Running as a Republican, he was elected mayor in 2002, but he was unsuccessful in his bid for re-election on April 5, 2006 when he lost to his Democratic opponent, former Oklahoma Secretary of Commerce and Tourism, Kathy Taylor.
[7] Despite the economic downturn, LaFortune was able to put together a county-wide coalition of elected officials, business leaders and everyday citizens to prepare a long overdue capital improvements plan.
The result of this unprecedented effort was “Vision 2025”, a four-part $885 million ballot initiative which was passed overwhelmingly by Tulsa County voters in September 2003.
Since its completion in 2008, the BOK Center has consistently ranked in the nation's top arenas for tickets sales, hosting the biggest names in the entertainment world.
[8] In addition to being showered with numerous honors, the arena was recognized as the top venue in the country by the International Entertainment Buyers Association in October 2016.
[12] Bill LaFortune served as a licensed legal intern for the Tulsa County District Attorney's Office in the spring of 1983 during his third year of law school.
[13] Immediately after his graduation from the University of Tulsa College of Law, LaFortune was hired as a contracts administrator for Telex Computer Products, Inc.
[13] After receiving the necessary approval from the Oklahoma Supreme Court, LaFortune was assigned to the newly created Multi-County Grand Jury Division, where he worked until being appointed as an Assistant District Attorney in late 1988.
[16] Also, during his tenure as Tulsa County District Attorney, LaFortune created the first “Crimes Against Children” Division in office to focus the fight against child abuse in all forms.
He also created an “Elder Abuse Task Force” to consolidate and coordinate agencies and resources to better focus, prevent and prosecute crimes against our senior citizens.
[17] In June 1998, LaFortune was offered, and accepted, a partnership at the prestigious Tulsa law firm of Norman Wohlgemuth Chandler and Dowdell.
After leaving the Mayor's Office in 2006, LaFortune was asked to serve in an “Of Counsel” position with the prestigious Tulsa law firm of Moyers, Martin, Santee & Imel.
In 2010, LaFortune established a successful solo law practice, again specializing in land use planning and zoning as well as all varieties of civil litigation.
[18] Scott Allen Bolden was convicted of first-degree murder and child abuse by injury in the death of a 19-month-old toddler, the little daughter of his girlfriend at the time.
[22] Judge LaFortune also presided over the jury trial of John Mark Jennings, convicted of 4 counts of sexual abuse of a child family member over the course of 3 years.
[23] Judge LaFortune presided over the jury trial of Timothy Shawn Cato, convicted of 11 counts of child sexual abuse committed against 5 boys he met through church and while doing volunteer work for a local Department of Human Services Shelter.
[24] Judge LaFortune further stated at sentencing that “There appears to be a pattern of behavior” that “was very telling to the court” that Cato repeatedly put himself in a position to work in areas “where the most vulnerable young boys were found”.
[26] Judge LaFortune accepted the plea of Candace Marie Stanley, who pleaded guilty to a child-neglect charge alleging she had exposed her newborn to Xanax, marijuana, methamphetamine, and/or heroin.
[29] Judge LaFortune, in sentencing Crawford, who had a criminal record dating to 1983, stated that he had brought Hyden into his life as his “puppet” in a “horrendous ride” of drug abuse.
[30] He also noted that the 5-year-old, who has cerebral palsy, was “singled out due to her special needs” based in part on evidence that all the other children in the home were healthy and happy.
[32] Judge LaFortune presided over the jury trial of former Tulsa County deputy Gerald Nuckolls, who was charged with sex crimes allegedly committed while on duty.
She entered a blind guilty plea to 2 counts of first degree manslaughter, driving under the influence, causing great bodily harm and other related charges.
Mitchell was charged with first hitting a motorcycle with 2 occupants, injuring both, fleeing that scene at 75 mph and then crashing into the vehicle of a 22-year-old woman, killing her.
[42] Judge LaFortune presided over the jury trials of David Ruble and Travis Lozada, who were convicted of felony murder first-degree in the random slaying of a 14-year-old girl who was innocently traveling home with her family along the Gilcrease Expressway after a day of recreation at Keystone Lake.
A young girl was shot basically at random in a botched, poorly planned robbery.” [43] LaFortune was affirmed on appeal in Ruble's case.
[46] Judge LaFortune presided over the trial of Dezmen “Dash” Smith, who was charged along with Chadrick Lamont “Fat Cat” Colbert in a gang-related shooting that killed an innocent barber while he was cutting hair and injured 3 customers, including a child.
A jury convicted Knapper of a gang-related daytime shooting and killing of a 16-year-old girl, who was an innocent bystander and the unintended target in what a prosecutor called a “gangland assassination”.
Judge LaFortune presided over the jury trial of Ronnie Dean Haskins, who was convicted of fatally stabbing a man in his home in 2013.
[56] In another case with allegations relating to the Universal Aryan Brotherhood, Judge LaFortune presided over the jury trial of Jestin Tafolla, who was found guilty of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, brass knuckles, of a black man during a road rage incident in East Tulsa in 2016.
[b] Using his own observations and reports from other professionals in the field, he emphasized that such traumas often do not just go away on their own with the passage of time, but constitute a real problem, just like many other traumatic experiences.