Request for Mayor’s emails proves to be full of redundant files
Almost half of the received files were city title cards or signatures, suggesting the original numbers were fluffed.
Two of the five open records requests over Lawton Mayor Stan Booker’s emails, submitted by Dark Roast’s Seth Marsicano, have been fulfilled by the city. The first is over correspondence mentioning any of the following key words: KSWO, channel 7, Justin Rose, Seth Marsicano, 7News, Sharicka Brackens, Kelvin Mize, news, reporter. The second involved keywords revolving around public safety, to include: Lawton fire department, firefighters, wages, fire department, Local 1882, fire union, Chief Williams, James Smith, police department, Lawton police.
The total file count for this request was 412 items. Almost half of these files were city title cards or signatures, 201 to be exact. The second fulfilled request, which concerned public safety, totaled 1,712 items. Over half of these were title cards, specifically 890 (picture example below).
The way the request was fulfilled dissected every part of the email. All attachments were sent separately to be made visible.
Another portion of these records was calendar inputs. On Feb. 10, 2025, according to the record, city officials held a meeting to discuss their relationship with KSWO. (example below)
In an article with the Southwest Ledger, Lawton City Clerk Donalynn Blazec-Scherler said the total number of emails came out to 27,507. Whether this is emails with attachments included, the same email chain or everything counted individually, it’s not made clear. If the first two open records requests were a combined item count of 2,124, then that would leave the remaining three requests have a total of 25,383.
It raises the question: Did city officials exaggerate the amount of work needed to fulfill this request compared to what was actually being received? If so, why?
The following are the keywords for the remainder requests.
Unhoused: homeless, homelessness, unhoused, tent-city, anti-camping.
City Charter: charter, city code, city policy, policy, Lawton charter, economic development, ordinance.
Budget: budget, audit, finances, expenditures, revenue, income, debt, tax, taxes, bonds, CIP, funds.
We have reached out multiple times on the status of the other three requests, but have not received a response.
While a lot of the files seemed like filler, some proved fruitful in answering questions or giving better insight into things the community has wanted to know. A few examples of the emails in the records we’ve received reflect city leadership’s decision to “release” the fire study, which led to a lot of controversy, and was due to Marsicano submitting it through open records. An email stated, “I don’t have a legal basis to withhold (not release) the document. John A. [previous city attorney, John Andrew] has weighed-in on this matter. We will tell them that study hasn’t been approved by council and is pre-decisional at this point.” This followed the Mayor’s promise to make the study public after its completion. This left many to feel like the study was swept under the rug since it was completed in October of 2024 and cost taxpayers over $40,000. It wasn’t until Marsicano’s request in January of 2025 that the release was made public.
The situation regarding the firefighter pay raise debacle that took place at the beginning of the year will be its own story, along with an update on where the department currently stands.
Additionally, in the Southwest Ledger’s article, Mayor Booker is quoted, saying, “What are they afraid of, that we’re talking about them behind their back?”
Mayor Booker posed this question as if this wasn’t happening. The emails seem to reflect otherwise, for example, there is an email from Communications and Marketing Director Caitlin Gatlin sent to City Manager John Ratliff showing a list of stories they didn’t feel reflected the city in a neutral light. This list of articles included using AI to determine the fire study’s credibility, city leadership discussing the idea of a pit bull ban and the controversy surrounding Wallie Breaden’s wildlife conversation. In the email, Gatlin said Marsicano’s word choice leaned “anit-City”, adding there wasn’t any reason for it.
Her email also states, “While they have inaccurately reported, they have updated their news stories on the website.” Marsicano’s stories contained no corrections.
It should be noted, not everything included in the emails were inline with something that could be described as ”controversial” or “of bad taste”. There were a lot of exchanges about marketing the Kids First initiative and a few emails from citizens sharing appreciation for what the city has been doing.
The City of Lawton claims a dedication to transparency through their True North Culture Statement, yet there are many situations that have caused people in the community to question this stance. When city officials lack the transparency that’s expected of them, it is the job of local journalists to step in an shine a light on the issues being swept under the rug. The intention is not to obtain personal status by challenging the city, but rather to hold them to the standards they have placed for themselves. There are several stories being worked on over these individual topics and you can expect them in the following weeks.
Independent journalism can only continue with the support of the community we cover. If you are able and want to be a part of the Dark Roast’s mission, click the button below.
