August 27 will be election day for the City of Tulsa mayor and council races and two city charter propositions as well as the runoff races from the June primaries for two Tulsa area legislative races and for the Tulsa County District 2 Republican and Democrat candidates.

The two City of Tulsa questions that are being put to the voters deal with pay raises for the council members and the city auditor and the future methods of determining these raises.

• Proposition 1 is asking for a 33 percent raise for the City Councilors and a different method of determining their pay. Currently the method is by a vote of the people, that would change  to  a cost of living increase determining the salary, not the vote of the people if the measure passes.
• Proposition 2 changes the current amount of pay for the City Auditor but leaves the current method the same. The auditor  pay is linked to the mayoral pay at 70 percent now and that would change to 75 percent if the measure passes.

There are two Republican legislative runoff elections to determine who will run against the Democrat in the November 5 election.

Senate District 33 is an open seat due to Sen. Nathan Dahm being term limited.  The Democrat that will be on the ballot in November is Bob Willis.  The two  Republican runoff candidates are Christi Gillespie and Shelley Gwartney.  Gillespie  won 44.3 percent of the June vote and Gwartney won  25 percent.  Bill Bickerstaff, a staunch conservative, who ran in June garnered 22 percent of the vote in District 33,  has endorsed Gwartney.

Gillespie is a current city councilor for Broken Arrow.   Gillespie has worked in sales for over 30 years, most recently as the Director of Sales & Training, North America for SeneGence, International.  She is starting a new business with her daughter in Broken Arrow. She is currently on the Broken Arrow City Council as Vice Mayor (position voted on by the City Councilors.) She was first elected to the Council in  2019.  She has a degree in Mass Communications.  Gillespie is on city numerous boards  since she became a city councilor.

She has listed four key issues on her website:  1) Economic Development (especially in the technology sector), 2) Public Safety 3) Education (empower parents to have final say in child’s education and make Northeaster State University – BA a 4-year university, 4) and Individual Liberty (right to bear arms, worship and free speech).

Gwartney is a political newcomer but has been active in  political causes.  She has been affiliated with numerous organizations in the political arena such as The Heritage Foundation, Moms For Liberty, Women For Tulsa, OK2A, NRA, Republican Women’s Clubs and the OK GOP.

Her three key  issues are 1) Parents have the God-given right and responsibility to be the primary decision maker for their children. They chose how they educate, medicate, vaccinate, raise, install morals, and discipline their children. They also chose who they partner with in these areas. Parents do not have to co-parent with the government. Our next law makers and leaders are sitting in our classrooms. If I had to only choose one area to focus on, it would be the next generation. Everything depends on how we raise, educate, and empower them! 2) I have witnessed first hand that our criminal justice system is a “guilty unless you can afford your innocence” system. Our state is not doing a good enough job protecting families and their rights. and 3) Small businesses are the backbone of our communities. I am committed to cutting red tape, reducing license fees, and widening the acceptance of cross-state licenses and trainings. Government should not be a hindrance to new businesses launching.

The other legislative runoff is House District 98 in Broken Arrow.

Two Republicans incumbent Dean Davis and Gabe Wooley are competing in the runoff and the winner will face  Democrat Cathy Smythe in the November general election.

Davis was elected to the house in 2018.  He has a Conservative Index rating of 100 percent this year from the Oklahoma Constitution newspaper, however past years  have not shown that.  He has an overall averaged rating of 73 percent, which means previous years show a much lower rating.

Woolley’s website https://www.woolleyforhouse98.com/ describes himself as “a dedicated teacher from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. He believes that an elected position should embody the role of a servant to the people. Gabe is committed to ensuring that legislation in Oklahoma is guided by the interests of the people, in strict accordance with the United States Constitution.”

He describes his vision and values as Pro-Constitution, pro-family, anti-corruption, pro-life, America first, anti-lockdown, Anti-RINOs, pro-Faith and pro-Second Amendment.

The other runoffs are for the Tulsa County District 2, both for Democrat and Republican.

On the Republican side, Lonnie Sims and Melissa Myers will face off.

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.

Melissa Myers, 41,  lives in Prattville, she is a graduate of Berryhill High School and lives in Prattville, OK with her husband Cody and two children, Hannah and Hunter. She and her husband own a lawn care and landscaping business. Myers is a part of the Leadership Sand Springs program and is an active member of the Sand Springs Chamber of Commerce.  Her key issues are: 1) Require transparency to the operations of the office of county commissioner and the budget board, 2) Guard taxpayer dollars against wasteful government spending, 3) Champion law enforcement and first responders to keep our communities safe, 4) Advocate for small business and pro-business policies and 5) Defend the 2nd Amendment and all Constitutional rights and freedoms.

In the Democrat primary for District 2 County Commissioner Maria Veliz Barnes and Sarah Elizabeth Gray  are in the runoff.

Barnes has served as a City Councilor for Tulsa District 4 from 2006-2011 and has volunteered for Kendall-Whittier neighborhood association for over 25 years.

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 winner of this runoff will face each other and an Independent candidate in the November election.