13 candidates vie for 4 council seats
Thirteen candidates will compete for seats in four City Council districts on November 6.
No sitting councilors will be on the ballot.
Districts 3, 4 and 5 have two candidates following the August 28 election but District 7 has seven candidates in a winner-take-all vote due to the resignation of Councilor Anna America.
District 3
In District 3, Democrat Crista Patrick owns a small business, Massage by Crista. She is a professor and costume shop manager for The University of Tulsa. She has an undergraduate degree in arts and a master’s degree in fine arts from TU. She is a member of the Dawson Neighborhood Association and mentors young actors.
She thinks medical marijuana should be controlled like a pharmacy rather than by zoning.
Crista Patrick is the daughter of former Council David Patrick, who passed away recently.
On his Facebook page, Justin Rolph wrote, “Planned Parenthood should receive no government money and I do not support the sale of human embryos or abortions. Their focus should be on education, health and eradicating the need for abortions.”
Rolph urged “proactive community involvement” in public schools with a result that graduates go to college or into the work force.
He promised quarterly town hall meetings for all neighborhoods in his district.
“Police are a necessary part to keep us from a lawless society,” Rolph wrote. “They need to be the example on the roadways, when they interact with people on calls, and when you talk to them over the phone.”
His website states his conversion to faith in Jesus Christ. Rolph is an “unlimited electrical journeyman” and he has helped in a number of major projects in Tulsa.
District 4
Daniel Regan, a business owner, is registered as an Independent. He promotes public education, public transportation, diversity and voter participation. He has an undergraduate degree in business administration from Oklahoma State University.
Regan has been on the boards of FabLab Tulsa, TARC, TYPros, Tulsa Regional Chamber, MOSAIC, Impact Tulsa, Tulsa Community Foundation, Downtown Coordinating Council, Tulsa’s Great Raft Race, Foundation for Tulsa Schools and more.
Regan would like to see a change in the zoning ordinances to allow for more business signage. He wants the Oklahoma Legislature to change state law to allow cities to raise property taxes for operations.
Kara Joy McKee is a Democrat. She has managed the Oklahoma Food Cooperative and led nonprofits like Kendally Whittier, Inc.
For three years, she was on the board of the Norman Music Festival and as vice president of Zanzibar! Records. For the past four years, she was outreach and advocacy coordinator for Oklahoma Policy Institute – a liberal think tank in Tulsa.
She and her husband are members of both B’Nai Emunah Synagogue and All Souls Unitarian Church.
According to her website, she wants more public education funding and to support immigration to Tulsa. She wants to make amends for the “gaping unhealed wounds” left by Tulsa’s racial history.
District 5
Cass Fahler is a Republican. He is a branch manager at Movement Mortgage. He has been endorsed by City Councilor Karen Gilbert, who did not seek re-election to the Council, plus the Tulsa Fraternal Order of Police and the Tulsa Chamber of Commerce.
Mykey Arthrell is a Democrat. He is shelter coordinator for Youth Services of Tulsa.
According to his website, Arthrell thinks the city should contribute monetarily to public education. He thinks jails should not be used to “solve homelessness.” Arthrell thinks, “Public health should be made accessible for all of Tulsa.” He wants to convert Tulsa to a “green city.”
He has a degree in social science and education from Evergreen State College in Washington State.
Arthrell is on the Children’s Justice Act Task Force. He is an “Our Whole Lives (OWL) educator” at All Souls Unitarian Church.
Arthrell doesn’t want the city to add any restrictions to state guidelines for medical marijuana.
District 7
Ellouise Cochrane is a Republican. She studied sociology at Langston University. According to oklahomaeagle.net, Cochrane is a relative of Dick Rowland, who was arrested allegedly assaulting Sarah Page, a white elevator worker, in 1921. This was just before the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot.
Lori Decter Wright is a Democrat. She is executive director of Kendall Whittier, Inc. She formerly was director of education for Sweet Adelines International in Tulsa. She is president of Shadow Ridge Homeowners’ Association and she is board president of Spotlight on Opera. She and her husband are members of College Hill Presbyterian Church.
According to her website, she wants to “modernize” streets, spend more on public safety, develop public transportation and improve the quality of life for all Tulsans.
Brandon McCombs is a Republican. He is co-pastor of Brookside Baptist Church in Tulsa. McCombs is co-founder of STL234, a counseling ministry for the homeless. He formerly was a counselor for Engage Life. He has a master’s degree in theology from Slidell Baptist Seminary.
McCombs was PTA president at Grove Elementary, president of Union High School Men’s Soccer Booster Club, president of Burning Tree Homeowners’ Neighborhood Association.
McCombs doesn’t think medical marijuana should be sold near schools and that the separation should be greater than 1,000 feet.
Elliott Parker is a Republican. He is retired from the military. Parker attended Old Dominion University, Norfolk State University and The University of Maryland.
Michael Patton is an Independent. For 30 years, he had been in management with nonprofit groups promoting recycling and other conservation efforts. He has a degree from Baker University. Patton has volunteered for Up With Trees, Tulsa International Mayfest, Oklahoma Recycling Association, League of Women Voters Tulsa, Tulsa Garden Center, TulsaNow, Ozone Alert, Tulsa Chamber Business and Environment task force, Sungate Neighborhood and Sign Abatement Task Force.
According to onyouballot.org, Patton would like to see a change in state law which would allow cities to rely more on property taxes than “unstable” sales tax. He wants Tulsa to commit to the Comprehensive Plan’s calling for “innovative parking solutions” that “promote people-oriented places, multi-modal options and sustainability.”
Ken Reddick is a Republican. He has 12 years’ experience in electrical utilities construction and was a department supervisor for PSO. Now he is an electrician for the physical plant for The University of Tulsa.
Reddick has more than 400 hours in volunteer service with Sheridan Christian Center and has served as head usher. Reddick was a member of the leadership with Sheridan Youth and currently is a board member of Regency Park Homeowners’ Association.
He thinks the South Mingo Corridor is an important part of Tulsa’s “Vision.” Reddick would like to see medicinal marijuana dispensaries located in office buildings along with medical professionals.
Reddick thinks the path to lessen the tax burden is to increase property values.
Eric Turley is a Republican.
According to linkedin.com, Turley is a senior account executive at theLender in Tulsa. He has a degree in finance from OSU and has worked in several banks and mortgage companies since 1995.