Glenpool, Minco council candidates promise to comply with spirit, letter of open government law

Two candidates for city councils in Minco and Glenpool have signed FOI Oklahoma's Open Government Pledge promising to "comply with not only the letter but also the spirit of Oklahoma's Open Meeting and Open Records laws" if elected.

Doug Denard and Alyce Korb also also promised "to support at every opportunity the public policy of the State of Oklahoma that the people are vested with the inherent right to know and be fully informed about their government so that they can efficiently and intelligently exercise their inherent political power."

Korb is seeking the at-large seat on the Glenpool City Council.

Denard, a former mayor of Minco, is running for the town's Ward 2, Position 2, council seat.

Municipal elections are April 5.

FOI Oklahoma began the Open Government Pledge in 2008 as part of a national effort to spur public commitments to government transparency from candidates for president down to city council contests.

Instructions and a list of signers for the 2011 and previous elections can be found on FOI Oklahoma’s website.


Joey Senat, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
OSU School of Media & Strategic Communications

Minco officials release audit labeled 'draft'

Minco officials late last week provided a copy of the independent audit of the town's finances to The Minco Millennium, said Kelly Rupp, the newspaper's owner/publisher.

A week earlier, town officials had refused the newspaper's request for the audit, saying it was a draft exempted under the state Open Records Act.

However, the Open Records Act says, "[A] public official may keep confidential his or her personal notes and personally created materials ... prepared as an aid to memory or research leading to the adoption of a public policy or the implementation of a public project." (OKLA. STAT. tit. 51, § 24A.9)

The exemption applies only prior to the official “taking action, including making a recommendation or issuing a report.” (Id.)

The audit clearly did not meet the criteria spelled out in the exemption. It was prepared by an outside auditing firm, not by a public official as personal notes "prepared as an aid to memory or research leading to the adoption of a public policy or the implementation of a public project."

The audit was given to City Council members prior to a public meeting on Jan. 25, according to the newspaper. Council members discussed the 2009 audit and approved minor changes during that special meeting.

The copy received by the newspaper last Friday was labeled "draft."


Joey Senat, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
OSU School of Media & Strategic Communications