Michael Carnuccio departs OCPA to assume new leadership position
Published: October 22nd, 2015
OKLAHOMA CITY – The Board of Trustees of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA) announced Thursday (October 22) it reluctantly accepted the resignation of President Michael Carnuccio effective December 31, 2015.
Carnuccio, who served as OCPA’s president for six years, has been nominated to the organization’s Board of Trustees and will transition into that role beginning January 2016. This change will allow him to move into a leadership position with a soon-to-be-announced organization.
Dr. David Brown, an Oklahoma City physician who founded OCPA and serves as chairman, said in a prepared statement provided to CapitolBeatOK:
“While we are certainly saddened to learn Michael will be leaving his post as President of our organization, everyone affiliated with OCPA sincerely appreciates the dynamic leadership Michael has provided over the past six years. He set a course early during his tenure to reenergize and reassert OCPA as a formidable force in formulating and advancing tried-and-true conservative public policies and principles in Oklahoma.
“He has succeeded in building an organization with considerable influence. There is no doubt, OCPA is stronger today because of Michael’s leadership, abilities and adherence to conservatism. We wish him the best with his new opportunity and we know he will remain a positive and persuasive force for conservative policies in Oklahoma.”
Dr. Brown is a nationally-prominent conservative leader. Among other notable actions during his career, Brown was involved in the early years of the Heritage Foundation, and has for decades served on the organization’s national Board of Trustees.
He is the policy think tank’s chairman emeritus.
Carnuccio provided a statement to CapitolBeatOK as well, saying, “This was not an easy decision for me. OCPA is an incredible organization deeply passionate about making our state better and stronger by promoting conservative policies and principles. Serving as President the past six years has been a humbling and rewarding experience. I remain grateful to the OCPA Board for the opportunity they presented to me to lead this organization.”
In the news recently for announcing the 10 Commandments monument exiled from the state Capitol would have a temporary home at OCPA’s headquarters on N. Lincoln Blvd, Carnuccio praised his colleagues at the organization, the state’s leading free market “think tank.” His statement Thursday continued:
“The staff at OCPA is second to none. They are talented, hard-working and unwavering in their devotion to carrying out the mission. It was an honor to serve them as president of OCPA, and I am grateful to have the opportunity to serve them as a member of the Board. As I move on to my next adventure, I am confident OCPA will remain the steady stalwart of conservatism in Oklahoma. I am also excited about the future and look forward with high anticipation to announcing a new venture in the coming weeks.”
About the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs:
OCPA was founded in 1993 as a public policy research organization focused primarily on state-level issues. OCPA conducts the research and analysis of public issues in Oklahoma from a perspective of limited government, individual liberty and a free-market economy.
Disclosure: Patrick B. McGuigan, editor of The City Sentinel and founder of CapitolBeatOK.com, writes often for OCPA publications, including Perspective Magazine.