TULSA, Okla. — A lawsuit filed against the City of Tulsa and Mayor GT Bynum alleges the mayor held meetings with city councilors to discuss the Improve Our Tulsa package that violated the Open Meeting Act.
The lawsuit was filed by the Justice For All Legal Defense fund — a nonprofit for which City Councilor Grant Miller is a board member. The attorney representing the group is Ronald Durbin, for whom Miller works.
Filed four days before the Improve Our Tulsa vote on Aug. 8, the lawsuit is a petition for a declaratory judgment, which asks the court to make a clear distinction in an area where the law may not be clear.
The petition, in part, sought a permanent injunction to stop the vote.
The vote was still carried out, and voters approved the spending package through four propositions. The closest vote was on Proposition Four, which voters approved 61% to 39%.
- Previous coverage >>> Tulsa passes third Improve Our Tulsa package
The lawsuit alleges councilors received a text that said the mayor wanted to have private meetings on March 21 with city councilors. The meetings were with three councilors at a time for around 30 minutes back-to-back, the lawsuit reads.
"Upon information and belief, the meetings with Mayor Bynum were set to discuss Improve Our Tulsa, vote count for Improve Our Tulsa, and push behind closed doors to vote in favor of the initiative without having a public meetings or oversight as to the content of those discussion," court documents read.
The consequences for violating the Open Meeting Act include a misdemeanor charge, a fine not exceeding $500, and/or no more than a year in jail.
The petition also asks the court to deem any work done outside of a public meeting to be invalidated.
Miller has been outspoken in his disapproval of Improve Our Tulsa on Facebook.
The next hearing on the case is scheduled for Aug. 16.
The attorney representing the group, Ron Durbin, tells 2News he plans to ask the judge on the case to recuse herself due to her involvement in other City of Tulsa cases she’s already assigned to. Durbin says he wants to ask for a hearing to determine whether the Improve Our Tulsa vote was invalid. The City of Tulsa declined to comment on pending litigation.
This is a developing story.
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