CHICKASHA – Three City Council members filed unopposed for new terms, one seeking reelection drew an opponent, and one bowed out, drawing three contenders who include a former councilman.
Zach Grayson drew no opponent in his bid for a second term as Mayor.
Kea Ginn filed unopposed for a third term in Ward 1, and Erica Alexander filed unopposed for a second term in Ward 3.
Charlie Burruss, who is self-employed in oil and gas mineral management, is seeking a second term in Ward 2. He drew a challenger: Rockey Talley, a retired doctor who manages his family’s business of rent houses and pest control.
Ward 4 Councilman John P. Smith, a U.S. Navy retiree and former school teacher/administrator, is stepping down after one term. Candidates for that post include Sierra Leatherwood, who owns a tanning salon in Chickasha; Kelly Boyd, who served two terms on the City Council but was defeated for reelection two years ago by Lisa Hatchett; and Heather Schenk, whose Facebook page describes her as having a “hippie heart with a gypsy soul.”
Every candidate for the 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 at-large. The mayor and the eight council members are elected “by all [of] the qualified voters of the city,” the City Charter decrees.
Councilors serve twoyear terms and receive no compensation for their service.
The nonpartisan municipal election is set for April 7 and the candidate who receives the most votes wins; there will be no runoff election.