Harris takes Ward 2 seat by 5 votes

LAWTON – Five votes made the difference for Lawton City Council candidate Kelly Harris.

Harris captured 210 votes in Tuesday’s runoff election for the Ward 2 seat on the council, or about 50% of the total. His opponent, Mark Malone, finished with 205 votes – about 49% of the total.

Harris was not surprised that the race was so close, he said in a phone interview Wednesday afternoon.

“Mark has been running for a very long time,” Harris said. “He’s been active in the ward and in the Neighborhood Watch committee, and he’s a good man.”

Harris said he reached out to Malone last night to express an interest in working on some of the issues Malone had identified during the campaign. He said Malone called him last night, but Harris did not get a chance to talk to him.

“I’m hoping to visit with him in the next couple days and say, ‘Good job,’” Harris said. “He ran a really good, clean race. It was a hard-fought race, and I want to congratulate him on that.”

Malone has until 5 p.m. Friday to decide whether he wants to challenge the election results. If Malone does not file a protest, Harris will be sworn into office in January for a three-year term.

An attempt to reach Malone for comment was not immediately successful Wednesday.

Harris will replace outgoing Councilman Keith Jackson, whose term expires in 2022.

Harris thanked Jackson for his service to Lawton and to Ward 2.

“I wish him well, and if there’s ever anything I can do for the Jacksons, I’m more than happy to help out,” Harris said.