2022 Union School Board campaign contributions: Democrat donors back McNeil

Campaign contribution and expenditure reports from the recent school board election in Union, the school district that straddles the Tulsa-Broken Arrow boundary, include some names of prominent Democratic donors familiar from campaign filings in the two 2022 school board races in the Tulsa district.

As reported on his pre-primary campaign contributions and expenditures report, incumbent Democrat Christopher McNeil received maximum $2,900 contributions from Democrat megadonors George Krumme and Burt Holmes. Krumme, a retired oil man, was also a maximum donor to Susan Lamkin in Tulsa District 7 and Shawna Keller in Tulsa District 4. Krumme gave a further $2,900 to McNeil for the general election campaign. (Campaign contribution limits reset after the primary.) Holmes, notorious for suing Tulsa City Councilors for representing their constituents and for working to dilute geographical representation on the council, gave a $2,900 contribution to Lamkin. Home Builders Association of Greater Tulsa contributed $750 to McNeil's campaign. Former Tulsa County Democratic Party chairman Elaine Dodd and Heart of the Party, the local chapter of the Oklahoma Federation of Democratic Women, were among the $100 donors to the McNeil campaign.

Gwartney received a total of $1,500 from the Oklahoma Conservative Political Action Committee and $335.70 from Oklahomans for Health and Parental Rights (OKHPR), Her largest aggregate personal donation came from Robin LaButti of Tulsa, $885.70 in the primary and general election combined.

As of the primary election, Democrat McNeil had raised $9,895.00. By contrast, Republican challenger Shelley Gwartney had raised $3,043.66. As of the pre-general-election filing (through March 31), McNeil had raised $14,650 and spent $6,016, while Gwartney raised $8,766.15 and spent $6,484.16. Keep in mind that this is not the final report of contributions and expenditures; a great deal of spending can occur in the final week of the campaign and billing may be deferred until after the election.

Here are the complete campaign contribution and expenditure filings for the candidates for Union Public Schools Office No. 2:

Shelley Gwartney, Union Public Schools District 2, 2022 campaign contribution and ethics reports
Christopher McNeil, Union Public Schools District 2, 2022 campaign contribution and ethics reports

Notwithstanding the gap in spending, Gwartney managed to force McNeil into a runoff, finishing just 11 votes behind the incumbent and just 53 votes shy of an absolute majority. But McNeil prevailed in the low-turnout general election, 687-566.

There were 10,081 active registered voters in Union's Election District 2 as of February 28, 2022, of which 5,723 were registered Republicans, 2,588 Democrats, 1,701 Independents, and 69 Libertarians. The partisan breakdown of primary voters was 677 Republicans, 267 Democrats, and 109 Independents. (There was apparently one ballot left blank.)

In the April general election, ballots were cast by 764 Republicans, 342 Democrats, 145 Independents, and 3 Libertarians. (Again, one ballot seems to have been submitted without a detectable mark.)