Delmas Ford, dedicated public servant
Delmas Ford got along with members of both sides of the political aisle, and his resume proved it.
Ford, who died July 6 at age 74, worked in some capacity for five administrations — those of Govs. George Nigh, Henry Bellmon, David Walters, Frank Keating and Brad Henry.
During his 37 years in state government, Ford, a Democrat, served as director of the Central Purchasing Division, head of the Office of Public Affairs, Cabinet secretary of transportation for Walters, administrator of the Special Indemnity Fund, chief of staff for former Commerce Secretary Kathy Taylor and chief of staff of the Department of Central Services.
Our sense is that those sorts of public servants are becoming more and more rare — or perhaps those who do the hiring are simply becoming more partisan. Either way, the state loses if good state workers like Ford are passed over or shown the door simply because of party affiliation.
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Well said. I wonder if under the current political leadership of the state if a man like Delmas was young and just starting out if he would even be considered for a political appointment under a republican governor and legislature. It would be interesting to know how many appointments have been given to democrats since Gov Fallin took office, and I’m not necessarily blaming Gov. Fallin. I think her own party would make life rough on her if she did not act in a purely partisan manner in naming appointments. I have a friend who is a district attorney. Frank Keating told him when the vacancy came up that he could either change parties or he and about 25 people in the district attorney’s office would all be fired, and apparently it was legal for Keating to do so.