By Traci Chapman
Published on June 5, 2008

Candidates officially lined up this week for the chance to be considered by voters in four upcoming county races.

As of press time, 13 candidates had filed to vie for the top jobs in the sheriff’s, county clerk’s and court clerk’s offices and to become the next District 2 County Commissioner.

County Clerk Phyllis Blair and Court Clerk Dee Ray announced in January they would retire at the end of their terms. As of press time, two individuals had filed for the chance of succeeding Blair, and four had officially thrown their hats in the ring for Ray’s job. Filing closed at 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Republicans Shelley Dickerson and Barbara Haley filed their paperwork to run for county clerk Monday.

Both women have strong ties to the county — Dickerson has worked in the clerk’s office for 26 years; Haley has been a legal assistant in El Reno for more than 19 years.

Republican Allen Arnold and Democrat Anna Hrdy were the first to make an official bid for Ray’s office, followed by Democrat Sherry Murray and Republican Marie Ramsey.

Arnold, a Calumet native, joined the court clerk’s office more than three years ago. He said he knew “from the start” he wanted to eventually become court clerk — he just didn’t “didn’t anticipate my boss retiring as soon as she did.”

Hrdy said she had been a deputy court clerk for 19 years, maintained the records department and was responsible for the court’s disposition docket — cases that are reviewed by the court for possible dismissal after being inactive for a year.

Election board officials said Marie Ramsey filed for Ray’s position Tuesday. A 13-year veteran of the court clerk’s office, Ramsey said she has served as chief deputy since 2006.

Sheriff Lewis Hawkins, the only incumbent seeking election as of press time, filed Monday, and Randall Edwards proclaimed his intention to challenge Hawkins for the post Tuesday. Both candidates are Republicans.
Hawkins has been sheriff since 1989. A lifetime resident of the county, Hawkins said he began his law enforcement career as a part-time reserve volunteer at the Yukon Police Department in 1976. He moved to the sheriff’s office as a reserve officer in 1980, going full-time in 1982.

Edwards began his career in law enforcement after his 1974 discharge from the Marine Corps. After returning home, he work with the El Reno Police Department for two years before starting his own business installing sewer and water systems for municipalities “statewide.” In addition to his construction business, Edwards raised cattle in Canadian, Caddo and Pontotoc counties. He returned to law enforcement in 2000, when he retired from construction and scaled back his cattle business, taking a position with the Canadian County Sheriff’s Department. He said he served as a deputy sheriff until he resigned in February to run against his former boss.
As of press time, three candidates, all Republicans, had filed for District 2 Commissioner.

Mustang contractor David Anderson filed Monday. Anderson has owned and operated Dave Anderson Construction since 1981. He said the company primarily performs infrastructure construction for communities and developments, particularly working on sewer and water projects for a variety of entities.

Richard Engle was the first to file for the job Monday. Engle is the president of Bellwest America, a directory publishing company. Before starting the company in 2000, he was publisher of Mid-Del and Harrah News.

Mustang resident Monty Keely filed Monday. The only candidate besides Hawkins who has served in county government, Keely was District 2 Commissioner from 1997 to 2001. Current Commissioner Don Young, whom Keely defeated in 1996, regained the seat in 2000. Keely ran again in 2004, but he was left behind in that year’s Republican primary.

Mustang City Councilman Scott Gibson and Canadian County employee Teresa Ramsey both filed Wednesday. Gibson, an account representative with Hoidale, moved to Mustang in 1988. He served on the Mustang Planning Commission for about nine years, has been a City Council member for nearly 10 years and represents the city on the Oklahoma Environmental Authority Board.

Ramsey has served as a deputy for nine county commissioners during a span of 22 years. The El Reno resident challenged Young for the position in 2004, losing by 48 votes.

Young announced he would not run Tuesday and endorsed Anderson for the post.

The state primary is scheduled for July 29, and primary run-off elections are scheduled for August 26. Primary run-offs are held when more than two candidates from one party run, and none of those candidates receives the majority — more than 50 percent — of the votes cast. In that case, the two candidates who receive the most votes will be put on the August run-off ballot.

The general election for county candidates will be included on the Nov. 4 presidential ballot.