Breaking: Oklahoma Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Turnpike Authority
Protestors with Pike Off OTA rally at the state capitol. (Source: Pike Off OTA.)
Half a year ago, Strong Towns reported that Oklahoma residents took the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority (OTA) to district court, arguing its plans for a $15 billion turnpike expansion not only lacked transparency, but were illegal. The judge presiding agreed, ruling that the OTA “willfully violated” Oklahoma’s Open Meetings Act. As a result, over 150 plaintiffs celebrated their first major legal victory in the fight against the project, known as ACCESS Oklahoma.
Months later, on March 15, 2023, Oklahoma’s Attorney General stepped in and seemingly sided with the plaintiffs, requesting an audit of the OTA. The Attorney General’s letter sharply condemned OTA’s “unlawful conduct” as a “blatant disregard for openness and transparency.”
However, just as Pike Off OTA, the leading coalition opposing OTA’s multibillion-dollar project, was enjoying the streak of support, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled in favor of the OTA on May 31, 2023, overturning the earlier district court judgment.
“Today’s 5-to-3 Supreme Court opinion marks a black day for transparency in Oklahoma state government,” expressed Stan Ward, the leading attorney in the original case whose home is jeopardized by the proposed turnpike expansion. “It’s extremely unfortunate that the Open Meeting Act has been effectively neutered. No clearer case of open meeting act violation can be imagined.”
Dr. Amy Cerato, a board member of Pike Off OTA and Oklahomans for Responsible Transportation, likewise expressed disappointment in the ruling: “We believe that the way in which the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority conducts business is willfully deceptive with zero transparency and accountability and we proved it in a District Court, where discovery was allowed, depositions taken, and open record requests compelled.”
Letter in which Attorney General Gentner Drummond calls for an audit of Oklahoma Turnpike Authority. (Source: Pike Off OTA.)
Nevertheless, she and others in Pike Off remain hopeful that new opportunities will emerge to hold the OTA accountable. While this legal avenue has closed, the findings of the investigative audit requested by the Attorney General are still pending and many like Ward are optimistic it will “ferret out the truth of what appears to be an empire of crony capitalism, secrecy, and mismanagement.”
This piece is part of ongoing Strong Towns coverage on ACCESS Oklahoma and Pike Off OTA’s resistance to the $15 billion turnpike expansion project.
Read past stories here:
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