The August 27 election will see the first round of votes for the City of Tulsa Municipal positions. All nine city councilor districts will be voted on, as well as the mayor race. There will be no vote on the City Auditor as only one person filed for the position, Nathan Pickard.
In the State Senate and House races there will be two runoff elections in Tulsa County that will be decided on.
Senate District 33, an open seat left by Nathan Dahm will see a runoff. Four candidates were running:
Christi Gillespie garnered 40 percent of the vote and Shelley Gwartney with 31 percent will be in the runoff in the August 27 election. The winner of that election will face Democrat Bob Willis in the November general election.
The other runoff election will be in House District 98 between Dean Davis and Gabe Wooley who each got 42 percent of the vote. J David Taylor who also ran received 15 percent. The winner of the August 27 runoff election will face Democrat Cathy Smythe in the November general election.
The County Commissioner District 2 race had both Democrat and Republican primaries that require a runoff election.
On the Republican side Lonnie Sims came up with 40 percent and will be in a runoff election with Melissa Meyers who came in with 31 percent of the vote.
Democrats Sarah Elizabeth Gray will face Maria Veliz Barnes in the Democrat primary runoff. Gray brought in 38 percent, while Barnes had 33 percent.
In total there are 40 candidates in all the races. This week we will begin with the Tulsa City Councilors in District 1 and continue to review races until the election.
In District 1 there are two Democrats vying for the position of Tulsa City Councilor. The incumbent is Vanessa Hall-Harper, 52. She is competing against Dr. Angel K. Chambers, 33, a newcomer to political races.
Hall-Harper was elected to District 1 in 2016. She was on the council when they voted for closing of many retail stores during the pandemic and also the mask mandates.
She is a native Tulsan and graduated from Edison HighSchool. She has earned several degrees: a BA in Political Science/Pre Law, a Master of Science in Management and has a certificate in paralegal studies.
She is married to Lt. Marcus Harper of the Tulsa Police Department and they have one daughter. She has worked for Tulsa County and the Tulsa County Health Department.
According to her website, vote4vanessad1.com, Harper -Hill has five priorities to work on if elected to make Tulsa a more healthy community to work and live in.
“A healthy community has Adequate and Affordable Housing that enables good physical and mental health which depends on homes being safe and free from physical hazards and harmful exposures, thus providing families a sense of privacy, security, stability and control; and promotes healthy neighborhoods by providing safe places for children to play and for adults to exercise that are free from crime, violence and pollution.”
“A healthy community is Food Secure when there are adequate grocery stores and farmers markets from which residents can purchase healthy foods over fast food outlets.”
“A healthy community supports Public Safety by ensuring that there are an adequate number of police and fire officers to serve assigned neighborhoods; creating neighborhood watch programs to lower the risk of crime and improve street safety; working with police to ensure that police are responsive to local calls and maintain a presence in problem areas; and combating physical blight and galvanize the community to monitor public spaces and intervene when those spaces are threatened and help neighbors in need. “
“A healthy community has adequate Public Transportation that provides access to jobs and educational opportunities; medical treatments and doctor’s appointments; access to healthy food outlets and places for play and being physically active. “ and
“A healthy community supports Economic Development because communities with adequate and affordable housing, access to healthy food, an adequate number of police and fire officers and adequate public transportation are attractive to potential businesses. Healthy communities are more productive, have fewer health care costs, are more active and encourage spending. “
Chambers has a BA from Tulsa Langton and a doctorate in Business Adminstration from Larry Love University. She is a business consultant and partnered with Dr. Francetta L. Mays to buy a radio station WFPG, the Greenwood Beat. This year she branched out into retail with an antique and gift shop, Buying Time on Greenwood, featuring products made and created on Black Wall Street.
On her website, chambersfordistrict1.com, she says, “For years, I have been waiting for change. I have come to the realization that many have, it’s time to change the person responsible for representing the District…I feel that our current representative is not effectively representing our interests or bringing about the changes we desire, and that is why I am taking action. “
Besides working on the Council she thinks that part of her job will be to inform the district, be engaged and proactive. Although she does not go into detail about her priorities, the basic concerns she has are Infrastructure and Economic Growth, Business Development and Community Safety and Policing.