CHICKASHA – Two incumbent members of the City Council decided to leave this year, at least in part because of family considerations.
Ward 1 Councilman Brian Gerdes, vice president of sales at the Dr Pepper-Royal Crown Bottling Co. in Chickasha, filed for reelection but bowed out afterward; he has two children. Gerdes was appointed to the council in April 2020, was elected to a full term in 2021 and filed unopposed for another term in 2023.
Ward 3 Councilman Oscar Nelson did not file for reelection after serving on the council for a little over six years. He was appointed to the office in August 2018, ran unopposed for a full term in 2019, 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 & Grass Farm, “which also entails a cattle operation as well as regular farming,” Nelson told Southwest Ledger. “I also have been in the process of restoring my home in Chickasha (a 1902) for 15+ years,” Nelson added.
William Clark Southard, 68, will succeed Gerdes in Ward 1. Southard 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.
That leaves eight individuals vying for three open seats on the City Council; they include two incumbents and a former councilman.
Candidates whose names will appear on the ballot this year include:
• Josh Rauls, 45, Ward 2. He owns H&R Diesel.
• 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.
• Ward 3 candidate Kimberly Jo Irving, 53, is a teacher.
• Dr. R.P. Ashanti-Alexander, 74, a school administrator who stepped down in 2024 after 11 years on the council, is now seeking reelection in Ward 3.
• Retired clinical social worker Virginia Savage, 69, is a candidate in Ward 4.
• Lisa Lynne Hatchett, 60, a registered behavioral technician, also is a Ward 4 candidate.
• 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.
• Eric Joseph Anderson, 51, a military veteran, is making his third bid for a Ward 4 council seat. Anderson was appointed to the city’s Planning Commission last year.
Every candidate for the Chickasha City Council must be 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.
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 office on April 21.