Office manager to handle duties of Comanche County eastern district

The office manager for Comanche County District 1 will represent that district on the Board of Commissioners.

Ashley Sanders started her duties with the Board of Commissioners on Monday. District 3 Commissioner Josh Powers, who also is board chair, said Sanders would be running the eastern district office.

The actions come after an Oklahoma Attorney General’s multi-county grand jury recommended last week that District 1 Commissioner John O’Brien be removed from office for oppression, corruption and willful maladministration of office. O’Brien also was charged March 13 in Comanche County District Court with two felony counts of embezzlement by a county official, and misdemeanor charges of computer crime and two counts of outraging public decency. A preliminary hearing is set for June 4.

Powers said state law sets the regulations under which the county will operate after a commissioner is suspended with pay, pending outcome of the legal proceedings. That means Sanders will participate in commissioner meetings, to include voting on items, just as O’Brien would. State law specifies the first or chief deputy or assistant will carry on the duties of a commissioner in the event of death, removal, or resignation, until a successor is appointed or elected.

In the event of a vacancy in the office of county commissioner, the governor must call an election within 30 days after the vacancy occurs, unless the vacancy occurs before March 1 in an even-numbered year or the current term of the person vacating the office ends the following year. Neither condition exists here.