Tulsa needs to change the method of municipal elections.

Here’s the first problem.

The primary for the Tulsa City Council election was held on the runoff date for federal, state and county elections. That was deliberately set to lower turnout and favor incumbents.

Since there was no chance for a runoff, the two top vote getters advanced to the November 6 general election.

But former councilor Anna America, who was re-elected this year because she drew no opponents, resigned following the filing. Because it was too late for a primary, seven candidates for District 7 were on the ballot on November 6. Lori Decter Wright won a city council seat with only 27 percent of the vote.

Another real problem is the nonpartisan aspect of the municipal votes. Party affiliation is generally good information for voters who want councilors who agree with their political philosophies. For instance, America is a liberal Democrat who was elected in a district that is mostly Republican. This is a part of the “conspiracy of silence” that Tulsa engages in to fool voters at the ballot box.

Lastly, it is wrong for the local chamber to fund its own political action committee with money that could come from local taxes. Chamber officials claim they don’t send hotel tax revenues to their PAC but since the chamber is a private entity, the public doesn’t get a look at how they spend their money.

Genuine reform of the election process would be a good first a step to more representative government.