Charles Lamb
When Charles Lamb was first elected to the Edmond City Council in 1993 he brought with him a wealth of experience in housing and urban development issues and quickly developed an abiding interest in public power systems. A native of Perry, he graduated in 1967 from Wentworth Military Academy in Lexington, MO, and in 1970 from the University of Central Oklahoma. He received his Master’s in Urban Affairs at UCO in 1980, graduating Summa Cum Laude.
He “earned his stripes” in Edmond local government with six years of on the city’s Board of Adjustment and Appeals, Industrial Development Authority, or Planning Commission. Charles was chairman of Edmond’s initial Oklahoma Certified Cities Project in 1991 and served as co-chair for the 1993 and 1995 re-certification projects. He chaired the Tomorrow’s Edmond Steering and Implementation Committees from 1996 until 1998. Defeated in his 1997 bid for re-election, he regained his seat in 2001 and was unopposed in 2005. Charles has served as Mayor Pro Tem since 2003.
During his first term on the City, Council Charles was elected to the Board of Directors of the Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority and has served as Assistant Treasurer, Secretary, and, since October 2001, as Chair of the Board. At OMPA he is credited with instituting numerous board governance improvements and being the person who conceived of the “Competitive Utility Program” which encourages members to undertake an extensive self-evaluation to assess their operations as efficient and effective utility in their community. He served between 1996 and 1999 on the American Public Power Association Policy Boards Advisory Council.
The UCO Alumni Association has recognized him as a Distinguished Former Student Honoree for Community Service. Other honors for his public service include Edmond’s 1999 Citizen of the Year, the Edmond Historical Society Preservation Award for Community Service, the Arts Alive Award for Continuous Service to the Arts and as the first elected official to receive the Ray Duffy Personal Service Award from the Municipal Electric Systems of Oklahoma.