Patrick Ross vs City of Owasso Ruling
Owasso Taxpayer Alliance Admin
THE OKLAHOMA STATE SUPREME COURT RULED…PATRICK ROSS WAS RIGHT
In August 2013 then city councilor Patrick Ross filled a lawsuit against the City of Owasso for refusing to release the “Fortney Report” which was an investigation into the alleged criminal actions of former city manager Rodney Ray. In 2017 District Court of Tulsa County ruled in the city’s favor. Mr. Ross then appealed this decision to the Court of Civil Appeals.
On April 30, 2020 a three-judge panel from the Court of Civil Appeals unanimously ruled that the “Fortney Report” concerning the investigation of former city manager Rodney Ray shall be released and made public.
The judges who sat for this hearing were Justice Thomas Thornbrough (Presiding Judge), Senior Justice John Reif and Justice Jane Wiseman. Senior Justice Reif served on the Oklahoma State Supreme Court from 2007-2019 and was the Chief Justice for the Supreme Court from 2015-2016.
In their fourteen-page ruling the judges not only explained why the report was not an internal personnel matter protected from being made public by the Open Records Act (ORA) but they also spent time reviewing why Mr. Ray was paid a severance package in violation of his employment contract.
WE FATLY DISAGREE
In their ruling the judges stated “Apparently, City argues that if the behavior of a public official is not criminal, but, in the words of the grand jury, merely “unethical/questionable,” this creates a public policy interest in City keeping any investigation of the behavior secret, and indicates the lack of a public “need to know” under the act. We flatly disagree. The existence of unethical/questionable behavior by the city manager appears to be a central public question if City’s decision to pay severance is questioned.”
THE LEGITIMACY OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
In closing the judges stated “The balance of this case clearly favors disclosure. The ORA request is evidently not one motivated by mere curiosity into a personnel matter, or some general desire to broadly monitor the workings of government. It involves a high profile employee in an official position, not routine day-to-day personnel employment matters. It involves specific questions of why the City Manager, who was accused of misconduct, was granted a substantial severance package, paid for by the taxpayers of Owasso, instead of being fired. In short it is a “core” Open Records matter going directly to the questions of the legitimacy of the Mayor and City Council’s good governance and use of funds, and the citizens’ inherent political power to inquire into these matters. City identifies no valid privacy, state, or public interest in withholding the Report. As such, we find that it should be disclosed pursuant to the ORA.”
Following the Appeals Court ruling the city appealed the verdict to the Oklahoma State Supreme Court. On November 17, 2020 after reviewing the Court of Civil Appeals ruling the Oklahoma State Supreme Court choose to allow the Court of Civil Appeals ruling to stand.
So who really cares about this ruling? Really…it happened over seven years ago. Mr. Ross passed away in February of this year. Mr. Ray left the city in 2013 and passed away in July of this year.
Many folks over the years have voiced their opposition to Mr. Ross’s actions with his lawsuit and he was dragged through the social media mud for doing so. His character and reputation were attacked and he was labeled with numerous slanderous names.
He and his wife spent thousands of their own dollars in attorney fees in order for this fight to continue. Mr. Ross believed in what he was doing and he knew he was on the right side of the law.
If you care anything at all about your government, at any level you should be very thankful for this ruling. It stands at the very foundation of any government agency being transparent about how they spend YOUR tax dollars. Without this type of ruling any government agency could have a free ride at spending taxpayer dollar without any citizen oversight.
We live in a nation where everyone has the right to their own opinion and to be able to state that opinion. And if you feel your rights have been violated, you have the ability to take your case to court to air your grievances and seek justice. Mr. Ross did just that and the courts agreed with him.
Our founding fathers fought with their lives and fortunes in order to bring about this great nation. They left us with a constitution that allows “We the People” to hold government accountable. At a young age Mr. Ross fought for this nation in the US Navy in Vietnam. He continued fighting for his community as a city councilor. And after he was no longer on the city council he continued to use his own money to fight for honest and transparent government.
Makes you wonder what kind of city, state or nation we would have if more people were like Patrick Ross and felt strong enough about honest and transparent government to make a stand and fight…no matter if no one else was fighting with them.
Patrick Ross was a true American warrior and patriot. We could use more people like him.