maughan said.
“The business community wants to partner with us in terms of figuring out a long term solution” with jail-related problems, Maughan said. “There are a number of people who have long-standing ties to Oklahoma County, but live outside of its borders.”
Oklahoma
Oklahoma lawmakers ask Supreme Court to let customers join ONG rate hike case
OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — As an Oklahoma utility company seeks a multimillion-dollar rate increase, two Oklahoma state representatives are asking the Oklahoma Supreme Court to give customers a voice.
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission is currently deciding on a $29 million rate increase for Oklahoma Natural Gas.
If approved, officials say it would mark the fourth rate hike the OCC has approved for ONG in the last four years and has led to an $128 million increase in customer bills.
Rep. Tom Gann, R-Inola, and Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, have filed an appeal with the Oklahoma Supreme Court, saying customers weren’t given a chance to participate in the case.
“The OCC has gone completely off the beam,” ONG customers Gann and Kevin West told the Supreme Court in their June 17 petition.
In the filing, they claim that the OCC set a March 27 deadline to intervene in ONG’s rate case but only set it after the deadline had already passed.
They say ONG’s customers weren’t notified about the case until late April.
“This case was rigged from the start to keep ONG ratepayers out,” said Gann. “The federal courts have said utility customers have constitutional due process rights – including a right to timely and adequate notice about these cases. We are asking the Supreme Court to uphold customers’ rights and require the OCC to change its rules to respect them. ONG ratepayers should be allowed to exercise their right to participate without being muzzled.”
The commissioners are expected to make a final decision on the $29 million rate increase later this year.
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ONG, the OCC, and the attorney general have 30 days to respond to Gann and Kevin West’s latest ONG appeal.
Oklahoma
Most Oklahoma voters didn’t cast a ballot during June’s primary election
Just 26%, or about one in four registered Oklahoma voters, cast a ballot in the race, according to an analysis of the results.
In total, 630,085 people weighed in on a state question to gradually increase the minimum wage. It was the only race open to Democrats, Republicans and independents, who weren’t eligible to vote in partisan races.
Democrats have typically opened their closed primaries to include independents, but failed to submit the paperwork for this year’s primaries on time. Some voters expressed frustration with the system on election day.
This year’s polls drew fewer voters than in 2018, the last time there was a similar gubernatorial race without incumbents. The election included a state question to approve medical marijuana, and 44% of registered voters cast ballots.
There are almost 1.3 million registered Republicans in Oklahoma, but the GOP race for governor only garnered about 400,000 ballots. Out of more than 613,000 registered Democrats, only about 172,000 voted in Tuesday’s election.
Even though general elections are usually better attended, Oklahoma’s numbers were also low during the 2024 presidential election. One report from the University of Florida rated Oklahoma’s turnout at the time as the lowest in the nation.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma Adds OF Adi Hansen From Southern Idaho
NORMAN — Oklahoma softball’s transfer portal activity may have been fairly slow developing.
But now, as the portal window nears its end, the Sooners have started having success.
Oklahoma added outfielder Adi Hansen, a standout at the College of Southern Idaho for the last two seasons on Thursday.
Hansen’s announcement, made on Instagram, followed shortly after Middle Tennessee outfielder Macie Harter announced her commitment to the Sooners.
Hansen led the Golden Eagles with a .457 batting average in 186 at bats in 2026, with an eye-popping 82 runs scored and a school-record 62 stolen bases on 67 attempts.
Hansen had 17 games with two or more stolen bases this season and twice had four stolen bases in a game.
Hansen had four triples and 21 RBIs, drawing 23 walks.
She earned NJCAA first-team All-America honors, helping her team finish 43-13 with a NJCAA Division I Juco World Series appearance.
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In 2025, as a freshman, Hansen hit .401 with 36 stolen bases and 62 ruyns scored.
Hansen is a Logan, Utah, product.
Hansen and Harter join a group of outfielders that includes Kai Minor in centerfield and Ella Parker in right field.
The Sooners lost Abby Dayton to graduation and Kasidi Pickering to transfer after the season. Pickering will reportedly transfer to Texas Tech.
Oklahoma finished 52-10 last season, missing the Women’s College World Series for the first time since 2015 after falling to Mississippi State in three games in the Norman Super Regional.
The Sooners have a strong incoming recruiting class and return a trio of pitchers — Audrey Lowry, Miali Guachino and Allyssa Parker — as well as experienced hitters Kendall Wells, Gabbie Garcia, Nelly McEnroe-Marinas plus Minor and Ella Parker.
In addition to the departures of Dayton and Pickering, the Sooners also lost pitchers Sydney Berzon and Kierston Deal, first baseman Isabela Emerling, and second baseman Ailana Agbayani to graduation. Outfielder Tia Milloy, pitcher Berkley Zache and utility player Riley Zache also entered the transfer portal.
Oklahoma’s incoming class includes Edmond Santa Fe pitcher Keegan Baker, Lakewood, Calif., infielder Ki’ele Ho-Ching, Mililani, Hawaii, infielder Ori Mailo, Fullerton, Calif., pitcher Malaya Majam-Finch, Katy, Texas, pitcher EK Smith, and Mesa, Ariz., outfilder Payton Westra.
Mailo was with the Sooners this season, redshirting after joining the program a year early.
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