PEC director facing new complaint
Attorney: James Oakley should be removed as Burnet County judge.
The fallout continues for the Burnet County judge — and Pedernales Electric Cooperative director — who wrote online that it’s “time for a tree and a rope” in reference to a black man accused of killing a police officer
Barely two months after James Oakley was disciplined by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct for the November Facebook post, a new complaint has been filed against him stemming from testimony he provided to the agency about the incident.
John Watson, an attorney in Johnson City, filed the complaint with the judicial conduct board this week, seeking Oakley’s ouster as Burnet County judge.
Oakley couldn’t be reached for comment Friday.
The new complaint alleges Oakley gave “false and misleading testimony under oath” to the commission when he appeared before it in early April to discuss concerns about him raised by his Facebook post.
Oakley wrote on Facebook in November that it was “time for a tree and a rope” in reference to an African-American suspect in the killing of a San Antonio police officer, a comment critics interpreted as a reference to lynching.
Oakley deleted the post shortly thereafter, apologized and denied that he had any racist intent, saying among other things that he was thinking instead about hang-
ings in the Old West and the humorous take on them in a 1980s TV commercial for Pace Picante Sauce.
But the commission didn’t accept his explanation, concluding in early May that he had “engaged in willful conduct that cast public discredit on the judiciary and the administration of justice” and also “cast reasonable doubt on his capacity to act impartially in the performance of his duties.” The commission ordered him to complete an educational training program for new judges, and it also mandated that he undergo four hours of racial sensitivity training with a mentor.
Still, after reviewing audio recordings of Oakley’s April testimony to the commission and other documents, Watson contends in the new complaint that additional punishment is warranted. Watson was among 18 people who previously filed complaints against Oakley with the judicial commission, resulting in the April meeting and subsequent disciplinary decision in May.
“Judge Oakley provided to the Commission a narrative embellished by a pattern of deceptive, misleading and false statements,” Watson says in his new complaint. “It is intolerable that an elected official, especially one entrusted with judicial duties, would seek to mislead the very entity charged with the responsibility of hearing and deciding complaints of official misconduct by judges.”
Among other allegations, Watson contends Oakley testified deceptively that many of the complaints against him regarding the Facebook post were the work of agitators from outside Burnet County or political opponents within Pedernales Electric.
Watson also questioned the amount of time Oakley has said he spends on judicial duties, rather than on his duties as Burnet County’s top administrator, implying that he may have inflated the figure in order to justify receiving $25,000 annually in extra judicial pay.
The State Commission on Judicial Conduct doesn’t comment on complaints filed against judges, or even confirm that they have been filed. They are only made public if the commission deems them worthy of public discipline or sanction.
Regardless, the new complaint against Oakley is just the latest fallout from his Facebook post.
In January, the Pedernales Electric board of directors voted to reprimand Oakley and demote him from a leadership position on the board. Some co-op members said that didn’t go far enough, and called for Oakley’s removal from the board.
On May 25, John D. Hewa resigned as chief executive of Pedernales Electric after publicly criticizing co-op board members 10 days earlier for what he called retaliation against employees who spoke out against perceived racism in the wake of Oakley’s “treeand-a-rope” comment.
The board agreed to give Hewa an estimated $1.1 million in separation pay upon his resignation, according to co-op sources, although the electric utility hasn’t yet publicly released the figure.
Watson cites ‘a pattern of deceptive, misleading and false statements.’