Report: OU graduate offered students money to pack hearings on arena

NORMAN, Okla. (KFOR) — A moment of recognition directed at OU students who attended a public hearing last month may have come out of deceit.

Reports from the OU Daily, the university's independent student-run newspaper, say an OU graduate admitted to offering students money last month to attend public hearings related to a vote on a potentially $600 million investment into an eventual entertainment district.

The University North Park addition, approved in a 5-4 vote last month, would include a new arena for both the University of Oklahoma and the public to replace Lloyd Noble. OU officials say the university has also agreed to front some of the costs.

According to the Daily, Jayke Flaggert, who is also an independent contractor for the Norman Economic Development Coalition, admitted he paid students to pack city council chambers.

Messages obtained by the Daily say Flaggert offered interested students $12/hour with a $50 minimum if the meeting ran short, to attend. He said interested students could bring their phone or laptop if they wanted to; just as long as they were taking up space in the room. The Daily reported students were told not to say why they were really there if anyone asked.

Flaggert told the Daily the payment was to foster civic engagement among OU students. News 4 also reached out to Flaggert separately for comment, but didn't hear back.

"It seems to me that's probably not appropriate behavior, partly because, I mean, there's clearly some deceptive intent," said OU Ethics Professor, Stephen Ellis.

Ellis said that usually when constituents pack city council chambers it's supposed to be evidence of support or opposition for a policy, rather than solely being at a meeting to make money.

"Transparency would have made things a lot better because it would have covered some of the issues about deception," said Ellis.

News 4 reached out to Lawrence McKinney, CEO of the Norman Economic Development Coalition, for comment on Flaggert's alleged actions.

McKinney provided the following statement:

It’s disheartening to see the OU Daily attempt to vilify and bully the very students and alumni it aims to represent. I believe in holding ourselves to higher standards, and I know our community deserves better. If any payments were made to students or anyone else, it’s worth noting that such practices are common—whether it’s for petition gathering, sign waving, door knocking, etc. This is neither illegal nor unethical. To clarify, Jayke Flaggert is not an employee of NEDC but an independent contractor, meaning we are just one of his many clients. He has done an excellent job for us and will continue to do so. He has done nothing wrong, and we support him 100%. The Council was filled to capacity and beyond because many people care about city issues, not just students. NEDC did not pay for anyone to attend.

This issue is a topic of interest only because during one of the most disheartening public meetings I’ve seen (video attached), an adult former OU Dean mouthed derogatory remarks while Chamber of Commerce President Scott Martin was speaking. In light of that, some Team Norman supporters suggested moving the podium to help avoid public shaming and theatrics. Until any changes are made, we’ve encouraged anyone wearing a Team Norman t-shirt to sit as close to the podium as possible during public meetings, as it’s being televised and might help prevent similar incidents. Certain individuals have employed similar strategies for years, and while they may be proud of it, many in our community are not. Furthermore, Team Norman is not just three organizations, as the OU Daily stated, but is comprised of hundreds of individuals and organizations that support a more robust economy.  All of them are encouraged to arrive early for Council meetings to show support. I didn’t attend the meeting in question, but I watched it from Colorado. It seems that 72 people signed up to speak, and every single one of them was heard. The narrative the OU Daily is pushing is that citizens were somehow prevented from speaking is simply false, and we would never condone such behavior. We value public debate as much as anyone, and we look forward to continuing these important conversations.

Lawrence McKinney, CEO of Norman Economic Development Coalition

Ellis had a chance to review McKinney's comments before his interview with News 4 and offered some counterarguments.

He noted that petition gatherers are not being deceptive about what they're doing. He also said that, while paying students may not be illegal, he believes it ethically undermines the persuasive value in front of elected leaders before a vote.

"I think there was a bit of intent to deceive, and I think it actually worked," said Ellis. "If you look at president [Joseph Harroz Jr.]'s comments you know, he looked back at the students and said this is really going to be popular; this might keep the kids in town. You saw a couple of people say that kind of thing from the dais, and it really wasn't that kind of support. It was a little bit of astroturfing as they call it, as opposed to grassroots mobilizing."

News 4 reached out to OU Communications for comment from Harroz, but hadn't heard back at the time of publication.

It's also important to note several board members of the Norman Economic Development Coalition have also expressed support for the district. News 4 reached out to multiple members for comment, but all of them expressed no knowledge of students being paid in connection to either September hearing.

It's equally important to note some Norman voters are collecting signatures, calling for a referendum vote that would go to the people after the council's approval of an economic development agreement during the last public hearing. Organizers only have 30 days from the date the petition was filed to get enough legal signatures.

News 4 asked Ellis if there's a chance either side of the issue could deploy deceptive tactics if the measure is sent to a vote of the people.

"There are always opportunities for sort of various kinds of what you might think of as dirty tricks," said Ellis. "When it's on the ballot is much easier for people to sort of say, focus on our message rather than this other message on both sides."