Jay Paul Gumm (born November 29, 1963) is an American
economic development
In economics, economic development (or economic and social development) is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and object ...
professional from
Bryan County, Oklahoma
Bryan County is a county in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,067. Its county seat is Durant. It is the only county in the United States named for Democratic politician William Jennings Bryan.
Bryan Co ...
who served eight years as a member of the
Oklahoma State Senate
The Oklahoma Senate is the upper house of the two houses of the Legislature of Oklahoma, the other being the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The total number of senators is set at 48 by the Oklahoma Constitution.[Durant, Oklahoma
Durant () is a city in Bryan County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 18,589 in the 2020 census. It serves as the capital of the Choctaw Nation, and is the largest settlement on the reservation, ranking ahead of McAlester and Po ...]
, Gumm received his bachelor's degree from
Southeastern Oklahoma State University
Southeastern Oklahoma State University (Southeastern or SE) is a public university in Durant, Oklahoma. It had a total enrollment of 5,376 in 2022.
History
On March 6, 1909, the Second Oklahoma State Legislature approved an act designating Du ...
, where he was a member of
Tau Kappa Epsilon
Tau Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as or Teke, is a social college fraternities and sororities, fraternity founded on January 10, 1899, at Illinois Wesleyan University. The organization has chapters throughout the United States and Canada, maki ...
fraternity. He was a realtor and consultant.
Prior to being elected to the Oklahoma Senate, Gumm was executive director of the Durant Area Chamber of Commerce.
Political career
Gumm served as a
Democratic member of the Oklahoma Senate representing District 6 (which includes all of
Bryan,
Johnston and
Marshall
Marshall may refer to:
Places
Australia
*Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria
** Marshall railway station
Canada
* Marshall, Saskatchewan
* The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia
Liberia
* Marshall, Liberia
Marshall Is ...
counties and parts of
Atoka and
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal i ...
Counties) from 2002 through 2010. In 2010, Gumm was defeated in a re-election bid to
Josh Brecheen
Joshua Chad Brecheen (, , born June 19, 1979) is a Native American politician who has served as the U.S. representative for Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the Oklahoma ...
.
Later career
Gumm left Oklahoma to work as
executive director of the Stone County Economic Development Partnership in
Stone County, Mississippi
Stone County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,333. Its county seat is Wiggins. Stone County was formed from the northern portion of Harrison County on June 5, 1916. The coun ...
.
On August 16, 2013, Gumm was arrested and charged with embezzling more than $24,000 from the Stone County Economic Partnership. On January 30, 2014, Gumm was indicted on one count of felony embezzlement and served by OSA Special Agents and Stone County Deputies. Officials say the various instances of embezzlement included Gumm depositing $11,750.00 into his personal account; fraudulently withholding a $2,000.00 personal check that was shown as deposited; depositing a $500.00 fraudulent check into his personal account from a Christmas party; and depositing an $8,060.00 amount from six checks with forged signatures.
In February 2016, Gumm agreed to a plea deal in which he would spend two years on probation for embezzlement charges and pay $8,900 to the Mississippi Economic Development Partnership. He was allowed to accept an Alford plea, which lets a defendant plead guilty while maintaining he's innocent, by signing a court document in which he "admits it is in his best interest to enter his plea and that a reasonable jury could find him guilty." Gumm asked for non-adjudication, which could have wiped out his felony charge but Circuit Judge Roger Clark instead sentenced him as a felon.
References
External links
Stone County Economic Development Partnership
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gumm, Jay Paul
1963 births
Living people
Democratic Party Oklahoma state senators
21st-century members of the Oklahoma Legislature
Businesspeople from Mississippi
Businesspeople from Oklahoma
People from Durant, Oklahoma
People from Wiggins, Mississippi
Oklahoma politicians convicted of fraud