CLAREMORE - The firing of an area special judge this month had nothing to do with politics or her run for district attorney as she had suggested, a district judge said.
Former District 12 Special Judge Erin Oquin was terminated for cause Aug. 9 by the district judges of the Northeast Administrative District of Oklahoma, said Dynda Post, a district judge since 1995 in District 12, which serves Rogers, Mayes and Craig counties.
"Erin Oquin was not terminated for any political reasons," Post said in a telephone interview with the Tulsa World. "Her discharge had nothing at all to do with her stated intentions to run for district attorney."
The Administrative District, which met Aug. 8 at an undisclosed location, gave no reason in its termination order for Oquin's discharge, which took effect the following day.
Oquin, while saying last week that she doesn't know why she was let go, said a complaint was raised against her by a woman who is a potential political opponent. In a recent story in the Claremore Daily Progress, Oquin publicly announced plans to run next year for District (12) Attorney.
"I hope the people that do know me and know my work ethic know what I stand for and believe in and will know that it's politics all the way around," Oquin said, explaining last week to the Tulsa World why she thought she was fired. "I'm not going to engage in any schoolyard fight. That's not how we're going to roll on this campaign."
Post said she attended the Aug. 8 meeting. Judges aren't considered a "public body" and are exempt from the state Open Meeting Act.
"She was not discharged because of any request or because of any remarks from District (12) Attorney Janice Steidley," Post said. "The courts do not play politics. We just do our jobs.
"I'm concerned that the things that have been said are inaccurate. I think the public is entitled to know the truth."
The Northeast Administrative District comprises eight counties: Craig, Delaware, Mayes, Nowata, Osage, Ottawa, Rogers and Washington. Each administrative district has the authority to hire, fire and accept resignations from special judges, who serve at the will of the district judges of the administrative district, Post said.
"I want accurate information to come to the public when it concerns actions by the court system," she said. "Judges uphold the law. They follow the law. ... The public has a right to expect that of us."
Rhett Morgan 918-581-8395
rhett.morgan@tulsaworld.com
Original Print Headline: Official: Judge's bid for DA unrelated to firing
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