LAWTON – District 1 will have a new representative on the Comanche County Board of Commissioners starting next week.
Lawton resident Ryan John won the right to represent District 1 in the Aug. 27 GOP primary election to fill the seat, according to unofficial results from the Oklahoma State Election Board. Ryan beat five other candidates for the position, claiming 1,329 votes or 44.02% of the total.
John was pleased when he learned the results, he said in an Aug. 30 phone interview.
“It was just a huge sigh of relief and a feeling that a monumental amount of work had paid off,” he said.
“A lot of time was sacrificed away from my family. I was just glad it was over, and for a good cause, too.”
Interim Commissioner Trent Logan came in second with 716 votes or 23.72% of the total, according to the election board.
Logan, who was appointed to represent District 1 on the commission in June after former Commissioner John O’Brien resigned, said he was grateful for the opportunity to serve the county.
“I just feel really proud that I got the maintenance facility back on track,” he said in a phone interview.
“We got our production back to where we really started producing.”
Hank Hasenbeck was third with 348 votes, or 11.53%.
Craig Tracht finished fourth with 94 votes, or 3.11% of the total. Craig Maguire came in last with 76 votes, or 2.52%.
John was sworn into office during a Sept. 3 ceremony at the Comanche County Courthouse. He will complete O’Brien’s unexpired term, which is set to end in 2026, and then decide whether to stand for re-election.
Sheriff ’s race Michael Merritt defeated his opponent, Andy Moon, in the GOP primary runoff race to choose the next Comanche County sheriff.
Merritt finished the night with 3,336 votes, or 54.61% of the total, according to unofficial results from the election board. His opponent, Andy Moon, came in second with 2,773 votes, or 45.39% of the total.
Merritt will advance to the November general election, when he will square off against Democratic candidate David Stroud. November’s winner will replace longtime Sheriff Kenny Stradley, who decided not to seek re-election this year.
Merrit said he appreciated the voters who decided he was the best candidate for the job.
“We’ve been working really hard,” he said. “We’ve gotten out and knocked about 2,600 doors, and we’ve been out maintaining and putting up signs and shaking hands and meeting with groups of people. I’m looking forward to the general runoff in November.”
Merrit said he was a corporal in the criminal investigations division of the sheriff’s office at the time of the election, but he was slated to become the undersheriff as of early September.
Moon did not return an Aug.
30 call seeking comment.
EDITOR”S NOTE: District Attorney Kyle Cabelka has filed a petition seeking a new election in the runoff race for the sheriff’s office, citing allegations that some residents were improperly allowed to vote. Please see related coverage on page 1.