Oklahoma Election 2025 Category

Voters in the City of Bethany have banned city subsidies to private businesses and have enabled the recall of elected officials. The propositions were on the February 11, 2025, municipal ballot, along with elections for city council and mayor.

State Rep. Tom Gann (R-Inola), a vocal critic of taxpayer subsidies to attract businesses, posted the following post-election press release from Bethany City Councilor Chris Powell, who is also the State Chairman of the Libertarian Party of Oklahoma:

Press Release Bethany voters pass subsidy prohibition, recall procedure

BETHANY - Voters in Bethany passed two propositions placed on the ballot by initiative petition, one creating a procedure by which a city elected official could be recalled and another that prohibits the city from subsidizing private businesses. The subsidy prohibition [Propositon 4] received 57% support while the recall procedure [Proposition 3] earned 64% of the vote. Two other propositions put forward by a charter review committee, removing an obsolete personnel board and allowing the city to trade surplus materials, also passed by large margins.

The subsidy prohibition and recall procedure questions qualified for the ballot by initiative petitions carried out by Councilman Chris Powell who gathered signatures of over 400 voters for each. Several members of the council, including incumbents Steve Palmer and Marilyn McPhail as well Jeff Knapp who recently resigned his council seat to run for Mayor, publicly took positions against the prohibition of subsidies. The council passed a resolution in December opposing the proposition, with Powell being the lone vote against the resolution. Palmer and McPhail lost their re-election bids and Knapp was defeated for Mayor by Amanda Sandoval.

Powell was motivated to carry out the initiatives after a charter review committee proposal for a recall procedure was blocked from the ballot by council. After deciding to petition for recall, Powell chose to petition at the same time for the proposal to prevent the city from subsidizing private businesses. Powell said, "We have had a number of these subsidy deals that in my view were unnecessary to support a business that would have been successful regardless or worse, supported a business venture that failed and left us with empty storefronts. I don't believe these tax rebates and TIF subsidies are proper, the track record in Bethany shows they haven't worked out or weren't needed, and on Tuesday the voters showed that they agree with that viewpoint."

Recent criticism of subsidy programs such as the state funds going to electronic vehicle manufacturer Canoo, which filed for bankruptcy last month, as well as concerns about Tax Increment Finance (TIFs) may have played a part in voter's support for the subsidy ban proposition. Norman's Arena TIF has faced a referendum petition that gathered far more signatures than necessary but is now tied up in court by TIF proponents with legal challenges over technicalities, and Rep. Tom Gann (R-Inola) has introduced HB1069 which would require proposed TIFs to undergo greater scrutiny and go to a vote of the people before being enacted. "People are starting to become more aware of the subsidy programs and don't like what they see," Powell said, "we're likely to see more rejection of these handouts to businesses and developers whenever they can be forced to put them before the voters."

Contact

Chris Powell
405-408-4898
okcspowell@gmail.com

Gann comments:

A local official in Bethany, OK saw through all the hype about subsidies and Tax Increment Financing Districts. He took action and informed the people. The people responded and stood up for their community and rejected the concept of subsidies and incentives, will others follow?

HB1069 which would have required TIF districts to be voted on by the people failed in the General Government Committee on the same day this email was written. HB1069 received 2 YES votes and 5 NO votes.

State Reps. Derrick Hildebrant (R-Catoosa) and Gabe Woolley (R-Broken Arrow) voted in favor of HB1069; Stacy Jo Adams (R-Duncan), Cyndi Munson (D-OKC), Ellen Pogemiller (D-OKC), Eric Roberts (R-OKC), Judd Strom (R-Copan) voted against.

The Bethany City Council approved the following resolution opposing the ban on subsidies at its December 17, 2024, meeting (page 64 of the PDF). According to the minutes, Mayor Nikki Lloyd, Councilors Ken Smart, Marilyn McPhail, Peter Plank, and Kathy Larsen voted yes; Chris Powell voted no. McPhail lost her re-election bid; the other councilors voting yes won't face re-election until 2027. Mayor Lloyd did not run for re-election.

RESOLUTION NO. 1710

A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BETHANY, OKLAHOMA OPPOSING PASSAGE OF THE FEBRUARY BALLOT ITEM CONCERNING SUBSIDIES TO BUSINESSES AND CORPORATIONS, A CHARTER AMENDMENT.

WHEREAS, an initiative petition ballot measure proposing an amendment to the Charter of the City of Bethany to prohibit the subsidy of businesses and corporations with public funds controlled by the City of Bethany, as set forth in Resolution No. 1706 and published in accordance with the laws of the State of Oklahoma has been placed on the February election calendar; and

WHEREAS, the measure if passed would prohibit Tax Increment Financing as authorized by the Oklahoma Constitution at Article 10 Section 6C; and

WHEREAS, the measure if passed would prohibit the use of tax rebates to induce businesses to come to the City of Bethany; and

WHEREAS, the measure if passed prevents would prevent subsidies to any businesses or corporations to include non-profit corporations and municipal corporations; and

WHEREAS, the measure if passed may have unintended consequences that could impact, impede, or prevent agreements with public interest programs in which corporations participate are benefit from to include the Bethany Economic Development Authority's Bethan Improvement Grant; and.

WHEREAS, the measure if passed would reduce the City of Bethany's bargaining power to enter into agreements with businesses and corporations to promulgate economic and tax base growth in the public interest, and to compete with Oklahoma City in attracting businesses to our community.

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Bethany, Oklahoma opposes the passage of the subsidy ballot item.

Tuesday, February 11, 2025, is the annual school primary for Oklahoma school districts and technology center districts, plus city elections in some charter cities, and a number of special county, municipal, and school elections. Polls will be open on election day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Visit okvoterportal.okelections.gov to find your polling place and view your sample ballot. Early voting will be available on Thursday and Friday only from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. There will be no early voting on Saturday. Tulsa County early voting will be at the long-time election board building in the old Marina-style Safeway at 555 N. Denver. Only one early-voting location will be open for Wagoner County, at the First Baptist Church, 401 NE 2nd, Wagoner; unlike many recent elections, the Broken Arrow location will not be open.

Tuesday is a primary election for any school board seat with three or more candidates; if any candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, that candidate is elected; otherwise, the top two candidates compete in the school general election on April 1, 2025, alongside school board seats for which only two candidates filed. Also on February 11, some charter cities, including Oklahoma City, Norman, Edmond, Bristow, Pryor Creek, Ponca City, and Altus, will elect mayors or city councilors; in Tulsa County, only Owasso has a municipal election. Special primary elections will be held for unexpired county commission seats in Oklahoma and Okmulgee Counties. Many school districts, including Jenks and Owasso, will vote on bond issues (property tax increases). There are county-wide propositions in Garvin, Major, Sequoyah, and Wagoner Counties, most notably the Wagoner County proposition to increase the county sales tax for 15 years, in lieu of a 10-year increase in property taxes, to pay a $13 million dollar civil rights judgment. Here is the full, statewide list of elections for February 11, 2025.

Tulsa County elections:

Tulsa Public Schools, Office No. 3: Brandi Joseph. Incumbent Jennettie Marshall is not seeking re-election for this district, which covers nearly everything north of Pine Street, plus all of the Osage County portion of the Tulsa Public Schools district. Brandi Joseph (39) is the lone registered Republican running. Joseph is an ORU alumna and member of Victory Christian Center. Dorie Simmons (50) and Eartha (Shanina) McAlester (46) are registered Democrats; Kyra Carby (39) is registered independent. Simmons is a real estate agent and attends Metropolitan Baptist Church. Carby was a TPS teacher and a community engagement manager for the Gathering Place and Guthrie Green and is now "Community Genealogy Grant Coordinator for the City of Tulsa. In this role, she oversees the administration of the Emmett Till [Cold Case] Grant Program providing support to grant subrecipients while advocating for the victims and families of racial violence from the Tulsa Race Massacre." None of the candidates filed the required pre-election campaign and expenditures reports by the Monday, February 3, 2025, 5 p.m. deadline. Nehemiah Darnell Frank doesn't like Brandi Joseph, which is a very good endorsement in her favor.

Broken Arrow Public Schools, Office No. 5: Bruce Allen Lamont (48) is the lone Republican running. Jerry Denton (60) is the incumbent Democrat. Another challenger Kate Williams (40), a freelance writer and an adjunct professor at TU and TCC, is also a Democrat. Williams filed a Statement of Organization, but none of the candidates filed the required pre-election campaign and expenditures reports. In response to my open records request, the BAPS district clerk indicated that she was unaware that candidates were required to file anything other than a Statement of Organization. The Broken Arrow Sentinel interviewed Williams.

Owasso City Council, Ward 5: Chad Balthrop (R, 54) is Executive Pastor at First Baptist Church, Owasso; Brandon Shreffler (R, 43) is a driving instructor. Long-time incumbent Doug Bonebrake is not seeking re-election. Neither candidate has anything on the web or social media that describes specific policies or what they would change about Owasso's direction as a city. Balthrop filed a Statement of Organization with the city clerk, Shreffler did not, and neither candidate filed the pre-election report of contributions and expenditures required by state ethics laws.

Jenks Public Schools bond issues: Proposition No. 1 is $18,950,000 for Phase III Freshman Academy expansion, plus other improvements; Proposition No. 2 is $650,000 for student transportation equipment. According to the Jenks Bond Transparency Act document, Jenks Schools has $114 million in outstanding debt principal, plus $33 million in unissued bonds approved at the 2020 bond issue election.

Owasso Public Schools bond issues: Proposition No. 1 is $193 million for a new 5th grade center, fine arts center, soccer complex, and other improvements; Proposition No. 2 is $4.5 million for vehicles for student transportation. According to the Owasso Bond Transparency Act document, Owasso Schools has $56 million in outstanding debt principal, plus $33 million in unissued bonds approved at the 2022 bond issue election.

Beyond Tulsa County:

• Wagoner County sales tax increase, 0.25% for 15 years, to pay federal court settlement
• Garvin County sales tax increase, 1% for 15 years to build a new county jail
• Major County sales tax increase, 11/32-cent (0.34375%) for 18 years to build a new County Health and Education Center and renovate the existing Health Department building
• Major County sales tax increase, 3/32-cent (0.09375%) for 7 years for county courthouse renovations
• Sequoyah County 4% permanent lodging tax for fairgrounds operation (60%), contracting for marketing and tourism promotion (30%), and roadside beautification (10%)

RESULTS:

132,627 votes were cast for 112 races or propositions across the state, but many jurisdictions had two propositions and there was some overlap between school, municipal, and county issues. The biggest turnout: 18,452 for mayor of Norman. The smallest turnout: 16 voters in the town of Paradise Hill in Sequoyah County. Only 20 voters each chose a Moffett school board member (also in Sequoyah County) and an Ada city councilor. Langston had 26 voters for a town proposition -- can't find any info on what issue was on the ballot. Two seats on the Bristow city council for Ward 3 -- a regular election and a special election for an unexpired term -- were decided by 39 voters.

In Oklahoma, election season never ends. (Just ask our weary election board secretaries.)

Two special elections have been called to fill vacancies in Tulsa County State House seats that were just up for election last year: House District 71 in midtown Tulsa and House District 74 in Owasso. The filing period is this Monday, January 27, 2025, through Wednesday, January 29, 2025. The Special Primary Election will be held on Tuesday, April 1, 2025, the runoff (if necessary) on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, and the Special General Election: Tuesday, June 10, 2025. If a runoff is not necessary, the general election will occur on May 13.

(Filing for the vacancy in Senate District 8 in Okmulgee County took place earlier this month, and its primary will occur in March, with a runoff in April, and a general election in May. Filing for non-charter cities like Broken Arrow will be next week, February 3-5, 2025.)

Democrat Amanda Swope faced no opposition when she ran for reelection last year for House District 71. Swope resigned shortly after the start of her new term to take a job in Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols' office. Republican Mark Vancuren faced no primary opposition, then defeated an independent candidate with 76% of the vote. Vancuren is now chief deputy to newly elected Tulsa County Commissioner Lonnie Sims. Both Swope and Vancuren have swapped hours of driving on the Turner Turnpike and miserly pay for a job close to home and a much better salary.

Except for a brief two year period, District 71 had been Republican from its creation in 1967 until 2018, producing conservative representatives like Bill Clark (founding pastor of Redeemer Covenant Church) and John Sullivan (who went from the State House to the U. S. House in 2001). There was a brief interregnum from 2002 to 2004, when a scandal involving RINO incumbent Chad Stites erupted after the primary but before the general election; Democrat Roy McClain, the beneficiary of the scandal, was known as "Dead Man Walking," losing overwhelmingly in his 2004 bid for re-election, the year of the first Republican House majority since the Harding Administration. But Democrats have held the seat for the last four elections, beginning with former news reader Denise Brewer in 2018 and 2020, and Amanda Swope in 2022 and 2024.

In redistricting after the 2010 Census, House 71's boundaries were shifted to include the 61st and Peoria area, a neighborhood of public housing and subsidized apartment complexes. Democrats finished first in House 71 in every race in 2022, and Kamala Harris won 56% of the election-day vote in 2024. It would be amazing if Republicans could retake the district and regain a foothold in midtown Tulsa. That seems quite unlikely, but odd things can happen in low-turnout special elections.

Grover Campbell was the first Republican to win House District 74 in 1990; he held it for two terms before moving to the State Senate. Democrat Phil Ostrander held the seat from 1994 to 2000, when Republican John Smaligo upset the incumbent. District 74 has been in GOP hands ever since. In the 2022 elections, Republicans won the district overwhelmingly in every race, and Donald Trump received 71% of the election-day vote in 2024.

The full list of candidates is here. The filing fee is $500 and candidacy must be filed with the Oklahoma State Election Board in the State Capitol.

On the first day of filing, one Republican, attorney Beverley Atteberry, and two Democrats, PR consultant Amanda Clinton and stand-up comedian Hudson Harder, have filed in House 71. Atteberry ran for the seat in 2018 and 2020, both times making it into the Republican runoff and then losing by a wide margin to a nominee (Cheryl Baber in 2018, Mike Masters in 2020), who went on to lose to Democrat TV news reader Denise Brewer. (In 2020, Masters won election-day voters by almost 800, but was swamped by Brewer's 2,069 absentee and early-vote lead.) Clinton was communications director for Monroe Nichols's mayoral campaign and is a board member of Planned Parenthood of Eastern Oklahoma.

House 74 drew four Republicans and one Democrat on the first day of filing. Johnathon Shepherd is a Marine Corps veteran and Director of Operations for Eagle OPS Foundation, which helps veterans transition to civilian life. Kevin Norwood is a motivational school speaker with wiredinc and a ministry coach. Maggie Stearman is a wife and mother of two small children who has served as a teacher at Owasso Preparatory Academy and as a field organizer for the Republican Party of Pennsylvania during the 2022 election cycle. Stearman has pledged not to take money from lobbyists. Sheila Vancuren is a Realtor and the wife of incumbent Mark Vancuren; just as he is stepping away from the Oklahoma City commute, she is seeking to resume it. Amy Hossain, the lone Democrat so far, is an HR professional with pronouns in her LinkedIn bio.

UPDATE 2025/01/28: At the end of day two, three additional candidates have filed: In House 71, Democrats Ben Riggs and Dennis Baker, and in House 74, Republican Brad Peixotto. Dennis Baker, an attorney, former Tulsa police officer, and former FBI agent, was the Democrat nominee for Congress last year and received 51% of the election-day vote in District 71. He would have a significant name-recognition advantage. The only Ben Riggs I can find is a Sand Springs school teacher.

Brad Peixotto was a Republican candidate for House 74 in 2018 and 2020, losing the primary both times to Mark Vancuren and receiving only 15% of the vote in a two-man race each time, and for Senate 34 in 2022, managing 42% in a losing primary effort against Dana Prieto, who went on to defeat Democrat incumbent J. J. Dossett. In each of these campaigns, Peixotto spent his own money on the campaigns (excepting $700 in contributions in the 2018 race), which appeared as loans to the campaign in 2018 and 2020 and as in-kind contributions in 2022.

UPDATE 2025/01/29: On the final day of filing, two more Republicans filed in District 71: Tania Garza, 35, and Heidemarie Fuentes, 73. Garza is an experience specialist for Tulsa Remote. She appears to be very plugged into the Tulsa establishment.

Twenty-two jurisdictions -- counties, small towns, and rural school districts -- across Oklahoma had elections this past Tuesday, January 14, 2025. Just over 10,000 voters turned out statewide, casting 10,681 votes on 27 propositions (five jurisdictions had two propositions).

Twenty-four county election boards had to set up for early voting and staffing election day precincts. Cleora and Inola school districts and the city of Clinton extend into multiple counties. Two Mayes County precincts had to open for Inola Public Schools. One person showed up and voted no. Craig County had to open a precinct for Cleora schools and Washita County had to open a precinct for the City of Clinton, and no voter showed up at either precinct. The one Wagoner County precinct in the Inola school district drew five voters.

Biggest turnout: 5,379 voters in Muskogee County voted to approve a 0.849% public safety sales tax. Runner-up: 1,159 voters in Inola defeated a $62 million school bond issue 49%-51%. Smallest turnout: Town of Sparks in Lincoln County voted 8-1 for a 25-year extension of OG+E's franchise as the town's electricity provider. (Carlton Landing, Oklahoma's lakefront version of Seaside, Florida, was a close second: 11 voters voted unanimously to authorize the mayor to appoint the town's clerk-treasurer with town council approval.)

The only reason to schedule a special election in January is to hope for low turnout mainly consisting of motivated yes voters. (That gambit doesn't always work, and it didn't work for the Inola school board this time.)

Oklahoma law sets one possible election date for every month in odd-numbered years and for seven months in even-numbered years (January through April, plus June, August, November).

It's time for our legislature to consolidate elections: Every year a June primary, August runoff, and November general election. Federal & state elections in even-numbered years. Elections for all political subdivisions -- including counties, municipalities, school districts, fire-protection districts, rural water districts -- in odd-numbered years. Propositions on the November ballot only. In a true emergency, a proposition could be on another date but would need at least 50% of the number of votes cast in that jurisdiction's previous general election.

When I say municipal, I mean every city and town, including charter cities like Tulsa, Owasso, and Catoosa that currently are allowed to set their own dates. My fraternity brother Brad Waller, who is a city council candidate and former school board member in Redondo Beach, California, says that "California passed a bill (SB 415) to consolidate elections, but they forgot to specifically include charter cities." While most cities moved their elections to conform with the law, Redondo Beach did not, and the city pursued its right to its preferred dates all the way to the State Supreme Court and prevailed there. So any Oklahoma reform will need to include an explicit provision to overrule any dates to the contrary in city charters.

State Rep. Chris Banning has a bill, HB 1151, that is a step in the right direction, putting school elections on the ballot in even-numbered years and making all school board terms four years, with half of a school board's members up for election every two years.

Odd-numbered years would be better. Our federal, state, and judicial ballots are already long enough, and since City of Tulsa elections were moved to the federal schedule, city issues are overshadowed by state and national issues and don't get the public scrutiny that they got when Tulsa's elections were in the winter/spring of even years or (all too briefly) in the fall of odd years.

I would also cut some language out of section 4, so that there is always a top-two general election in November, since far fewer voters turn out for a primary, and some voters have the attitude that the "real" election is not until November, and they're content to let more active voters winnow the choices for them.

4. If more than two candidates qualify to have their names appear on the ballot, the names of all such candidates shall appear on the ballot at the board of education primary election. A candidate receiving more than fifty percent (50%) of the votes cast in the board of education primary election shall be elected to the office. If no candidate receives more than fifty percent (50%) of the votes cast in the board of education primary election, then the two candidates with the highest number of votes shall appear on the ballot at the board of education general election.

Repurposed from a post on Facebook.