By Conrad Dudderar
Senior Staff Writer
The Yukon City Council has tapped a longtime El Reno lawyer to become Yukon’s next city attorney.
Council members, at their Tuesday night meeting, were due to review and take “possible action” on an attorney-client agreement with Rinehart, Rinehart & Rinehart, P.C. “for employment as city attorney” effective Jan. 1, 2021.
The Rinehart family has had a private law practice in El Reno since 1923.
Roger Rinehart, 59, has served as El Reno’s city attorney since 2001. Son of Dean Rinehart, he is an Oklahoma Bar Association bar examiner and past president of the Canadian County Bar Association.
The El Reno native was among four applicants seeking to become Yukon’s new city attorney, a position now filled by retired Canadian County District Judge Gary Miller.
“Roger has demonstrated his abilities, his knowledge and his work ethic,” said Miller, who has been Yukon city attorney since January 2017.
“He is one of several attorneys in Canadian County that were well qualified, and I think he will be an asset to the City of Yukon.”
Miller has resigned as Yukon city attorney effective Dec. 31 citing family health reasons.
Miller sees nothing wrong with Rinehart serving as city attorney for Yukon and El Reno simultaneously.
“There’s very, very few opportunities for conflict to arise between the City of Yukon and the City of El Reno,” he said. “And if that (case) occurs, then he’ll have to recuse from both cities. But the odds are very, very small that will ever happen.”
(Check http://www.yukonprogress.com for updates and the Dec. 19th edition of The Yukon Progress for a full story)
