Amid choices for president, senator and a slate of judges, Oklahoma County voters will also pick winners in both the Oklahoma County clerk race and the Oklahoma County court clerk races.
While they might seem like similar jobs, they’re not. The County Court clerk is charged with maintaining court records filed within the county. The office also receives fines paid by residents, including traffic tickets.
The Oklahoma County clerk records property sales and purchases, property deeds and ordinances and also maintains payroll for county employees.
Here’s a look at the candidates running for both offices, with information pulled from publicly available records.
County Court Clerk
Rick Warren (R)
Profession: Incumbent Republican Oklahoma County court clerk
Platform: Warren is running for his second four-year term. According to his website, Warren is running again to be accountable to the taxpayers of the county, while also striving to make his office the most efficient it can be.
“It’s been said that you can lose your family, your wealth, your home, all your holdings, the one thing you can’t lose is your honor,” he said in a TV ad. “You have to give that away. And I will never give my honor away.”
Warren also cites his diverse business background and management skills. Prior to running for public office, Warren owned several hair salons and later ran a construction business.
Warren courted controversy when he made remarks about hanging during a county meeting, though he later clarified the comments saying he was talking about his own tardiness to the meeting.
More Info: Website | Facebook
Charles de Coune (D)
Profession: Lending manager
Platform: Democrat Charles de Coune is making his first run for court clerk, though he ran as an independent for state treasurer in 2018. De Coune has a varied business background, including time as a chief operating officer, lending manager and as a professional mediator.
De Coune said the residents of Oklahoma county deserve a court clerk office that acts ethically and is run with transparency. An immigrant himself, de Coune said if elected he would make sure the court clerk’s office website provides translations into Spanish and Vietnamese in order to better serve county residents.
Promoting and protecting free expression would also be among his priorities, according to his campaign website.
More Info: Website | Facebook
County Clerk
David Hooten (R)
Profession: Incumbent Republican Oklahoma County clerk
Platform: Elected in 2016, Hooten is also a small business owner and professional musician who has written campaign jingles for several Oklahoma politicians and released 20 albums, according to his website.
If re-elected, Hooten has promised to continue efforts to improve service to residents who need the services of the county clerk’s office. To that end, he pushed for the development of a county website that allows users to print official records.
He also established a system that automatically notifies property owners when legal filings like liens are made against their property.
More Info: Website | Facebook
Christina Chicoraske (D)
Profession: Former executive director of Uptown 23rd
Platform: Democrat Christina Chicoraske is a life-long Oklahoman with long term ties to Oklahoma County.
She previously served as executive director of Uptown 23rd, an organization that sought to promote that part of Oklahoma City.
According to her website, she is running to improve transparency at the county clerk’s office, and also to reduce barriers for those who need to use the office’s services, including expanding online access to records and providing assistance to those who speak other languages.
More Info: Website | Facebook
