A Gore trustee said he has been asked to resign after it was discovered he was not a resident of Gore town limits.
Gideon Miller, who lives on Primrose Lane in Haven Heights, said he has been a resident of Gore for the past four years, and was elected to Gore’s Board of Trustees in April 2023 after winning the majority of the votes in a municipal election. “I decided to run in early 2023 for trustee, which was for the Ward 5 seat,” Miller said. “And in February 2023, I filed with the election board and announced my candidacy.”
Miller said he owns and operates an earthwork company, and had a contract and good working relationship with the town.
“I knew that if I was elected I’d have to end my contract with the town and although that would be financially burdening, I knew I could better serve the town as a board member,” he said. “Gore is the town we live in and where we raise our children at. I want nothing but the best for the town.”
He said many people, including his opponent in the election, knew that he lived on the edge of town limits, so he and other town officials thoroughly looked into the matter before and after the election took place.
“Myself, Gore Mayor Robin Henry, Vice-mayor Larry Pack, and Town/Court Clerk Lisa Settlemyer, and many others did their due diligence in ensuring the legitimacy of my candidacy qualifications,” Miller said. “The election was certified, and no contests were filed within the statutory period allowed by law.”
Miller said after taking the oath of office, he spent the first four months becoming acclimated to the position and receiving state-mandated training.
“Things were working well with the other board members and Mayor Henry,” he said.
But around August, Miller said a matter that was very difficult to deal with, came before the trustees.
“My opinion on the matter didn’t match up with all of the other board members.
But that was okay; that’s how the government is designed to work,” he said. “It’s where we can bring our thoughts to the table and then take a vote on the matter.”
Miller alleges since that day, he has been politically attacked and slandered by specific members of the town office and government.
“It wasn’t long before rumors of an impeachment were going around town,” he said.
Miller claims he was then allegedly asked by Mayor Henry to “back off.”
“I was asked to stay out of certain affairs and away from certain departments. It didn’t take but a couple of months for some folks to realize that there was no merit or substance to the political gossip going around town, but that it was derived from personal, hidden and malicious agendas,” he said.
He said on Dec. 8, Henry requested to meet with him in her office.
“Upon beginning the meeting, Robin handed me a piece of paper and said, “You’re off the board.” I looked over the paper, which was written by David Slaughter on a Sequoyah County 911 office letterhead,” he said.
“I responded to Robin, saying, “It’s not going to work like that.” Robin stated that she wanted my resignation,” he said.
Miller said he requested a couple of days to review and gather information.
“I determined there was no new information that was not already known, other than an update and discrepancy to the online town boundary map,” he said. “The new map doesn’t match the prior version of the town boundary map. I had taken no actions to alter or change my residency within the city limits of the Town of Gore.”
“Looking at the facts, I have always voted in town municipal elections and received municipal services such as police, fire and code enforcement. I retain much evidence that supports my being a Town of Gore Ward 5 resident,” he said.
Miller said the following day, he told Mayor Henry he had no intentions of resigning, as the evidence did not support his need to do so.
Miller also claims that on Dec. 12, the town’s attorney, Jeremy Hamby, allegedly delayed the start of the meeting by having a private, 10-minute conversation with him.
“I informed him that I had no intentions of resigning,” he said. “The board said I’m off but it’s not going to work like that.”
However, Town of Gore officials beg to differ.
Henry and Settlemyre said in April 2023, they went to the Sequoyah County Election Board because when Miller announced his candidacy, questions arose as to whether or not his residence was in town limits.
“We went to verify that Gideon Miller was eligible to run for the office of Ward 5 Trustee,” Henry and Settlemyre said.
The two said in June 2023, Miller allegedly still had questions as to whether or not he was in town limits, which resulted in Vice-Mayor Pack, Settlemyre and Miller going to the county clerk’s office to find the annexation of Miller’s residence.
“When no annexation was found, Mayor Henry asked Mr. Miller to provide a statement or certification from an authority that determines eligibility,” Settlemyre said. “Mr. Miller reportedly provided a short letter from David Slaughter with the Sequoyah County 911 office, dated Sept. 6, 2023, stating that Miller’s residence was inside Gore’s town limits.”
Settlemyre said Pack then went to Slaughter’s office, with the question of ‘how can any residence be in town limits without an annexation?’
“Upon further investigation from the County Assessor’s Office and Oklahoma Tax Commission, whose job it is to maintain municipal boundaries, Mr. Slaughter sent the Town of Gore a letter stating his previous letter was incorrect, that Gideon Miller’s residence was not located in the Town of Gore town limits,” she said. “Slaughter further apologized for any inconvenience.”
Settlemyre said Miller has always paid rural taxes and rural water rates.
“It was also discovered that Mr. Miller’s residence was not included in the Haven Heights platted sub-division, nor has his residence been annexed,” she said.
Henry said upon receiving a second letter from Slaughter, dated Dec. 4, 2023, she asked to meet with Miller.
Slaughter said the first map did show Miller to be in town limits but the second did not.
“Miller’s residence is not located inside the municipal limits of the town of Gore. In a letter dated Sept. 6, 2023, I made an error in telling you that your structure was inside town limits. Upon speaking with the county accessor’s office and the Oklahoma Tax Commission, that keep records of recorded municipal boundaries, they have informed me your structure is not in town limits. I apologize for any inconvenience,” Slaughter wrote in the Dec. 4, 2023 letter.
“Gideon Miller stated the letter did not mean anything, and I told him that the letter does matter, it determined that he was not nor had ever been eligible for the office,” Henry said. “I told him that he’d need to resign and annex his residence into the Town of Gore town limits.”
Henry said she further stated that the town would adhere to the advice of their town attorney, who reportedly later met with Miller and gave him until the next trustee meeting, in January, to provide a filed annexation of his residence in town limits.
Henry and Settlemyre said “this issue” has never been ‘politically motivated.’
“It is a legal issue. Gideon Miller’s residence is either in town limits or not,” Henry said.
“And the town must adhere to state guidelines,” Settlemyre said, providing the following statute: “§11-8-101. Qualifications for elected office. A municipal elected official shall be a resident and a registered voter of the municipality in which he serves, and all council members or trustees from wards shall be actual residents of their respective wards. If an elected official ceases to be a resident of the municipality, he shall thereupon cease to be an elected official of that municipality. Laws 1977, .c 256, §8-101, ef. July 1, 1978.”
Settlemyre said the town faced a similar issue several years ago when a trustee was asked to resign after discovering a problem with their annexation.
The two also stated that the affairs regarding Miller being asked to “back off” pertained to the police department, and that Miller allegedly trying to insert himself as the police department liaison, which reportedly resulted in department discord.
As of press time, Gore town officials said Miller has failed to show or provide proof of the annexation of his residence.
“While the legal results make us regret losing Trustee Miller, we must however, follow the law,” Henry said. “We wish him well and hope he remains a vital member of our community.”
