Members of the Broken Arrow Citizens Against Neighborhood Gaming group say that Lester leaving the mayoral post and remaining a councilman just won't cut it, and plan to tell him so publicly Monday night.
"From my perspective, the mayor position is just a title and the same influence he wielded as mayor he could wield as a councilman," said BACANG spokesman Jared Cawley. "If he couldn't be honest as mayor, why would he think he'd be honest as a councilman."
Lester has been criticized by the group for allegedly not being truthful about how much and when he knew about the proposed Indian casino.
At one point he told BACANG that September was the first he heard of it. But in court testimony earlier this month, one of the casino developers, Luis Figueredo, testified that he had lunch with Lester and the property owner Marcella Giles, a long time friend of Lester's, in February 2011.
Figueredo said they talked about roads and infrastructure and that Lester provided information on the city's growth and was very supportive of the project.
Lester has described the encounter as a casual lunch between friends.
"I do not want the many good things occurring in Broken Arrow to be overshadowed by the recent events related to the proposed casino," he said in a news release last week.
But no matter what anyone thinks he should do, the decision to resign is apparently Lester's to make. Lester doesn't face re-election until April 2015.
Craig Thurmond assumed the mayor seat; he was the vice mayor. He will hold the seat until his next election in April 2013, when the council will vote among themselves on who should hold the seat.
The public will be allowed to address the council when they vote on a vice mayor replacement.
Thurmond said it is an emotional issue and that he plans to urge everyone to be civil.
"I know what they want to say and why they want to say it. We all need to hear what they have to say. We'll let everyone speak," he said.
Lester is not the only one who has taken heat over the casino controversy. In April, the council fired its city manager, David Wooden, who was also criticized by the neighborhood group for not informing them of the Kialegees' plans to build a casino.
U.S. Chief District Judge Gregory Frizzell granted a temporary injunction against the Kialegee Tribal Town and its casino developers on May 18, saying the casino would violate the state gaming compact and the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act because the Kialegees do not have "Indian lands" and legal jurisdiction of the property, located at Olive Avenue (129th East Avenue) and Florence Street (111th Street).
But last week tribe and casino developers asked Frizzell to either modify his decision so they can continue construction for a non-gaming use, a sports bar/restaurant and smoke shop, or to reconsider his decision altogether now that the property owners, Giles and her sister Wynema Capps, have become members of the Kialegee Tribal Town.
Kialegee attorney Vicki Sousa said Giles and Capps still belong to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.
Original Print Headline: Group wants BA ex-mayor off City Council
Susan Hylton 918-581-8381 susan.hylton@tulsaworld.com
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