OKC council moving quickly to fill Pettis’ seat

The Oklahoma City Council is moving quickly to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Ward 7 Councilman John Pettis.

Pettis has resigned effective May 31. He faces allegations that he converted money donated to charities for his own use.

Tuesday, the council is expected to vote to accept Pettis’ resignation.

Then, the council will call a special primary election for Aug. 28 and, if necessary, a runoff on Nov. 6 to fill the remainder of Pettis’ term, which expires in early 2021.

Filing for the primary will be June 13, 14 and 15.

Aug. 28 is the statewide runoff primary election and Nov. 6 is the 2018 statewide general election.

The dates could draw more voters than have taken part in recent

municipal elections.

Regular elections for mayor and council are held in late winter and early spring. Turnout for the February 2018 mayoral primary was 8.4 percent.

In the meantime, the council will appoint an interim member to represent Ward 7.

Applicants will have to meet the legal qualifications to serve and submit a one-page statement “concerning why

he or she desires to be appointed” to the post.

The appointee could file later to run for election to the seat.

Applications will be available starting next Wednesday and will be due the following Tuesday, May 29.

The city charter requires the council to appoint a new council member within 30 days of when a vacancy occurs.

Unless a special meeting is called, that most likely would mean a new Ward 7 representative would be appointed at the regular meeting on June 19.

The other regular meeting next month is June 5, seven days after applications are due.

The council could meet privately that day to interview applicants.

Mayor David Holt said Friday there was a sense of urgency on the council to fill Pettis’ seat.

“I certainly feel the urgency,” he said.

Holt said he would be “in constant contact with opinion leaders” in Ward 7 with the intent of seeing that the council’s choice meets expectations in the community.

He said a process of having eight elected leaders from outside Ward 7 fill the council seat could seem imperfect but said voters soon will make their own choice and “that’s the way it should be.”