The April 1, 2025 election will have a variety of types of elections, mostly voting will be in specific areas, none of them in all of Tulsa County. Many people will have no election and others will have several.  There will be two special election primaries for the Oklahoma House in Districts 71 (Tulsa) and 74 (Owasso), two school board elections – TPS District 3 and Tulsa Tech, and a few municipal elections in Glenpool and Jenks.

Last week’s edition contained a synopsis of the two school board elections and the special election for OK House District 71.

In OK House District 74 there will only be a Republican primary as there was only one Democrat to file, Amy Hossain, 49.  She will meet the Republican candidate in the general election on June 10 if there is a runoff on May 13 for the Republican candidates.  If there is no runoff the general election will be held on May 13.

There were five Republicans to file in this race to replace Rep. Mark Vancuren who resigned to take the job of Deputy County Commissioner with District 2 County Commissioner Lonnie Sims.

Vancuren’s wife Sheila (57) filed, as well as Maggie Stearman (26), Brad Peixotto (52), Johnathon Shepherd (47) and John Wayne Norwood (Kevin) (57).

Sheila Vancuren is longtime resident of Owasso, a mother of three grown children, an educator and coach, and a realtor.  She graduated from Bishop Kelley High School, has a bachelor’s in Biology from OSU and a master’s in counseling from East Central University.

Vancuren says “I’m running to defend our values, protect our families, and ensure a brighter future for Oklahoma. Together, we can strengthen our schools, promote healthier lives, and fight for the freedoms that make our state great.”

She says that her main emphasis is on 1. restoring excellence in education through smaller class sizes, quality teachers, and complete educational opportunities including band, sport and classroom excellence. 2. Protecting Oklahoma families by stopping illegal immigration, stopping gender transition of minors, and preserving fairness in women’s sports. 3. Improving Infrastructure by investing in roads and bridges for safer, stronger communities. 4. Promoting healthier lives by eliminating harmful additives and vaccine mandates to improve health, and  5. Defending life and liberty by supporting Pro-life issues, and Second Amendment rights.  Vancuren also says she stands with President Trump.

Peixotto is a perennial candidate, running for several different positions over the years. He has worked in the Oil and Natural Gas, Telecommunications, Healthcare, Security, Construction, Retail, and Medical Marijuana industries and owns a medical marijuana dispensary owner. He is also the  author of “The Cannabiz Owner’s Bible.”

He is a veteran and a strong supporter of Second Amendment Rights.

Norwood is a pastor and has a master’s from ORU in applied theology as well as a doctorate from Portland Seminary.  He has worked in Owasso for the past 30 years  and has been involved in the community through various service organizations as well.

If elected he intends to “Put local families and strong neighborhoods first, advance opportunities for small business owners and working families, fight to cut taxes and bureaucracy, demand government accountability for wasteful spending and protect your Constitutional freedoms and foster opportunity.

Stearman is a former teacher and girls’ coach.  She and her husband have been foster parents to 12 children.  She is a mother of two.

She has stated that “She will not accept lobbyist contributions or gifts, ensuring she remains accountable only to the voters—not the money crowd.”

“Maggie’s priorities for House District 74 include safeguarding Oklahoma’s world-class election system, which is currently under attack, defending girls’ sports, and protecting children’s innocence from woke ideologies. She also believes it’s time to free the turnpikes and focus on reducing government overreach. With the courage of a fighter and the heart of a mom”

Shepherd is a Marine veteran and a non-profit founder.  The non-profit he founded is Eagle OPS, which helps veterans transition into civilian life.

If elected he hopes to

Support Veterans by:

• Expanding access to healthcare and mental health services.
• Increasing support for Veteran Service Organizations (VSOs).
• Tackling veteran homelessness and suicide prevention. Strengthen families by:
• Promoting policies that support families and uphold traditional values.
• Investing in education and opportunities for Oklahoma’s youth.
• Protecting parental rights and ensure a strong future for children.

Grow the economy by:

• Reducing unnecessary regulations on small businesses.
• Fostering job creation and workforce development.
• Supporting infrastructure improvements to strengthen local industries, and

Build safer communities by:

• Advocating for law enforcement and first reponders.
• Support initiatives to reduce crime and enhance public safety.
• Strengthen community programs to build connections and trust.

The Ward 2 Glenpool city council race has two opponents.  Incumbent Christopher Anthony Brobst and challenger Kim Hanson-Mercier.

The Incumbent Brobst graduated from Union High School and went to TCC and earned three associate degrees, Computer Science, Math and Engineering.  He then went to OSU and earned a degree in Computer Science and later earned a master’s in Business Administration.

He now owns a fundraising business.

Brobst has been on the Glenpool council for four years and gives a long list of the Council’s accomplishments over that period of time on his website, chrisbrobst.com.  He also lists 3 endorsements by Mark Lawson (Ok House majority leader, Tulsa County Commissioner Lonnie Sims, and former HD 24 Rep. Logan Phillips – all Republicans.

Hanson-Mercier has a facebook page for her campaign: Kim Hanson-Mercier for Glenpool City Council. She was appointed to be a member of the Glenpool Board of Adjustment,  and the Planning Commission.  She volunteers with several organizations in Glenpool:  the Chamber of Commerce, Glenpool schools and the senior center.

She has six top priorities to work on if elected: Economic Development, Infrastructure improvement, Recreational opportunities, Social Media presence and Smart Growth.

Smart growth is urban planning to create sustainable, efficient and livable communities focusing on more compact communities.

In the Jenks Ward 6 City Council election the two people who filed are Mayor Cory Box and Catherine Lenhart in this non-partisan race.

These two candidates were in an adversarial relationship before the race.  They clashed because of a Youth baseball competition park being built.  Box says that Lenhart’s whole campaign is full of baseless accusations and Lenhart says the city is not being transparent.

Box has been on the Council for eight years, four of them as Mayor.  His website coryboxforjenks.com lists accomplishment of revitalizing Downtown Jenks, improving streets and infrastructure and better services and public safety.  He has a long list of endorsements from state and local leaders.

He is retired from the U.S. Air Force. He serves on the board of the Demand Project, a local non-profit that helps survivors of human trafficking readjust to normal life.  He also volunteers in many community organizations in Jenks.

He wants to “Keep Jenks moving forward.”

Catherine Lenhart is campaigning on “Recognize Jenks in the Future.” She wants to be able to recognize Jenks as Jenks as the town grows.

Four ways to help with that are:

• Recommend approval for a city councilor to serve as a key contact liaison with a city department contact on topical issues, therefore enabling a more detailed range of discussion
• Urge the city planner and city engineer to provide current data on transportation master plans and any new traffic related studies
• Utilize my retail and non-profit background to create a committee with the ability to study and plan for future trends, and
• Ensure collaboration with Jenks Public Schools – especially on new housing, traffic patterns, and TIF Districts in order to avoid overcrowding and financial constraints.

If elected on her website she says she will: Continue empowering residents by sharing civic knowledge and helping pull the information together so that citizens see the various factors involved, not just compartmental information, advocate tirelessly to maintain the small town character of Jenks, uphold the integrity of the Open Meetings & Open Records Act, search for the truth in financial matters, request audits for Tax Increment Financing TIF economic incentives so that citizens can feel confident that this program fulfills its purpose,  focus on support for Jenks Public Works as well as Public Safety, and strive to ensure that Jenks remains true to its roots with support for the Jenks America Museum & Historical Society.