There are many candidates that will be on the ballot on November 5, this week’s coverage will include the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals retention vote, Tulsa County District 2 Commissioner, the Tulsa County Clerk and Tulsa municipal elections.
The voting for the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals is a retention vote. The Justices do not run against each other, but voters get to decide if they want to retain them. There are six justices up for retention on this year’s ballot.
Former Tulsa County District Judge James R. Huber was appointed by Gov. Kevin Stitt in 2023. He is from Tulsa and graduated from the University of Tulsa with a law degree.
Timothy J. Downing was appointed by former Pres. Donald Trump to be the U. S. Attorney for Western Oklahoma and then picked by Gov. Stitt to be on the Court of Civil Appeals in 2022.
Gov. Stitt also chose Thomas Prince in 2020 to be on the Court from his position as District Court Judge for Oklahoma County.
In 2005 former Gov. Brad Henry appointed Bobby Bell to the Court of Civil Appeals. Formerly he practiced in Norman having graduated from TU Law School.
Former Gov. Frank Keating appointed E. Bay Mitchell to the Court in 2002
Brian Jack Goree was appointed by former Gov. Mary Fallin in 2012 from his private law practice. He is also a graduate of the University of Tulsa law school.
In the Tulsa County races you will see on the ballot Republican Lonnie Sims and Democrat Sarah Elizabeth Gray.
Sims, 53, Jenks, has been an Oklahoma House Representative for House District 68 since 2018. He has also served six years as Planning Commissioner, eight years as City Councilman, two years as Mayor of Jenks. Sims currently serves on the Indian Nation Council of Governments (INCOG) Board of Directors, working to secure funding and grants for key infrastructure projects like the Gilcrease Expressway, as well as improving local economic development, healthcare, services for aging populations, and rural land use planning support. His website states “As a State Representative, Lonnie has been focused on hazard mitigation for our region. After years of work, the House of Representatives recently approved funding for major repairs to levees along the Arkansas River.” He also voted against School Choice and originally and later supported it. Lonnie did not vote for the bill protecting girls in the bathroom from boy transgenders. He is overall ranked at 62 percent conservative by the Oklahoma Constitution newspaper.
Gray lives in Jenks, is a single mom with 2 sons, holds a B.A. in political science and a M.A. in strategic communications. She owns a small business, ST Comms Shop, a communications and PR business, that specializes in civic engagement, public and media relations and tribal affairs.
The office of the County Clerk is also up for election. Incumbent Michael Willis (R) is facing Democrat Don Naum.
Willis assumed office in 2017. His current term ends on January 2, 2025. The three things he wants people to know that are his priorities are:
- Customer Service – As Tulsa County Clerk, I and my team have demonstrated our commitment to customer service. In eight years, we’ve gone from good to great. We constantly strive to make the experience of recording land records to be easy and convenient. Our staff will go the extra mile to help customers and members of the public doing business with our office. As the environment and technology change, we change to keep up. We will always work from a customer focused model as long as I am the County Clerk.
- Transparency and Accountability – I have worked with Tulsa County leadership to ensure we operate at the highest levels of financial transparency. I have created a transparency portal in partnering with OpenGov to offer all dynamic budget and financial information in real-time, including the Tulsa County check registry, so interested parties and members of the public can search for any financial information of interest. Additionally, we publish all of the information about public business that is being conducted. We not only follow the Open Records and Open Meetings Acts with the information related to meetings and agendas, we list out and provide copies of every business document that is considered for action by our public bodies.
- Use of Technology – We have bolstered county operations by utilizing the best software and technology available from Real Estate Services and Land Records to Financial Management and Budgeting. My philosophy is that we can run a county government with the transparency and processes needed for open government, but we can do that by using proven practices from the business world, which creates a better outcome for the taxpayers we represent.
Don Naum according to her website says “As an Asian American woman, I bring a unique cultural perspective to the table—one that values collaboration, diversity, and innovation. I understand the importance of representation in leadership roles. I am dedicated to ensuring that all voices are heard and all communities are represented in the decisions that affect our county.” and she graduated from Jenks High School and the University of Oklahoma, with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. She is pursuing her master’s’s degree in Psychology from Pepperdine University. She says “My educational background in psychology has provided me with valuable insights into human behavior and decision-making processes, which are essential skills for understanding and serving the diverse needs of our community.”
The City of Tulsa municipal elections will have three city councilor positions on the ballot. The other six have already been determined in the August election. The runoff race for mayor will also be on the ballot.
District 2 – With no incumbent running in August, Anthony Archie and Stephanie Reisdorph will be on the Nov. 5 ballot. Archie garnered 1,654 votes (41.53%) to Reisdorph’s 781 votes (19.61%) in the 5 candidate race.
District 7 – Incumbent Lori Dector Wright faces Eddie Huff. In the August election Wright garnered 48.60 % while Huff had 43.67% in a tight race.
Wright, 49, is an incumbent first elected in 2018. She appears on the Tulsa County Democrat election page and is a Democrat. She has worked at a variety of jobs as an opera singer, Director of Education and Membership for the National Sweet Adelines, and was the Executive Director of Kendall Whittier Incorporated, a non-profit until 2023.
Wright was a council member during the pandemic and voted to close businesses and for the mask mandate. She has marched in the Pride Parade in Tulsa.
Huff is a self-employed financial services expert, and a former co-host on the “Pat Campbell Show” on KFAQ. He owns the Eddie Huff Insurance Agency and is a licensed minister. He has a degree in management from Texas Tech. He wants to take the focus out of midtown and wants to improve basic city functions such as streets, safety (police and fire), etc.
District 9 – The August ballot had five competitors with the largest votes going to former Oklahoma House Rep Carol Bush (4,321) and incumbent Jayme Fowler (2,681) who will be on the November ballot.
Incumbent Jayme Fowler, 65, a Republican is running for the District 9 seat for a third term. Fowler is Managing Partner at Oak Creek Private Wealth. Earlier he had announced for entering the Mayor’s race, but later withdrew his bid and never filed for mayor, instead he filed to continue his bid to remain the Councilor for District 9. He was a councilor during the pandemic with the closing of businesses and the mask mandate.
His website, fowler-for-tulsa states he has six priorities:
- Robust Public Safety
As City Councilor, my top priority will be a safer city for all, where collaboration and respect define our approach to public safety. A safer Tulsa is the foundation for a thriving and economically vibrant community. Tulsa’s police and first responders help secure our full potential.
- Improved Infrastructure
I will embrace innovative business strategies to rapidly improve our infrastructure. We will do this by leveraging public-private partnerships for development, creating new jobs, and ensuring our city achieves new levels of economic growth and prosperity.
- Affordable Housing
I will incentivize new development, streamline regulations for permanent housing, and direct a holistic solution to address our homeless. We need increased mental health services, shelters, and outreach programs. Tulsa will be both a smart and compassionate community.
- New Economic Growth
From booming oil fields to cutting-edge startups, Tulsans have consistently pushed the boundaries of what’s possible. I will champion free markets to grow our economy, slash red tape, promote entrepreneurship, and attract new business investment to spur job creation.
- Strong Education
Education excellence is fundamental to ensuring Tulsa’s future prosperity. I will advocate for better funding, accountability, and teacher support. We must aim to empower every student to realize their full potential through a top-tier public education system, and
- Healing the Divide
It’s time we heal partisan divides by focusing on common-sense principles grounded in faith, family, and community. These ideals foster unity and build a stronger city, where we focus on our commonalities, our mutual goals, and working on a brighter future for Tulsa.
Carol Bush, 63, is a former State House Representative of District 70 in Tulsa from 2016 to 2022. For 17 years she owned and operated several retail stores, and has served as executive director of the Tulsa Crime Prevention Network. During her time in the Oklahoma House she earned the Oklahoma Constitution newspaper conservative Index rating of only 34 percent.
Her voting record shows a liberal lean with voting against school choice, voting against keeping school bathrooms by biological gender only, and voting no to keeping biological males out of women’s sports.
The Tulsa mayoral race was wide open with seven candidates filing and no incumbent. It was a tight 3 way race with only 728 votes separating the top three candidates.
Oklahoma House Rep. Monroe Nichols came in first of the three with 33.12 % of the vote (18,763 votes), Tulsa County Commissioner Karen Keith gained 32.60 % (18,471 votes) and Brent L. VanNorman earned 31.84% of the vote (18,035 votes. Nichols and Keith will face each other on election day.
Keith spent 26 years in broadcasting, 21 of those years with KJRH.
Since 2008 she has been the Tulsa County Commissioner of District 2. She ran as a Democrat. She is currently in her fourth four year term. In 2002 she worked for Mayor Bill LaFortune, helping pass Vision 2025. She has also worked for the Metro Tulsa Chamber of Commerce.
She intends to continue Mayor Bynum’s agendas and add to them. She claims that she can work with people to get things done.
Her vision for her term as mayor would be:
- Great schools
- Safe neighborhoods
- Well-maintained streets
- Abundant job opportunities
- Affordable housing
- Reduced homelessness
On her website, https://karenkeith.org/ she says, ”“I love Tulsa, and I’m ready to put my experience to work for the growth and prosperity of all our citizens. I’m open and willing to work with everyone, build unity and not get caught up in petty politics. I don’t care who gets the credit as long as it gets done.”
Nichols is currently in the Oklahoma House of Representatives as representative from House District #72 since 2016. He is a Democrat and the minority Caucus chair. He served as an aide to Mayor Kathy Taylor and she has endorsed him. He is proud of his efforts to help the LGBTQ movement.
His priorities are to end homelessness, improve student outcomes, increase affordable housing and co-govern with tribal nations.
His website, monroeformayor.com lists the way he wants Tulsa to co-govern with the Indian tribes:
- Appoint a Director of Tribal Policy and Partnerships.
- Develop a shared economic development agenda that prioritizes making Tulsa the national economic hub for Native-American-owned businesses and entrepreneurs.
- Establish an Indian Center that empowers all Native youth, elders, families and community by promoting economic, mental and physical health through education, advocacy and cultural enrichment.
- Implement a co-governing strategy that aligns city of Tulsa and tribal departments to better serve tribal citizens through coordinated public safety, comprehensive housing solutions, high-quality education and training, and more.
He plans to increase affordable housing by:
- reducing blighted properties by 60% by 2028
- increasing affordable housing stock by 6,000 units by 2028
- reducing Tulsa’s eviction rate
- reducing the cost burden taken on by developers to produce more affordable housing stock