Oakley's role is primarily administrative, as the Commissioners' Court's responsibilities include budgeting, overseeing local law and order, levying property taxes, and road maintenance.
Following his Facebook comment after the Marconi shooting, another director of the cooperative made a formal complaint and a board sub-committee was appointed at the end of November 2016 to investigate and report back.
[2] Oakley has been active in community roles, serving with the Capital Area Council of Governments, the Texas Colorado Flood Plain Coalition,[4] and as President of his Property Owner's Association.
[5][7] The County Judge is the "chief legislator and executive"[8] and presides over meetings[6] but has no veto power,[9] and the court makes decisions by simply majority.
[13] In 2000, Bush appointed Oakley[3] to a Capital Area Council of Governments-hosted review committee[14] for Community Development Block Grants, a position he continued to hold in 2016.
[16] Perry appointed Oakley for the 79th legislative session to the rock crushers and quarries advisory committee[3] and then in 2009 to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) for an eight-year term.
[1] TCOLE's mission is "ensuring a Texas where people are served by highly trained and ethical law enforcement and corrections personnel through screening, developing, monitoring resources, and setting standards.
[4] He announced his candidacy on the same day that incumbent County Judge Donna Klaeger declared that she was not standing for re-election, praising her accomplishments and expressing the hope to "continue her work.
"[4] The primary was held on March 4, 2014, and his opponents were Linda D. Rogers, a former chair of the Burnet Republican Party,[28] and George Russell, Mayor of Marble Falls;[29] Oakley received 47.6% of the vote.
[7] As County Judge, he serves as a statutory member on certain boards including the election commission, and is responsible for civil defense and emergency management[6] for Burnet.
Burnet County Judge James Oakley resigned on January 2, 2025, following a public reprimand issued by the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct on December 11, 2024.
[46] By mid-2016, Oakley had won funding for preliminary works,[47] gained the support of the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO, where he serves on the transportation policy and executive boards[50]), seen the initiation of public consultations, and the benefits for reduced law enforcement and emergency medical services response times were being touted.
[54] The facility has had a checkered history, with escapes, claims of construction flaws, and adverse findings from the Texas Commission on Jail Standards.
[55][56][57] Coupled with other financial difficulties,[55] the adverse preliminary finding in the IRS investigation of the tax-free status of the bonds led LaSalle to terminate the contract.
[52] Burnet County was forced to take control of an overly large facility on which it had lost money and revenue in March 2014,[53] as a replacement for LaSalle could not be found.
Though it was helpful that the IRS decided not revoke the tax-exempt status of the bonds, the facility was still facing cash flow deficiencies into the future.
"[53] In a deal announced in March and concluded in July 2016, the County purchased the jail from the bond holders for $14 million (equivalent to 38 to 39 cents on the dollar), and are now marketing bed space to the U.S.
[61][63] The San Antonio Police Department posted McKane's mug shot to Facebook with an announcement of his arrest, and Oakley shared the photo and commented that it was "Time for a tree and a rope...",[64] a juxtaposition which clearly evoked the specter of lynching.
[26] Landaker, through PEC Truth Watch, branded Oakley as a racist[64] (a term also used by Juanita Jean[67]) and continues to advocate for his removal from the Board[26] and has added a call for him to resign from his position as County Judge.
"[76] Oakley has since speculated that moves to unseat him may be partisan, and stated that he has been surprised and overwhelmed by the many letters of support which he has received, and reiterated that he is not planning to resign his directorship.
Oakley explained that his comments weren't intended as a call for "instant vigilante justice,"[77] which was an interpretation of his words that did not occur to him because "due process is an assumption in my mind"; he also requested "humble forgiveness" for "a mistake on my part that I own.
[19] Oakley referred to his role with TCOLE to explain his strong instinct to protect people working in law enforcement (he repeated this his post was expressing his anger and frustration over Marconi's killing) but a former police officer responded to him directly, saying that he has encouraged violence and "put a target on [law enforcement officers'] backs" and "made their job more seriously dangerous.
"[19] A reporter for DailyTrib.com (formerly the local newspaper the River Cities Tribune) described the scene when Reneé Semien spoke while fighting back tears, with African-American PEC employees and others gathered around her and with audience members standing in support, saying: "Director Oakley felt that it was appropriate to call for the lynching of a black man accused of a crime.
"[79] The report will not be made public until included in materials for the PEC Directors for an upcoming board meeting,[79] and any removal involves a 30-day process and so cannot be finalised until January 2017.
[78] There has been speculation that a decision may not been reached for several months, and that the board may be concerned about Oakley's action being a reminder of controversies which resulted in criminal convictions.
[20] The committee is being lobbied by activists such as John Watson, who has declared to the board that: Should you fail to recommend the removal of Director Oakley for his inappropriate and unacceptable Facebook posting ... you will be, in effect, condoning his behaviour ... That is a terrible message to send ... And it would reflect poorly on the PEC as an organization.
According to the commission's findings, Oakley engaged in unsolicited physical contact and made inappropriate comments toward Justice of the Peace Lisa Whitehead.