After the candidate filing period for 25 public offices in the Tulsa area closed today, six offices will go to an election, 18 elections were decided by default with only one candidate filing, and one office saw no candidate file.
All three of the school board seats in Tulsa saw two candidates file, setting up three April 7 school board elections.
Voters in Tulsa Public Schools District 4 will find two familiar faces on the ballot: incumbent E’lena Ashley, 66, and former Tulsa City Councilwoman Connie Dodson, 58.
Ashley has served on the board since she unseated former board member Shawna Keller in 2022 with the help of $18,000 from a “short lived Oklahoma political action committee.” Ashley is one of the more conservative members of the Tulsa School Board, and candidates that attempted to align themselves with her stances were defeated in 2024.
While Ashley will be running her first reelection campaign, Dodson will be attempting a political comeback. After serving on the Tulsa City Council from 2014 to 2022, she lost reelection to Christian Bengel. Dodson has been out of politics a few years, but her daughter, Amanda Swope, currently serves as the City of Tulsa director of tribal partnerships and policy in Mayor Monroe Nichols’ administration.
In Tulsa Public Schools District 7 incumbent board President Susan Lamkin, 50, will face a challenge from Michael Phillips, 76. Lamkin has served on the board since 2022, while Phillips is a retired TPS teacher who appears to be active with the Tulsa County Men’s Republican Club.
The one Tulsa Tech Center Board seat saw incumbent Jim Baker, 82, file to continue representing District 7. He will face challenger Matthew McAfee, 36, in the general election. McAfee has worked at Edison Preparatory School in Tulsa and runs a children’s bookstore.
Since only two candidates filed for those elections, each will be held April 7 instead of Feb. 10. Contestations of candidacy may be filed with the Tulsa County Election Board by other candidates through Friday, Dec. 5.
Broken Arrow school board, Collinsville City Commission also see elections
Incumbent Broken Arrow Board of Education President Steve Allen, 54, will face a challenge from licensed professional counselor Linda Russell, 72, for the board’s Office 1.
Allen, a former teacher and coach, was first appointed to the Broken Arrow School Board in 2010. Russell, a Bartlesville native, has worked as a therapist in Oklahoma for much of her career.
While school board races are officially nonpartisan, Russell’s Facebook includes photos of her attending the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee and posts supporting former Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters.
An open seat on the Liberty Public Schools to succeed Kim Perner saw Timothy Brown of Bixby, 44, and Linda Dany of Mounds, 70, file for the office.
Since only two candidates filed for each of the school board races, the general election will be held April 7.
In Collinsville, incumbent City Commissioner Joe Sagi, 49, will face Elizabeth Barry, 30, in Ward 4. Sagi owns the Collinsville Collision Center and is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. Barry appears to have been a nominee for the city’s planning commission at the City Commission’s most recent meeting.
And the rest: Other Tulsa County candidate filings
Two non-incumbents were elected to office after no other candidates filed for the seat. Aaron Dolan of Tulsa, 32, was elected to the Berryhill Public Schools Board of Education to succeed Jack Lollis. In Collinsville, Angela L. York, 60, was elected to the City Commission to succeed Danny Stanley.
Municipal officers reelected without opposition include:
- Collinsville Mayor Larry Shafer, 68;
- Collinsville City Commissioner Shelley Nachtigall, 55, representing Ward 1;
- Owasso City Councilor Paul Loving, 64, representing Ward 3;
- Owasso City Councilor Jamie Dunn, 66, representing Ward 4;
- City of Sand Springs City Councilor Mike Burdge, 74, representing Ward 3; and
- Sand Springs City Councilor Erik Stuckey, 53, representing Ward 4.
School board members reelected without opposition include:
- Collinsville Public Schools Board member Ryan Flanary, 45, representing Office 1;
- Collinsville Public Schools Board member Jeromy Burwell, 52, representing Office 5;
- Glenpool Public Schools Board member Mike Pendergrass, 64, representing Office 1;
- Jenks Public Schools Board member Alli Johnson, 47, representing Office 1;
- Keystone Public Schools Board member Johnny Griffin, 61, representing Office 3;
- Owasso Public Schools Board member Stephanie Ruttman, representing Office 1;
- Sand Springs Public Schools Board member Whitney Wagers, 44, representing Office 1;
- Skiatook Public Schools Board member Glenn Morgan, representing Office 1;
- Sperry Public Schools Board member April Bowman, 67, representing Office 1;
- Union Public Schools Board member Joey Reyes, 48, representing Office 1.
One office saw no candidate file for it. When no candidate files for an open school board race, Oklahoma statutes authorize the board to appoint someone living anywhere in the school district for the duration of the term. The Bixby Public Schools Board will have a vacancy to fill after no candidates filled for Office 1, which is being vacated by incumbent Julie Prox.
Tommy Neal, operations manager for the Tulsa County Election Board, provided NonDoc with a final list of candidates. He said no candidate filed after 1:50 p.m. Wednesday.
Read the Tulsa County candidate filingsÂ
