While Tulsa runoffs can get a bit fiery, Tulsa Public Schools Board of Education candidates for District 3 Kyra Carby and Dorie Simmons both say they agree that either candidate would be a great fit for the district.
Carby and Simmons advanced to a runoff from a four-candidate field, with Carby leading the initial race by about 130 votes. Incumbent board member Jennettie Marshall, who called for the recent audit of TPS, did not run for reelection.
On March 3, Carby and Simmons attended the monthly meeting of the Tulsa chapter of the Oklahoma Federation of Democratic Women to pitch their campaigns for about five minutes to attendees. During their time, both candidates started by emphasizing their personal friendship.
“We are not arch-nemeses here. We are two people who care about North Tulsa,” Simmons said. “I think that is important to say because you have not possibly seen this before, right? We’re supposed to hate each other. We’re supposed to talk really bad about each other. But we’re not going to do that, OK?”
Carby agreed, arguing District 3 would have “great” representation under either candidate.
“As Dorie said, we are actually friends. We support each other,” Carby said. “I’m not supposed to say this out loud, but I think with either one it’s a great choice for District 3.”
The runoff election for TPS D3 is set to occur Tuesday, April 1. Early voting at the Tulsa County Election Board is set for March 27 and 28.
TPS D3 runoff candidates acknowledge ‘scathing’ audit
The recently released audit of Tulsa Public Schools was top of mind as candidates spoke March 3. State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd, who is also a 2026 candidate for lieutenant governor, presented a powerpoint in Tulsa on Feb. 27 detailing findings of mismanagement in the district.
“This audit is a financial review,” Byrd said. “The catalyst for this audit request was the case of Devin Fletcher.”
While Fletcher was sentenced in federal court for embezzling from the district, no other criminal charges have been filed as of the publication of this article. Notable conflicts of interest found by the audit include former board member Jania Wester approving contracts for a nonprofit her husband ran and former assistant superintendent Paula Shannon and executive director of bond and energy management Chris Hudgins running consulting businesses hired by the district.
Simmons, a real estate agent, emphasized that her business experience would be a great addition to the board as it handles the fallout of the audit.
“We have a lot of work to do in Tulsa Public Schools. I think we are all very well aware that the audit that came out was quite frankly, for lack of a better word, scathing,” Simmons said. “I personally have a business background. I have a master’s in business from Oklahoma City University, and my undergraduate is in communication at [the University of Tulsa] and my background just overall is in supply chain, sourcing, checks and balances, accounting — those things that have, quite frankly, not been done correctly by their own admission in Tulsa Public Schools.”
Carby, a former teacher who works as a grant coordinator for the City of Tulsa, argued that the community needs to find a way to move forward from the audit without focusing on blaming individuals for the districts’ failure.
“So right now everyone is up in arms about the audit, and rightfully so,” Carby said. “But with that, we have to keep our students at the forefront of our mind. How are we working together to not place blame on (the) previous administration or previous board members (or) future board members, but how are we uplifting our students? And so often, they get lost in the sauce.”
HD 71 sneak peak: Nichols, Swope back different Dems
Democratic candidates running in the special election to succeed Amanda Swope in House District 71 were also invited to speak at the March 3 meeting, although they lacked the détente of the TPS board candidates. Swope resigned in January to join Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols’ administration as the director of tribal policy and partnerships.
Amanda Clinton, Hudson Harder and Ben Riggs all spoke at the meeting. Dennis Baker did not attend. Harder — a 24-year-old comedian and teacher — lightly criticized Clinton’s political connections, Baker’s multiple runs for office and Riggs’ familial wealth. (Riggs, a Sand Springs Public Schools teacher, is the grandson of former state legislature and Riggs Abney co-founder David Riggs).
“We have a candidate in this race who has run for the U.S. Senate and has run for the U.S. Congress and is now running in HD 71. God bless him, I’m only looking for HD 71,” Hudson said. “There is a candidate in our race who has a lot of connections, and they’ve been in the party a very long time (…) There is a candidate in this race who has a lot of money.”
Clinton and Riggs, who are endorsed by Nichols and Swope, respectively, steered clear of criticism and focused on their platforms. Both have held large fundraisers in town, with Riggs’ Feb. 28 fundraiser co-hosted by the last three living former Democratic attorneys general: Drew Edmondson, Mike Turpen and Robert Henry. (Turpen is a shareholder at Riggs Abney, while Edmondson is listed as “of counsel” for the firm on its website.) Clinton’s March 5 fundraiser was co-hosted by the last two Democratic mayors of Tulsa: Nichols and Kathy Taylor. (Clinton worked as Nichols’ communications director during his mayoral campaign.)
In the Republican Party primary, Beverly Atteberry, Heidemarie Fuentes and Tania Garza are seeking the HD 71 nomination.
If no candidate receives 50 percent of the vote on April 1, runoff elections will be held on May 13. The general election between the eventual Democratic and Republican nominees is scheduled for June 10.
