Banz, Stein face off in GOP county assessor primary
Two Republicans are seeking their party’s nomination in the race for Oklahoma County assessor, the office long held by Leonard Sullivan, who is retiring.
Tuesday’s primary race is between former state Rep. Gary Banz, 72, of Midwest City, and Sullivan’s chief deputy, Larry Stein, 62, of Edmond.
The winner will face Mike Shelton, 45, of Oklahoma City — the only Democrat to file for the office — in the general election.
Banz said he was encouraged by family and acquaintances to run for the office because of his “strong management experience and years in public service.”
“What they saw in my experience — not only in the Legislature, but in teaching, coaching and nonprofit work — was something that needed to continue in public service,” he said.
Banz said he has spent his adult life building teams and managing teams.
He co-founded and served as executive director of Oklahoma Honor Flights for seven years. The nonprofit took 2,055 World War II veterans from 226 communities to visit memorials honoring their service in Washington, D.C. Banz, an U.S. Army veteran, managed that and the $2.5 million in donations that funded the flights.
He also managed mortgages for Central Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity, served in the state House of Representatives for 12 years, taught in public schools for 28 years and coached basketball for 21 years.
Banz said he isn’t looking for a job, but for a way to give back for all that he has been given.
As assessor, he would use his position on the county budget board to advocate strongly for criminal justice reform efforts, he said.
Another priority would be to increase the number of property owners who take advantage of The Senior Valuation Freeze. Homeowners who are 65 or older with a gross household income of $67,300 or less, can apply to have the taxable value of their property frozen.
Banz said many aren’t aware of the option, so he would work to get the word out and assist qualified seniors.
To cut expenses, he would explore expansion of electronic notifications to property owners, some of which could require new legislation. People would opt in, so those who prefer receiving notices in the mail could do so, he said.
Stein has worked in the assessor’s office for 17 years, where he helps manage a $7 million budget and 78 employees who handle 21 percent of all parcels in the state.
The assessor’s office is a leader in the nation in terms of its use of technology and has been recognized for providing access to public records on its website, Stein said.
Property records involving ownership, assessed value, exemptions and other information — about 330,000 parcels in Oklahoma County’s 720 square miles— are available free of charge at any time.
The access to all that information creates economic development opportunities because it allows buyers and sellers to locate properties, even if they are deployed overseas, Stein said.
“We’ve created new things in the past few weeks, like the ability to search by type of property,” he said. And colorcoded maps are designed to be compliant for people with color blindness.
He currently is helping create videos that teach visitors how to use the website.
Stein worked with lawmakers to establish standardized language to be used by all county assessors. The bill took 40 years of state statues, attorney general opinions and state questions and “updated it and put it into a plan that made sense,” he said.
Another bill will implement a computer appraisal system available to assessors statewide.
“I have worked to limit assessment increases for those who have trouble paying taxes,” Stein said. Those efforts include legislative initiatives to eliminate property taxes for veterans who are 100 percent disabled and to increase the income limit for senior residents to be eligible for reduced property tax increases.
As assessor, Stein said he would cross-train employees so they can move to other areas of the office during peak times. “It’s a pretty technical job. You want people who are trained,” he said.
Before coming to the assessor’s office, Stein worked in communications for state Republican party and in the offices of governor and lieutenant governor. He also worked as a consultant and journalist, and hosted television and radio talk shows.