CHICKASHA – Ten local residents, six men and four women, filed for four open seats on the City Council. All four offices are contested and one ward has four contenders. The candidates include three incumbents and a former councilman.
Councilors whose offices are open this year include Brian Gerdes (Ward 1, Position 1), Georgianne Hebblethwaite (Ward 2, Position 1), Oscar Nelson (Ward 3, Position 1), and Kelly Boyd (Ward 4, Position 1).
Candidates this year include:
• William Clark Southard, 68, Ward 1. He is a retired Army officer who has been self-employed as an economic development consultant for several years. Southard wrote that he has been a registered voter in Chickasha for 10 years. He is an Oklahoma native whose family is from Ryan; his mother lives in Duncan.
• Ward 1 incumbent Brian Gerdes, 41, is vice president of sales at the Dr Pepper-Royal Crown Bottling Co. in Chickasha. He was appointed to the council in April 2020, was elected to a full term in 2021 and ran unopposed for reelection in 2023.
• Josh Rauls, 45, Ward 2. He owns H&R Diesel. In his declaration of candidacy Rauls wrote that he has been a registered voter in Chickasha for 11 years and a resident of the ward for two years.
• Ward 2 incumbent M. Georgianne Hebblethwaite, 64, is the city’s current Vice Mayor. She is the inside sales coordinator at Royal Filter. Hebblethwaite has served two terms on the City Council; she ran unopposed in 2021 and again in 2023.
• Ward 3 candidate Kimberly Jo Irving, 53, is a teacher. She has been a registered voter in Chickasha for 30 years and a resident of the ward for four years.
• Dr. R.P. Ashanti-Alexander, 74, is seeking reelection in Ward 3. He is a school administrator who stepped down from Ward 3, Position 2, in 2024 after 11 years on the council. “Dr. A” has been a resident of the ward for 14 years, he wrote in his declaration of candidacy.
• Retired clinical social worker Virginia Savage, 69, is a candidate in Ward 4. She wrote that she has been a resident of the ward four 16 years.
• Lisa Lynne Hatchett, 60, a registered behavioral technician, also is a Ward 4 candidate. She has been a registered voter and a resident of the ward for eight years.
• Ward 4 incumbent Kelly Boyd, 57, was elected unopposed in 2021 and was reelected in 2023. Boyd founded Service Tech Cooling Towers in Chickasha 25 years ago. He has been a registered voter and resident of the ward for more than 20 years.
• Eric Joseph Anderson, 51, a milita ry veteran, is making his third bid for a Ward 4 council seat. He attended the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma and has lived in Chickasha since 2016; he has lived in the ward for eight years. Anderson was appointed to the city’s Planning Commission last year.
Ward 3 incumbent Oscar Nelson chose not to seek reelection after serving on the council for a little over six years. He was appointed to the off ice in August 2018, ran unopposed for a full term in 2019, and was unopposed in 2021 and again in 2023.
“I knew last year at this time that I would not run again, due to needing to spend more time with family and my business,” Chickasha Sod Farm, Nelson told Southwest Ledger.” I am very happy that Ward 3 has two individuals wanting to step in and help move the city forward. Of course, Dr. Ashanti-Alexander has a lot of experience and history as a councilman, and Kim Irving would bring fresh ideas and thoughts” to the council.
Every candidate for the Chickasha City Council must be a registered voter and a resident of the ward for which he/she seeks to be elected, but all candidates run atlarge. The mayor and the eight council members are elected “by all [of] the qualified voters of the city,” the City Charter decrees.
City Council members serve two-year terms, and unlike the Legislature and statewide elected officials, Chickasha councilors have no term limits. Service on the council is voluntary; the members receive no compensation.
The annual nonpartisan council election is scheduled for April 1. The candidate “who receives the plurality of votes” in each race will be the winner, the City Charter decrees. The newly elected councilors will receive the oath of off ice on April 21.