Tulsa County voters will pick a GOP candidate for treasurer and one candidate for the Tulsa Public School Board on February 9.

Also school patrons in Owasso and Collinsville will select board members while Jenks voters will decide the fate of a $16+ million bond issue. Owasso voters will also pick a Ward 2 city councilor.

Republican Primary, Tulsa County Treasurer

This seat is open because former Tulsa County Treasurer Dennis Semler retired unexpectantly. The two Republican candidates are John M. Fothergill, the former Deputy County Treasurer who was named Acting County Treasurer when Semler left, and Francis Joseph Hart III, Broken Arrow.

Fothergill formerly also Chief Deputy for County Commissioner Karen Keith. He worked for over a decade at the Tulsa City Council where he was the Director of Constituent Services, Legislative Liaison, and Council Aide serving all nine City of Tulsa Districts.

Fothergill is a former Board of Adjustment member, city councilor, and Vice-Mayor of Sand Springs. He also served on the Tulsa Area Metropolitan Planning Commission, was a former Chair of PatriotFest, and a former board member of Oklahoma Municipal League.

Fothergill is a board member of the Sand Springs Rotary, the Metropolitan Environmental Trust, the Lucile Page Manor Apartments, Route 66 Main Street, and Tulsa Levee District 12. 

Hart two BS degrees from OSU in management and marketing.

The winner of February 9 primary will face Democrat  Maria Sanchez of Broken Arrow in the April 6 general election.

Tulsa Public Schools Board – Office No. 2

Janie Wester is vice president of the Tulsa Board of Education and she is not running for another term. The candidates for that season on the February 9 ballot are Judith Barba. Francine Campbell and Theresa Hinman.

According to her Facebook page, Barba wants to represent the Hispanic community on the board. She disagrees with Gov. Kevin Stitt’s push to put students back into classrooms instead of distance learning.

Campbell is a retired classroom teacher. She is a graduate of  Central High School and has a bachelor of science degree from Northeastern State University. She taught science at Monroe Middle School and later taught technology engineering at McLain High School.

Hinman, according to her Facebook page, wants to stretch the district’s funding so it has its full impact. She would create a community involvement focus group for her district to enhance transparency and build back trust that has been lost by the Tulsa Board of Education. She also wants a performance review of all consultants to make sure they are effective. She is the founder of the Coalition for Betterment of Indian Education. She studied human resource management at Oklahoma Wesleyan University.

Jenks School Bond vote

Jenks Public Schools Propositions 1 and 2 would cost $16,105,000 in new property taxes.

If passed, the district could borrow money for facility repairs, printing improvements, safety equipment, textbooks, media equipment, transportation needs, improvement to the baseball and softball fields, improvement to the East Elementary parking lot, Phase II expansion of the Freshman Academy (a new classroom wing) and update to the Performing Arts Center.

The new taxes would replace expiring payments on previous bond packages.

Owasso Council Member – Ward 2

Kyle Davis faces Alvin D. Fruga. Councilor Chris Kelley is not running.

Davis is a commercial loan officer at The Exchange Bank in Owasso. This is his first time to run for public office.

Fruga is a Christian minister, musician, singer, composer, producer and author. He was a former member of the Oral Roberts Television Singers in Tulsa. He is pastor of Presence Theater Church in Owasso.

Owasso Public Schools Board – Office No. 1

The candidates are Lisa M. Anderson, Collinsville; Lynn Cagle, Owasso; Rick Lang, Owasso; Stephanie Ruttman, Owasso and Kristin Vivar, Collinsville.

Board president Pat Vanatta is not running again.

Anderson is a CPA and former PTO co-president at Barnes Elementary and PTO treasurer at Stone Canyon Elementary. She was an officer with Odyssey of the Mind and with the Owasso Mock Trial Booster Club.

Cagle is a licensed psychologist with a private practice in Owasso. She previously worked for the Oklahoma Department of Education and in public schools. She has a degree from OSU in sociology and school psychology.

Lang served 11 years in the U.S. Army 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne). He returned to Oklahoma and started a woodworking business. He is married to an educator.

Ruttman previously taught in middle school and high school in Moore Public Schools. She and her husband have five children in four different Owasso Public Schools.

Vivar is an Early Learning Disability teacher in Tulsa Public Schools. She formerly was the school director for Tulsa Educare, Inc. She has a master’s degree in reading teacher education from NSU. She has been endorsed by David McLain, the chairman of the Oklahoma Republican Party.

Collinsville Public Schools Board – Office No. 1

Ryan Flanary is the co-owner and a pharmacist at Owasso Drug. He has a degree from Southwestern Oklahoma State University and he lives in Collinsville. He formerly worked a Claremore Compounding Center, Inc.

The current Collinsville School Board Member is Tim Reed. He is the Midwest regional sales manager for Skeeter Boats in an area that covers Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska and Colorado. He has a degree in criminal justice from Mountain State University.

James R. Roderick is the founder and president of James R. Roderick & Associates, Inc. He is the president of Remediation Solutions, Inc. also. He Roderick has been an adjunct professor at Oklahoma State University since 1989. His degree is from OSU.