OKLAHOMA CITY — A Republican state representative resigned from office last week, after issues arose about the representative’s plea agreement for a DUI arrest.
Rep. Ray Martinez (R-Edmond) released a statement last Friday, saying he was resigning his position as House District 39 representative effective Sept. 1.
“While I have followed the guidance of my legal counsel and a letter from the Office of the Attorney General, there are differing opinions about whether I should remain in office,” Martinez wrote. “My intention has been to resign at the appropriate time to allow a representative to be seated for next year’s legislative session. With such legal uncertainty, I believe now is that time, so that my neighbors can be represented without distraction. I am therefore resigning my position of state representative for House District 39 effective Sept. 1, 2023.”
Martinez, who serves as vice chairman of the House Appropriations and Budget Committee, has been involved in an ongoing dispute after he was arrested for driving under the influence last fall.
Records show that in October, a 911 caller reported a man was intoxicated at The Patriarch, an Edmond bar, and had fallen into a wall while trying to leave. Police responded to the incident and found Martinez in his vehicle outside of the pub.
Martinez attempted to avoid arrest by telling the officers he was a state legislator and that legislators could not be arrested because the legislature was in special session.
He was placed under arrest and later charged by then-Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater with felony DUI, because Martinez’s arrest marked the second driving under the influence offense within 10 years.
On Aug. 2, Oklahoma County DA Vicki Behenna struck a deferred sentence agreement with Martinez. The deal required Martinez to pay $1000 in court costs, have an alcohol interlock device installed on his vehicle for six months and placed him on unsupervised probation for one year.
Martinez said he took full responsibility for his actions.
“I apologize to my family, friends, and constituents who have supported me for the last seven years serving House District 39. I have engaged in court-ordered obligations prior to my plea and faced my day in court without a conviction. I’m taking accountability for my actions, and making efforts to move forward,” he said in his media statement. “It has been an honor to serve alongside those who work tirelessly to pass beneficial legislation at the State Capitol, and I hope they will continue standing up against corruption, providing the leadership and vision Oklahomans deserve.”
Martinez’s resignation follows a legal battle between House Speaker Charles McCall, Governor Kevin Stitt and Attorney General Gentner Drummond.
Last week the governor issued a writ of election, declaring a vacancy in Martinez’s district. Stitt’s attorney told the media outlet NonDoc that the governor took the action because Martinez entered a plea of guilty to a felony offense.
However, Brad Clark, deputy counsel for Drummond’s office, sent a letter to McCall saying that in his opinion, Martinez could continue to hold office.
“A literal application of Title 51, Section 24.1 [Subsections A, E, F] leads to the imposition of a harsher penalty upon one who has not had pronouncement of guilt for the alleged offense than the sanction to another who has had such a pronouncement,” Clark said. “Not only is that an absurd result that could not have been intended, but it is also inconsistent with the principles of our criminal justice system.”
Martinez has held office since 2016. He was reelected without opposition in 2022.