Oklahoma DHS Commission votes to offer job

Lake has not yet accepted the job offer; he told commissioners he would talk to his wife and get back to them. The commission offered him a salary of $185,000 a year, plus a $5,000 signing bonus if he stays on the job for at least one year.

Commissioners announced last month they had narrowed their list of director candidates to Lake after a lengthy search.

Lake was expected to talk with the governor before going through a final closed-session interview with DHS commissioners.

The governor's approval of Lake has been deemed critical by DHS commissioners because Oklahomans will vote in November on a proposal to abolish the nine-member DHS Commission and replace it with a group of four advisory panels, with the director to be appointed by the governor.

Commission Chairman Wes Lane had said the commission would like to appoint someone the governor will want to retain if the state question is approved. He said continuity is critical to the agency as it goes through a series of reforms as part of a court-approved settlement of a Tulsa class-action lawsuit that helped focus public attention on the deaths and abuse of children in state custody.