Muskogee council tables review of alleged conflict involving Deputy Mayor Derek Reed

The Muscogee City Council on a special call meeting reviewed an interim city attorney opinion that a council member’s operational role at the Martin Luther King Community Center could create an indirect conflict of interest under the Oklahoma Constitution and the city charter. After more than two hours of statements from the city attorney, council members and a lengthy public comment period, the council voted to table further action and direct staff to gather additional documentation and meet with the Martin Luther King Community Center Trust and Neighbors Building Neighborhoods (NBN).

The opinion, presented by interim city attorney Carrie Spencer, said the issue was not the council member by name but the set of circumstances in which a council member acts as the director of an entity that receives city funds. "Where the conflict arises is engaging in the duties of director of the MLK Center that includes day-to-day operations in decisionmaking and giving direction to staff," Spencer told the council, citing Article 10, Section 11 of the Oklahoma Constitution, city charter provisions she identified as sections 3-8 and 3-9, and Attorney General opinions the memo listed as 2021-32 and 2024-8.

Spencer said the Martin Luther King Community Trust and center have received "more than $1 million since 2018," and she read figures from the trust’s 2024–25 fiscal summary as included in her memo. She described the legal concern as an "indirect conflict of interest" that can arise even if the official does not receive direct salary from city funds, and she recommended the council consider remedies that would protect the city, the trust and the individual involved.

Residents and community leaders who signed up for the meeting urged pause and careful process. The trust’s chair, Delby E. Walker, asked that the Trust be given the opportunity to meet, "seek independent legal counsel, or discuss what corrective actions, if any, may be appropriate" before the council takes steps that could affect the trust or the reputations of individuals involved. Multiple speakers described Reed’s long service to the center and his role in building programming and partnerships. Pastor Andre Jones and others warned the meeting felt premature; Lisa Deadmond and Donna Woods, among others, described Reed as a longstanding community leader.

Deputy Mayor Derek Reed addressed the council near the close of the public record, thanking supporters and saying he did not intend to violate any law. "If I've done anything wrong in the last 16 years, I will own it," Reed said, and described his long work at the center as service to the community.

Council members debated next steps and whether to wait for the Trust and NBN to convene. Councilmember Melody Cranford said she called the special meeting after legal counsel advised that the city must act if it knows about an appearance of impropriety; other council members and speakers said the Trust had not yet had a chance to review the matters or retain counsel. After discussion the council adopted a motion to table the item and directed staff to compile the bulleted recommendations from the attorney’s memo, pursue meetings with the Trust and NBN, and return with documentation and a date certain (council discussed a 90-day window and settled on a September 28 target during the discussion).

On the roll call vote, the clerk recorded: Mike Broly — yes; Dan Hall — yes; Melody Cranford — yes; Shirley Hilton Flannry — yes; Tracy Hooves — yes; Deputy Mayor Derek Reed — abstain; Mayor Ryan Low — yes. The motion passed and the council adjourned.

The council’s action was procedural: the city attorney’s written opinion remains part of the public record and the Trust and NBN said they will meet and work on next steps. The council directed staff to report back with documentation and updates ahead of the September meeting date; no disciplinary or enforcement action was taken at the special call.