OTA admits that Location Authorization #28 really describes the H.E. Bailey Spur, SH4 & SH9
But the Oklahoma State Supreme Court apparently failed cartography.
Remember my post on the Governor’s Open Record Request that took over 14 months to receive? Let’s talk about one particular email buried in over 700 pages of documentation and why it is CRUCIAL for us to legally limit the time to compliance on open record requests.
OTA admits location authorizations already built/not feasible
One of the juicier bits of information, thrown in with all the state-sponsored creepy Facebook stalking contained in the 709 pages of open record request documentation, was a particular email from Ms. Jessica Brown, former OTA Strategic Communications czar. Remember that her salary was paid by ODOT, but she was the face (briefly) handling (poorly) the OTA communications (and the one caught up in buying all those oppositional domain names in late 2021!)
The email, sent to Ms. Kate Vesper in the Governor’s office on July 27, 2022, listed all of the Oklahoma Turnpike routes authorized in state statute in Title 69, Section 1705(e) and color coded each of the thirty five authorizations as “yellow = turnpike or exit fully/partially built,” and “blue = turnpike not built/equivalent ODOT route.” In other words, this email laid out EXACTLY what the OTA thought about their thirty-five location authorizations in statute.
The authorization I’ll discuss first is one that we all are particularly interested in: #28. This is the location authorization in statute that the OTA claimed described the proposed southern extension. The annotated statute produced in this July 27, 2022 email, however, showed that location authorization #28 was, in fact, thought of by the OTA as defining the H.E. Bailey Spur and SH9 along with SH4.
The bridge across the South Canadian River noted in the authorization was built and funded by ODOT from 2000-2001 to the tune of $11.6 million. Around the same time ODOT extended SH4 north to connect with SH152 and south to connect with I44 and the HE Bailey spur (roughly 12 miles) to the tune of $53.5 million ($4.4 million/mile).
Just for kicks, read through #28 above and follow it on the map below. This authorization says that a turnpike comes from the vicinity of Mustang, southerly across the South Canadian River to the H.E. Bailey Turnpike in the vicinity of Tuttle (that’s SH-4, which is actually about 5 miles east of Tuttle, but the OTA can’t define “vicinity,” and the Supreme Court refuses to uphold legislative intent, so…..). From the H.E. Bailey turnpike, location authorization #28 is supposed to then go easterly across the South Canadian River to a point in the vicinity of Norman (that’s the H.E. Bailey Spur and then SH 9).
In what world does location authorization #28 shown above define the proposed Southern Extension shown below? A proposed southern extension that travels NORTH and SOUTH between the vicinity of NEWALLA the vicinity of PURCELL?
Justice Winchester, Supreme Court Justice who “penned” the majority opinion in favor of the OTA (along with the previous six OTA-favored opinions in the last decade), obviously failed cartography and geography, and certainly lacked intellectual honesty, when he agreed to author an OTA drafted, propaganda filled, Supreme Court majority opinion.
Ramifications of non-Compliant and un-timely Open Record Requests
Before I dive down that Supreme Court Rabbit Hole, I want to stop here and ensure that everyone understands the ramifications of government agencies taking FOURTEEN MONTHS to comply with an open record request; especially when fighting against state agencies that are hellbent on expediting engineering design and construction timelines to try and crush all opposition.
The Supreme Court majority published their 6-3 legal opinion for the OTA on August 1, 2023, just 3 days after I received this open record request (FOURTEEN MONTHS AFTER MY ORIGINAL REQUEST) that succinctly invalidated the opinion the Supreme Court majority penned. If the location authorization #28 described the H.E. Bailey Spur, SH9 and SH4, as was noted by the OTA itself in the July 27, 2022 email, then how can it SIMULTANEOUSLY describe the proposed Southern Extension that travels NORTH and SOUTH connecting NEWALLA and PURCELL that the Supreme Court validated bonds for on August 1, 2023?
What might have occurred had we received this email in August of 2022 after my follow up with the Governor’s Office?
Could we have included it in our State Supreme Court filings and appearances to show quite clearly, directly from the OTA’s mouth, that Authorization #28 was already accounted for and in no way was meant to define the proposed Southern Extension?
Would it have mattered in the ultimate August 1, 2023 Supreme Court 6-3 decision?
Obviously, bringing attention to the fact that the OTA knew they didn’t have authorization for this route back in 1999 when they tried to add “Purcell” to location authorization #21 (currently #20) through HB1459 and SB371, didn’t change six Supreme Court justices minds.
In HB1459 (above) they crossed off Moore and Norman and added Purcell. In SB371 (below) they simply added “or Purcell.” Neither bill passed and Neal McCaleb dropped the turnpike projects through Norman.
Notice how the OTA never tried to alter location authorization #29 (currently #28) where legislative intent (and the OTA itself) believed it to describe the H.E. Bailey Spur, SH4 and SH9!!!!!
How the OTA got from trying unsuccessfully to use location authorization #20 in 1999 to build their southern extension to convincing the Supreme Court successfully in 2023 that location authorization #28 (and not #20) could simultaneously describe SH4, HE Bailey Spur, SH9 AND the proposed southern extension connecting Newalla to Purcell is perplexing.
If this compelling legislative proof of lack of authorization and intent didn’t change the Supreme Court Justices minds, do we really think an email sent by the Strategic Communications Officer to the Governor’s office would have?
There is no way to know for sure with the amount of influence peddling going around, but we have GOT to strengthen our Open Record Request laws by forcing government agencies to fully comply with requests in a timely fashion… and we have GOT to stop retaining Supreme Court Justices.
A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves and traitors are not victims…. but accomplices. ~ George Orwell
Next up… what ELSE was in that July 27, 2022 email and how can we use it to convince current legislators that the Turnpike Enabling Act has GOT to change?
PIKE OFF OTA (501 c4) and Oklahomans for Responsible Transportation, Foundation (501 c3) are leading the charge in legal injunctive avenues and legislative reform and they could use your help. They are trying to dismantle a corrupt Goliath within our state and are doing a great job. Be part of the solution!
www.pikeoffota.com
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