Russell M. Perry is an American businessman, banker, publisher, and broadcaster from Oklahoma. Perry served as the

Oklahoma Secretary of Commerce The Oklahoma Secretary of Commerce is a member of the Oklahoma Governor's Cabinet. The Secretary is appointed by the Governor, with the consent of the Oklahoma Senate, to serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The Secretary serves as the chief adv ...

from 1999 to 2000, having been appointed by

governor of Oklahoma The governor of Oklahoma is the head of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor serves as the head of the Oklahoma executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma. The governor is the ''ex officio ...

Frank Keating Francis Anthony Keating II (initially born as David Rowland Keating) (born February 10, 1944) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 25th governor of Oklahoma from 1995 to 2003. , Keating is one of only five governors in Okl ...

. Perry was the first African American to hold that position. After being nominated by Keating, Perry was never confirmed by the

Oklahoma 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.Oklahoma Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Oklahoma is a court of appeal for non-criminal cases, one of the two highest judicial bodies in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and leads the judiciary of Oklahoma, the judicial branch of the government of Oklahoma.

case ''

Keating v. Edmondson ''Keating v. Edmondson'', 2001 OK 110, 37 P.3d 882 (2001), was an Oklahoma Supreme Court case that ruled that the Governor of Oklahoma could not alter the structure of his Cabinet without the approval of the Legislature. The case was primarily con ...

''.

Corporate career

Perry started the

Black Chronicle The ''Black Chronicle'' is an African-American weekly newspaper in the state of Oklahoma. Founded in April 1979 and based in Oklahoma City's Eastside, it is owned by Perry Publishing and Broadcasting and caters to Oklahoma City's black community. ...

in 1979, a statewide newspaper based out of

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, an ...

, Oklahoma that focuses on the African community in Oklahoma. At the same time, Perry founded and become the President of Perry Publishing and Broadcasting Company, which is a print media, cable television and radio broadcasting corporation. Perry Publishing owns radio stations

KVSP KVSP (103.5 FM) is a mainstream urban radio station serving Central Oklahoma, Licensed to Anadarko and owned by the locally based Perry Broadcasting. Its studios are located at Perry Plaza II in the Eastside district of Oklahoma City and its ...

and

KRMP KRMP (1140 AM) is an urban adult contemporary radio station in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The station is owned by The Perry Broadcasting Company. The station's studios are located at Perry Plaza II in the Eastside district of Northeast Oklahom ...

in Oklahoma City, and

KJMM KJMM (105.3 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Bixby, Oklahoma, and serving the Greater Tulsa radio market. It is owned by Perry Publishing and Broadcasting and it has an urban contemporary radio format. KJMM carries a nationall ...

and

KGTO KGTO (1050 AM) is a radio station licensed to serve Tulsa, Oklahoma. The station is owned by Perry Publishing and Broadcasting and licensed to KJMM, Inc. It airs an Urban Adult Contemporary music format. Its studios are located in the Copper O ...

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

Perry would later come to own the controlling interest in First Security Bank of Oklahoma City.

Keating Administration

Commerce Secretary

In 1999, following the resignation of

Howard Barnett Jr. Howard G. Barnett Jr. (born 1950 Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City) is an American businessman and politician from Oklahoma who is currently serving as the President of Oklahoma State University-Tulsa. Barnett previously served as the Oklahoma ...

Governor of Oklahoma The governor of Oklahoma is the head of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor serves as the head of the Oklahoma executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma. The governor is the ''ex officio ...

appointed Perry to serve as his third

, making Perry the first African American to ever serve in that position. Perry served as Secretary in an unconfirmed basis while his Governor Keating sent his nomination to the

Oklahoma 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.Dean Werries E. Dean Werries (1926–2012) was an American businessman from Oklahoma. Werries previously served as the Oklahoma Secretary of Commerce under Governor of Oklahoma Frank Keating from 1995 to 1997. Prior to his service as Secretary, Werries ser ...

Ron Rosenfeld Ronald Allan Rosenfeld (born 1939) is an American politician and housing expert. Rosenfeld has previously served in numerous U.S. federal and Oklahoma state government positions relating to housing. He served as chair of the Federal Housing Fi ...

and

(Keating's former Secretaries of Commerce) had been heard. However,

President pro tempore of the Oklahoma Senate The President ''pro tempore'' of the Oklahoma Senate is the second-highest-ranking official of the Oklahoma Senate and the highest-ranking state senator. The Oklahoma Constitution designates the Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma as the highest-rank ...

Stratton Taylor (at the request of State Senator

Angela Monson Angela Z. Monson (born July 31, 1955) is an American politician from Oklahoma who served in the Oklahoma State House of Representatives, representing District 99 from 1990–1993, as well as the Oklahoma Senate, representing District 48 from 199 ...

) transferred his nomination to the Senate Finance Committee, which Senator Monson chaired. Though 10 members of the 15 member committee favored Perry's appointment, Senator Monson blocked the nomination by never allowing it to be heard before the Finance Committee. Ultimately, the

Oklahoma 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.Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or again ...

African American. They claimed that the move was done at the request of the Legislative Black Caucus, all member of which were Democrats. Senator Monson, however, said that Perry's salary as Commerce Secretary would cost the State too much and be duplicative.

Economic Development Secretary

After Perry spent a year in political limbo, in May 2000 Governor Keating issued

executive order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of ...

2000–11 which abolished the position of Secretary of Commerce and established the position of Secretary of Economic Development and Special Affairs. Keating then nominated Perry to the new position, which Perry would serve in on a voluntary basis. On June 8, 2000, Senator Monson submitted a request for an official opinion to

Attorney General of Oklahoma The Attorney General of Oklahoma is the State Attorney General for the state of Oklahoma. The attorney general serves as the chief legal and law enforcement officer of the State of Oklahoma and head of the Office of the Oklahoma Attorney Genera ...

Drew Edmondson William Andrew Edmondson (born October 12, 1946), known as Drew Edmondson, is an American lawyer and politician from the state of Oklahoma. A member of the Democratic Party, Edmondson served as the 16th Attorney General of Oklahoma from 1995 t ...

concerning Keating's actions. Edmondson issued Attorney General Opinion 2000–54 on October 26, 2000, in which Edmondson found Keating's actions against the provisions of the

Executive Branch Reform Act of 1986 The Executive Branch Reform Act of 1986 (74 O.S. Sections 10.1–10.4) is an Oklahoma state law that requires the Governor of Oklahoma to organize the various 500 or more departments, agencies, boards, commissions and other entities of the state's ...

. Governor Keating then filed a petition on October 27, 2000, in Oklahoma County District Court to overturn Edmondson's opinion. After hearing oral arguments, the trial judge upheld the Attorney General's opinion. On December 29, 2000, Keating appealed a single issue – whether a Governor is empowered to reorganize the executive cabinet throughout the term of office. The appeal was sent to the

Oklahoma Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Oklahoma is a court of appeal for non-criminal cases, one of the two highest judicial bodies in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and leads the judiciary of Oklahoma, the judicial branch of the government of Oklahoma.

for consideration. In May 2001, Keating withdraw Perry's nomination for consideration as Economic Development Secretary and instead appointed Perry as his Special Adviser for Economic Development, which is a non-cabinet-level post.

Keating v. Edmondson

The Supreme Court decided the case of ''

'' on December 4, 2001. In a unanimous decision, the Court rejected the Governor's appeal and upheld Edmondson's opinion. Chief Justice

Rudolph Hargrave Rudolph Hargrave (February 15, 1925 – April 1, 2014) served as a justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court from 1978 until his retirement on December 31, 2010. Before being elevated to the highest court, he was a superior court and district judg ...

authored the majority opinion and was joined by Justices Watt, Hodges, Lavender, Opala, Kauger, Summers, and Boudreau. Justice Winchester wrote a concurring opinion to the majority. Noting that the legislative intent was clear and not ambiguous, the Court rejected the Governor's position and found that state law provided the Governor no power to alter Cabinet positions at will.

Personal life

In 2006, Perry was inducted into the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Perry was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2013.

External links

Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perry, Russell M. State cabinet secretaries of Oklahoma African-American state cabinet secretaries Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Oklahoma Republicans People from Oklahoma City