March 25th 2018 Newsletter
Good Old Boy Network Active in Tulsa
Tulsa County Assessor Ken Yazel is stepping down this year and is actively attempting to manage who steps into his shoes by attacking the conservative candidate, Tulsa Republican Mens Club leader Darren Gantz. Yazel himself has generated plenty of controversy including shooting an unarmed man that was running away while Yazel was playing police officer. Neighboring law enforcement officials thought that Yazel should have faced a criminal investigation over that but it was hushed up and swept under the run until the Robert Bates shooting a few years back, another reserve deputy playing grown up cop.
Yazel shot the fleeing man during a 2005 arrest of a man being sought on a warrant in Okmulgee County and Yazel's actions were so bad that the county sheriff demanded a review of the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office reserve deputy program.
Yazel of course has political and family ties with the former sheriff of Tulsa County. The sheriff's wife worked at the County Assessor's office for Yazel and Yazel's wife worked for the Sheriff Office under Glanz. Yazel and the Assessor's office routed plum property appraiser positions to Sheriff Glantz supporters, a political patronage system to repay supporters.
Yazel had participated in the warrant arrest along with a dozen or so other deputies both real and reserve deputies but only one deputy was from the local sheriff force, with Yazel and the rest coming in from Tulsa County. The deputies had surrounded a mobile home and used a bull horn to ask the suspect to come out peacefully. The suspect ran out a back door, crashing into a deputy who claimed that the suspect attempted to take his gun while they were on the ground wrestling, however the local sheriff reported that the downed deputy had no dirt or grass stains on his uniform. Yazel was almost 50 feet away, and apparently panicked and shot the suspect with his rifle as the suspect was running away, striking the man in the buttocks with the bullet exiting his hip.
The local sheriff questioned the need to shoot and mentioned two other gun shots during the same warrant raid, accidental gun discharges apparently other than the Yazel shooting. Keystone cops indeed!
Then the Robert Bates shooting of an unarmed man who was being held down by two other officers reopened the concerns into that Tulsa County Sheriff Office under Glanz. Bates, like Yazel, was a wealthy and politically connected supporter and both received what some say were unwarranted positions due to their age and experience level.
Yazel of course is part of the old guard and they always resent young blood coming in. Others such as education activist Linda Murphy bucked the old guard and endorsed Darren Ganz:
"Please get in touch with Darren Gantz and help him win this
race for County Assessor! Darren is a great leader, fair, honest and smart! He will be a great asset for Tulsa County. Property tax is a vital part of our funding for local government and Darren will provide the leadership needed to run the office with wisdom! "
More info on Darren Ganz can be found on his website.
