County race heads to August runoff

By Pat Hammert/Special to The News

Canadian County incumbents captured votes in solid numbers in Tuesday’s primary election as the sheriff, county clerk and court clerk were swept back in office.

Of the four county races in motion, only the District 2 Commissioner race is left undecided as Commissioner Don Young, 76, of Mustang received just 34 fewer votes than his first administrative deputy, Theresa Ramsey, 44.

Both bested contender Monty Keely, 59, of Mustang, but since neither captured 51 percent of the vote, Young and Ramsey will face a runoff on Aug. 24. In Mustang’s  six precincts, Young received 612 votes, with Keely receiving 498 votes and Ramsey with 468 votes.

“I’ll be all right, I’m in a runoff,” Young said. He said he was mildly surprised at the outcome. The final tally was Ramsey, 1,073, Young, 1,039, and Keely, 960.

“It was closer than I thought it would be,” Young said.

Celebrating at a watch party as the numbers came in during the evening, Ramsey said, “I feel great. I’m just going to have to work harder and harder.” She said her campaign workers, her family and friends, “are awesome.”

In the sheriff’s race, it was hardly a shoot-out as Sheriff Lewis Hawkins, 57, beat out his opponent LaMont Bo Bolhuis, 53, of El Reno by a vote of 6,921 to 1,663. It was also a blowout in Mustang, with Hawkins receiving 1,265 votes and Bolhuis with 282 votes.

All votes are unofficial until Friday when they are officially certified by the state.

Hawkins took 81 percent of the vote and will serve a fifth straight term. He said Tuesday evening he is gratified he received a 65 percent margin from the El Reno area, a part of the county the Yukon man has not traditionally captured.

“That pleases me. I’m happy with that response. I realize you can’t do this job for 16 years and not make some folks mad. Some people wouldn’t vote for me if a one-armed orangutan was running against me. And I fully understand that,” he said.  

Hawkins began his law enforcement career as a Canadian County reserve deputy 24 years ago. Bolhuis, who lists his occupation as a security agency owner and reserve Oklahoma County deputy, ran a tepid race against the incumbent.

In the Republican primary for the office of county clerk, incumbent Phyllis Blair, 51, of El Reno will take the office outright by defeating her opponent, Deloris Dee Whitley of Mustang, 5,099 to 3,172 and earning 62 percent of the vote. In Mustang precincts, Whitley had a stronger showing with 662 votes, but Blair was still favored with 792 votes.

Blair was appointed last year after former clerk Mark Mishoe resigned. She has worked for the county for 24 years in several departments.

For the office of court clerk, incumbent Dee Ray, 49, El Reno Republican, defeated El Reno realtor and former banker Allen Conner, 64, by grabbing 68 percent of the votes. The tally was Ray, 5,639, Conner, 1,663. In Mustang, Ray received 1,013 votes and Conner was favored by 459 voters.

Ray was appointed to the post in January 2003, replacing Sharon Dill. Ray has worked in the court clerk’s office for 21 years, 12 as chief deputy.

Feaver, Justice snag primary wins

By News  Staff

Term limits opened doors for fresh faces in Tuesday’s primary election as three of four winners in area races were political newcomers.

The race for state Senate District 23 will see Democrat Marilyn Feaver meet Republican Ron Justice in November. Both Feaver and Justice hail from Chickasha and the primary marked their first entry into the political arena. The seat is held by state Sen. Bruce Price, D-Hinton, who faced term limits.

The unofficial election numbers showed Feaver winning the Democratic ticket with 3,917 votes or 56 percent, followed by Ronnie Wyatt with 2,264 or 32 percent and Pat M. Hayes trailing with 867 votes or 12 percent. In Mustang’s three precincts in the district, Feaver also had a strong showing. She received 177 votes, Hayes received 76 votes and Wyatt received 55 votes.

In the Republican race, Ron Justice received 3,599 votes or 74 percent, followed by Charles H. Smith who received 807 votes or 17 percent. Allan M. Hart received 434 votes or 9 percent. In Mustang, Justice received 446 votes, Smith received 194 votes and Hart received 66 votes.

As Tuesday’s results trickled in, Feaver said she was humbled by the support voters showed her.

“We’ve only been in this campaign, well, not even a full two months,” she said. “And for us to pull this out is exciting… I’m elated and it’s humbling to see all the people that have come out to work for this campaign, and all those that voted for me.”

Feaver said although she’s never been in politics before, she excited to see what the coming months produce. She said she’ll have time to develop relationships and network across the district before the general elections in November, as well as develop a campaign that addresses the needs of the constituents.

 Her husband, John Feaver, is president of the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.  She has four children and one granddaughter.

Republican Ron Justice said quality jobs and education go hand-in-hand and a well-educated workforce requires the best schools in the country.

“We don’t want our best and brightest leaving Oklahoma in search of better jobs,” he said.

He retired last year after 24 years as a county agent.  He was the fourth generation to grow up on a farm, learning through experience the importance of family values, strong principles and hard work, he said.

Justice earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in agricultural education from Oklahoma State University.

In other area races:

Representative District 43

Incumbent Ray Young was reelected to the House District 43 seat, receiving 2,829 votes or 83 percent of the vote. There is no Democratic challenger to the seat.

In the one Mustang precinct in District 43, Young received 225 votes and Desmond Donathan received 52 votes. Young does not face a Democrat challenger.

He said he respects Donathan for running.

“Citizens in a democracy need to get involved in the process,” Young said. “I commend my opponent for doing that. He had the courage to put his name on a ballot and stand up for what he believes in. I respect him for that.”

Young said he was honored to be reelected. “I am very humbled and honored to be elected to a third term,” Young said. “It is an awesome responsibility representing the District 43 and I will continue to take it seriously.”

For the upcoming legislative session, Young pointed to a number of issues that are high priorities: roads, juvenile drug courts, government accountability, lowering taxes, reforming workers’ compensation, continuing tort reform discussions and making Oklahoma more business friendly.

Young serves on the House Appropriations and Budget Committee, Appropriations and Budget Subcommittee on Public Safety and Judiciary, Corrections Committee, County and Municipal Government, Joint Special Committee on International Relations, and the Transportation Committee.

Young is a certified public accountant and lives in Yukon.

State Representative District 56

Democrat Jason Glidewell received 2,475 votes, or 66 percent, to win in the primary against Richard Subia, who received 1,290 votes, or 34 percent for state Representative District 56. One Mustang precinct is in the district. Glidewell received 65 votes in Mustang, and Subia received 41 votes.

“I’m very excited and it’s very humbling,” Glidewell said. “We’ve worked so hard to meet people across this district and to have so many people come out and vote for you – it’s very humbling.”

Glidewell, an assistant district attorney from Anadarko, said his courage in addressing issues will help him in the general election in November  against Republican Phil Richardson.

“The difference is I’m a candidate with bold ideas,” Glidewell said. “I plan to be innovative and courageous in the pursuit of those ideas. I think that is the characteristic that is more distinctive than any other.”

He said his success comes from getting out and talking to voters.

“I think the message we have been delivering has really resonated with voters,” he said. “We’ve talked about job creation, education, healthcare and also trying to stop the influx of methamphetimine. I think we have identified the key issues and I believe we can do something about them. I am really excited that people like our ideas and we can do things to make it a little better for all of us.”

Glidewell graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1998 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and American history. He earned his law degree from OU college of law in 2001.

He began working at the family business, Glidewell Plumbing, Heating and Cooling, at an early age. Upon graduating from OU in 1998, Glidewell was hired by the district attorney’s office.

The race is to replace Rep. Ron Langmacher, D-Carnegie, who faced term limits.

State Representative District 55

A 25-year-old former El Reno Chamber of Commerce director earned the nod on Tuesday to represent his party in the race for House of Representative District 55.

Democrat Ryan McMullen of Burns Flat and El Reno pulled in a total of 3,446 votes across the district to beat his opponent Hydro Democrat Charlie Wieland, 64, who captured 1,644 votes. In Canadian County, McMullen earned 486 votes to Wieland's 251.

“This is a big victory. I've just found it amazing, the response I’ve had,” McMullen said. McMullen has campaigned on job creation and economic development in the far-flung district that sweeps into El Reno from the west.  

McMullen visited with campaign workers, family and friends at a watch party Tuesday evening in a private home in El Reno. Over the three-day period before election day, his workers distributed 5,000 pieces of literature, he said.

“We feel good about things right now. We have an incredible amount of momentum and we just have to keep it going,” he said.

McMullen will now face John English, 31, a Republican from Cordell, in the Nov. 2 general election to decide who will replace Rep. Jack Bonny, D-Burns Flat, who is term limited.

English did not face an opponent in the primary. An Internet businessman, he is the son of longtime U.S. Congressman Glenn English.

“We don’t have as much money as the other guy,” McMullen said. “But we’re going to be working harder."

U.S. Senate

In a hotly contested race to earn the seat being vacated by Sen. Don Nickles, former U.S. Rep. Tom Coburn, 56, captured outright the Republican primary, beating out three other GOP contenders including a hard-fought campaign by former Oklahoma City Mayor Kirk Humphreys, 53.

He will face Democrat Rep. Brad Carson of Claremore in the November election. Carson received about 80 percent of the vote over four primary challengers. Canadian County voters closely matched the response across the district.

In Canadian County, the vote in the Republican primary was Coburn, 4,650, Humphreys, 2,793, Bob Anthony, 1,391, Jay Richard Hunt, 106. In the Democratic primary, the tally was Carson, 4,079; Carroll Fisher, 380, Jim Rogers, 349, Monty Johnson, 251 and W.B.G., Woodson, 92.

Carson and Coburn will face Sheila Bilyeu, 60, an unemployed Independent from Oak Hall, Va., on the ballot in November.