Tulsa Beacon

Correction:

A July 28 story in the Tulsa Beacon on District 4 candidate Laura Bellis listed her as both a Republican and a Democrat. She is a registered Democrat.

Citizens within Tulsa city limits will find a slate of candidates for the nine city districts plus three proposed changes to the City Charter on their August 23 ballot.

A series of federal, state and county races will be determined in several runoff elections also on August 23.

The races are non-partisan but the party registration for each candidate is a public record and they are listed. August elections typically have low voter turnout. Each ballot has only one council race, depending on where the voter lives within city limits.

If no single candidate in the council races fails to get more than 50% of the vote, the top two vote-getters advance to a general election on November 8.

Here is information on that could be obtained from candidates.

District 1

Councilor Vanessa Hall-Harper, a Democrat, has an undergraduate degree in political science and a master’s degree management. She is the program manager for the Tulsa Health Department’s Healthy Living Program and she is an adjunct professor in political science at Tulsa Community College.
Her husband is Sgt. Marcus Harper of the Tulsa Police Department. They attend Paradise Baptist Church.
David Harris, a Democrat, is a military veteran and a businessman in North Tulsa. He is the president of 100 Black Men of Tulsa. He attended OU. He is very involved in his church.
Francetta L. Mays, a Democrat, is the owner of NyoDrms Broadcasting, Publications and Events. She studied at Rose State College.

District 2

Councilor Jeannie Cue, a 10-year incumbent Republican, has a nursing degree from TCC but she retired from Hillcrest Hospital and American Airlines. She was the emergency charge nurse at Hillcrest and she traveled the globe for American Airlines. She is a member of Trinity Baptist Church. She is involved in several organizations, primarily in West Tulsa.
Aaron Bisogno, a Republican, said he played football under the late Coach Alan Trimble at Jenks and believes in the power of prayer. This is his third time to seek this seat. He pointed out that the Tulsa City Council unanimously passed a resolution regarding COVID 19 mitigations which he strongly opposes; that is one of the reasons he is running.

District 3

Libertarian Daniel Joseph Groves is running because he believes District is dilapidated because of a lack of attention from city officials.
Incumbent Councilor Crista Patrick is a Democrat. She is a licensed massage therapist and studied mixed-media at TU. She works as a costume designed at TU.

District 4

Republican Michael Feamster is the only Republican in this race. He is regional president of a commercial construction corporation. He has a college degree in Spanish and construction management. He has been endorsed by Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell.
Democrat Laura Bellis describes herself as “an educator, non-profit leader and community advocate.” Her Facebook page states that, “In Tulsa, families of color are less likely than white families to have access to high-paying jobs and livable incomes.” She served four years on Tulsa’s Human Rights Commission.
Michael Birkes, an Independent, is an architect with a BA from OSU and a master’s degree from TU. He is a City of Tulsa planner and president of Eastern Oklahoma American Institute of Architects. He is on the Tulsa Preservation Commission and the Tulsa Arts Commission. He is a member of the Rotary Club and president of the Village at Central Park Neighborhood Association.
Democrat Weydan Flax is a senior information technology project manager with TEKsystems and a former “talent analyst” at Tulsa Public Schools. He has a master’s degree from Troy University and an undergraduate degree from Texas A&M.
Democrat Matthew Fransein is development director of Tulsa Metropolitan Ministry and has worked for Reading Partners, Tulsa; Save the Children, West Africa Health Region; USAID/OTI Afghanistan; and as a legislative aid. He volunteered for the Peace Corps, United Way and others.
Democrat Bobby Dean Orcutt owns Mercury Lounge and is co-owner at SSDD Print. Co.

District 5

Ty Walker, the only Republican in the race, is running for this seat for the second time. Last time, he missed the runoff by 11 votes. He is a conservative and his family owns Wanda J’s Next Generation restaurant in the Greenwood District.
Incumbent City Councilor Mykey Arthrel-Knezek, an Independent, wrote on his campaign website, “We stand in solidarity with the LGBTQIA and BIPOC members of our community.” He has worked as a hotline worker at a crisis clinic, an advocate at a domestic violence center and an outreach specialist at the Austin (Texas) Health Department. He started a commercial screening business and a coffee roasting business. He is an education specialist for Urban Strategies Inc. He also wrote that “The Tulsa police force needs reform.”
Latasha Jim, an Independent, works at Spiritual Healing.
Democrat Adil Khan is running for District 5.
Grant Miller, an Independent, is a combat veteran who deployed to Baghdad in 2007 in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was in law enforcement before entering a career in insurance. He has an undergraduate degree in business management and will soon graduate from the Tulsa University School of Law.

District 6

Christian Bengel, a conservative Christian, is the only Republican in the race. Bengel was in the U.S. Army from 1985 to 1994. From 1999-2016, he was a Tulsa County Reserve Sheriff’s Deputy. He worked for the City of Tulsa from 1994-2000 for the radio services division. He now works for technology company.
Incumbent City Councilor Connie Dodson, a Democrat, owns a small business. She previously worked for the City of Tulsa at Tulsa Transit. She worked on the bond development committee for Tulsa Public Schools and is a member of the Oklahoma Education Association and Parent and Teacher Association. She attends Church on the Move and works with several civic groups.
Democrat Lewana Harris is a human relations specialist with a global consulting firm. She previously worked at an oil/gas company and she was a probation and parole officer for Tulsa County District Community Corrections. She was a pretrial release officer for Fulton County Superior Court in Atlanta. She is a public speaker and a group facilitator. She is a 2022 graduate of the African American Leadership Academy.

District 7

Republican Jerry Griffin is a member of the Tulsa Public School Board. A veteran of the U.S. Marines, he was a special agent in the U.S. Treasury Dept. and a former U.S. Peace Corps volunteer. He was a Tulsa Police Department patrol officer, a Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office major, and a CASA volunteer.
Republican Ken Reddick was endorsed by the Tulsa County GOP City Council Vetting Committee. He is active in his homeowner’s association He wants to streamline the city’s permit process to promote business.
City Councilor Lori Decter Wright, a Democrat, has had 25 years of experience as a small business owner and non-profit executive. She previously was the director of education and membership for Sweet Adelines International. She and her husband formerly were professional opera singers based in Silicon Valley. The Wrights are members of College Hill Presbyterian Church.

District 8

Republican Scott Houston is a conservative businessman who is supported by former city councilor Bill Christiansen.
Incumbent Councilor Phil Lakin, Jr., a Republican, has been the CEO of the Tulsa Community Foundation since 1999. Lakin has been board chairman or president of Tulsa Community College Foundation, the Rotary Club of Tulsa, and the Folds of Honor Foundation and as a deacon at Southern Hills Baptist Church.
As a councilor, Lakin promoted Tulsa’s last three sales tax increases which are raising $12 billion in street improvements.

District 9

Incumbent City Councilor Jayme Fowler, a Republican, says he is the only current businessman on the council. After having worked on Wall Street for 45 years, he returned to Tulsa 12 years ago.
Fowler is Managing Partner at Oak Creek Private Wealth and brings over three decades of marketing, consulting and new business development to Oak Creek.
Democrat Lee Ann Crosby is director of social services at Just A Push Foundation. She is a mental health therapist at Therapeutic Life Choices. She has a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling and a master’s in Human Relations, both from OU.
Democrat Chad Hotvedt is running for District 9.

Three proposed amendment to the Tulsa City Charter will be on the August 23 ballot.

Proposed Charter Amendment No. 1

Mayor’s Salary

This amendment is a housekeeping measure. In 2001, the Mayor’s salary was set by ordinance at $105,000, but our Charter has language dating back to 1990 that still refers to the first Mayor’s annual salary of $70,000. This amendment removes this outdated and conflicting reference to the first Mayor’s salary being $70,000. If this amendment is approved, it will not change the Mayor’s salary.

Proposed Charter Amendment No. 2

Residency Requirement for Candidates, 365 Days

Currently our Charter provides that the Mayor and City Auditor must be Tulsa residents at the time they announce that they are running for office, but it does not require residency for any specific length of time. A candidate for City Council must be a resident in the district in which they are running for at least 90 days. This amendment would add a 365-day City of Tulsa residency requirement to run for Mayor or City Auditor and increase a Council candidates Council district residency requirement from 90 days to 365 days. This amendment also clarifies that, should a candidate’s Council district be changed when district boundaries are adjusted every 10 years due to a population shift, a candidate can still run for City Council in their new Council district.

Proposed Charter Amendment No. 3

City Auditor 4-Year Term

The City Auditor is elected city-wide and currently serves a 2-year term of office, the same as City Councilors. The Mayor is the only other office holder elected city-wide and serves a 4-year term. This Charter amendment would change the City Auditor’s term in office to 4 years beginning in December 2026 and would stagger the Auditor’s term so that the Mayor’s and Auditor’s elections and terms are offset by 2 years

August 23 City Ballot (I-Incumbent)