LAWTON, OKLA. — In a special meeting at City Hall on 10/22/2025, the Lawton City Council voted out of executive session to name former Oklahoma Lieutenant Governor Jari Askins as Interim City Attorney.
Askins brings a deep résumé in Oklahoma public service. She served as the state’s 15th lieutenant governor from 2007–2011 and previously spent 12 years in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, including time as Democratic floor leader. She later was selected by the Oklahoma Supreme Court in 2015 to lead the Administrative Office of the Courts, where she oversaw operations, budgeting, and personnel across the state court system; she retired from that post in mid-2024. In July 2024, Askins also stepped in as interim president of Cameron University in Lawton. A Duncan native, she holds both a B.A. and J.D. from the University of Oklahoma.
City officials did not immediately release the expected length of Askins’ interim appointment or the timeline for a permanent search.