Four incumbents won reelection to two-year terms on the Tulsa City Council while three more races will head to a runoff because no candidate received a majority of the vote to win in the city’s municipal elections Tuesday night.
On a night that saw three state-level incumbents ousted, four of Tulsa’s sitting councilmembers faired much better. District 1 Councilwoman Vanessa Hall-Harper, District 4 Councilwoman Laura Bellis, District 6 Councilman Christian Bengel and District 8 Councilman Phil Lakin each succeeded in retaining their seats.
Meanwhile, Jackie Dutton won an open Tulsa City Council District 3 seat, and Karen Gilbert was elected to represent District 5, which she previously did from 2011 through 2018.
The runoffs will be held Nov. 5 in Tulsa City Council Districts 2, 7 and 9. All three races featured crowded fields. Tulsa voters also approved a pair of propositions that would raise the pay of the city auditor and city council members.
Tulsa voters also went to the polls to determine the city’s next mayor. A close competition among the top three candidates concluded with Rep. Monroe Nichols and Tulsa County Commissioner Karen Keith set to battle it out in November.
Results are unofficial until certified by the Oklahoma State Election Board. Challenges to final results are still possible.
District 1: Hall-Harper reelected
Incumbent Vanessa Hall-Harper defeated challenger and radio station CEO Angela Chambers for the Tulsa City Council District 1 seat.
Hall-Harper received 3,136 votes, or 66.92 percent of the vote, to 1,550 votes, or 33.08 percent, for Chambers. There were 4,686 votes cast in District 1, which includes part of downtown Tulsa and most of north Tulsa.
Hall-Harper was first elected to the seat in 2016 and decided to run again because of work she said was unfinished, including expanding grocery store options for residents in the district.
District 2: Archie, Reisdorph head to runoff
Anthony Archie and Stephanie Reisdorph will head to a Nov. 5 runoff after neither candidate received a majority of the vote to win the District 2 City Council election, which featured a crowded field of candidates seeking to replace former Councilwoman Jeannie Cue.
Archie got 1,654 votes, or 41.56 percent, of the vote. Reisdorph received 780 votes, or 19.60 percent. Rhene Ritter got 704 votes, or 17.69 percent, to finish third. W.R. Casey Jr. and Anthony Bisogno got 434 votes, or 10.90 percent, and 408 votes, or 10.25 percent, respectively.
District 3: Dutton defeats Frederick for open seat
Retired liquor store owner and community volunteer Jackie Dutton defeated retired UPS driver and horse breeder Susan Frederick to succeed Crista Davis in the race for Tulsa City Council District 3.
Dutton received 1,292 votes, or 53.81 percent of the vote, to 1,109 votes, or 46.19 percent, for Frederick. With all 15 precincts reporting, there were 2,401 votes cast in the election. Dutton campaigned on improving infrastructure in District 3 and more economic development in east Tulsa.
District 4: Bellis wins reelection
Incumbent Coincilwoman Laura Bellis defeated challenger Aaron Griffith in the race for Tulsa City Council District 4.
Bellis got 6,384 votes, or 76.62 percent, to 1,948 votes, or 23.38 percent, for Griffith. There were 8,332 votes cast. Both candidates were critical of the city’s continued prosecution of tribal citizens within reservation boundaries following McGirt v. Oklahoma.
District 5: Gilbert defeats Andrews
The race for District 5 faced tumult earlier this year with incumbent Grant Miller eschewing a reelection effort amid allegations of domestic violence.
That left Oklahoma Democratic Party Chairwoman Alicia Andrews facing off against Karen Gilbert. With Andrews in Chicago for the Democratic National Convention during the homestretch of the Tulsa City Council District 5 race, Gilbert defeated Andrews on Tuesday with 3,075 votes, or 64.33 percent of the vote. Andrews received 1,705 votes, or 35.67 percent, out of 4,780 votes cast.
District 6: Bengel beats challenger
Incumbent Christian Bengel defeated Uriah Davis for Tulsa City Council District 6.
Bengel got 2,091 votes, or 66.89 percent of the vote, while Davis got 901 votes, or 30.11 percent, out of 2.992 votes cast. The race featured criticism and allegations of corruption from Bengel’s predecessor, Connie Dodson, which Bengel said was designed to “make me out to be a corrupt piece of shit.”
District 7: Wright, Huff headed for runoff
In southeast Tulsa’s City Council District 7, incumbent Councilwoman Lori Decter Wright and former radio host and insurance salesman Eddie Huff are set for a November runoff.
Wright secured 2,529 votes, or 48.6 percent, to Huff’s 2,275, or 43.72 percent. The third candidate in the race, Margie Alfonso, finished with 400 votes, or 7.69 percent.
Wright has represented District 7 since 2018 and won reelection in 2020 and 2022. Outside of her City Council duties, Wright is general director and CEO of Tulsa Opera, Inc. Prior to involvement in local government, Wright was an opera singer in California.
Huff is an insurance business owner who formerly co-hosted “The Pat Campbell Show” on KFAQ radio.
District 8: Lakin wins reelection
Incumbent Councilman Phil Lakin has been reelected to the Tulsa City Council District 8 seat he has held since 2011.
Now entering his seventh term representing south-central Tulsa, Lakin earned 7,193 votes, or 68.89 percent support. His challenger, financial planner Chris Cone, earned 3,248 votes, or 31.11 percent support.
Lakin, currently CEO of the Tulsa Community Foundation, is poised to become chairman of the Tulsa City Council. During his campaign, which focused heavily on infrastructure, Lakin touted the results of the Yale Avenue widening project that was completed during his tenure.
District 9: Fowler, Bush head to runoff
Southeast Tulsa’s City Council District 9 race — which featured a crowded field of five candidates — is heading to a runoff between former Rep. Carol Bush and incumbent Jayme Fowler.
Bush led all candidates Tuesday and earned 4,318 votes, or 41.85 percent support. Since she did not eclipse 50 percent of all votes, Bush will enter a November runoff against Fowler, the incumbent councilman who secured 2,928 votes, or 28.38 percent support.
Bush is the former Republican representative of Oklahoma House District 70, an office she held from 2016 to 2022. She originally considered a run for Tulsa mayor but opted instead to pursue the District 9 seat.
Fowler, too, considered running for mayor — and had even launched his campaign in September 2023, before ending the bid in May. While Fowler initially said it would be “selfish” to return and run for his city council seat, he eventually joined the race and apparently faced an up-hill battle to win another term.
Tulsa County commissioner races
In the race to succeed Tulsa mayoral candidate Karen Keith, the sole Democrat on the Tulsa County Board of County Commissioners, communications professional Sarah Gray and 20-year political veteran and former State Rep. Lonnie Sims will face off in the November general election.
Gray won the Democratic nomination by defeating former Tulsa City Councilwoman Maria Barnes, 7,776 votes, or 59.07 percent, to 5,387 votes, or 40.93 percent. Gray and Barnes both defeated Keith’s former chief deputy, Jim Rea, in an earlier primary.
Meanwhile, Sims earned the Republican nomination, earning 6,127 votes, or 54,63 percent, to 5,089 votes, or 45.37 percent, for his opponent, Melissa Myers.
The county commissioner race formerly featured an independent candidate, Josh Turley, who dropped out of the race before Election Day.
Tulsa voters approve propositions
Tulsa voters approved a pair of propositions on Election Day, adjusting the salaries of Tulsa City Council members and the city auditor.
Proposition No. 1, which approved changes to the city councilors’ salaries and how they are calculated, passed with 35,278 votes, or 63.39 percent.
Now, councilors will receive $32,000, a 33 percent raise. In the future, salaries will now be determined by cost-of-living adjustments according to the consumer price index, where they were previously determined by a public vote.
Proposition No. 2 changed the city auditor’s salary and passed with 31,700 votes, or 57.01 percent. The city auditor will now make $142,500, three-quarters of the mayoral salary.
