OKC Ward 7 race

Only two of eight candidates for the Ward 7 Oklahoma City Council seat met the last preelection deadline for filing campaign finance reports.

Candidates are seeking to fill the unexpired term of John A. Pettis Jr.

Facing a criminal charge that he converted charitable donations to his own use, the second-term councilman resigned effective May 31.

In June, the council appointed the Rev. Lee Cooper Jr., senior pastor of Prospect Missionary Baptist Church and a planning commissioner, to fill the post temporarily.

Cooper is not seeking election to the seat.

If no candidate wins more than 50 percent of the votes on Tuesday, a runoff will be Nov. 6.

Polls are open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Campaign finance reports were due last week for fundraising and expenditures since July 1.

Nikki Nice reported raising $4,624.70 and spending $1,420.13. She said she had raised $5,619.70 overall for the race and finished the reporting period with $3,759.57 on hand.

She reported a $200 contribution from Ward 6 Councilwoman Meg Salyer and $2,395.34 paid on her behalf for yard signs by John Bilbury.

John A. Pettis, the former councilman's father, raised $2,650 and loaned his campaign a total of $15,000. He ended the period with $5,465.70 on hand.

Documents included with a lawsuit filed last week against Chris Harrison showed he had spent about $4,500 on the race, but no fundraising reports were filed with the city clerk.

Leslie Johnson previously reported raising $261.63 for the period ended June 30.

The amounts contrast with the $115,600 the former councilman reported raising for his 2017 reelection campaign.

Kirk Pankratz earlier filed a statement of organization listing campaign officers, banking and other information, but had filed no fundraising reports.

He said by email Saturday that he would take care of filing "first thing Monday morning.”

Margaret Walsh, Lisa Butler and Ed Alexander had no reports on file with the city clerk.

Nikki Nice, whose legal name is Alberta Nicole Swanegan Owens, says on her campaign website that, as councilwoman, she would strengthen partnerships with community agencies.

As a radio personality, Owens, 38, said she has heard from citizens regarding needs in Ward 7. She says sustainable growth and attractive jobs are priorities for northeast Oklahoma City.

Pettis, 67, is a former El Reno mayor and made a previous bid for the Ward 7 post, losing by one vote in 2007 to Skip Kelly.

Retired from the Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency, he said there were "lots of projects in the hopper I would like to see completed in a timely fashion" in Ward 7.

Harrison, 43, is a funeral director and former Millwood school board member.

He said his priorities were economic development, safer neighborhoods and a stronger educational alliance between the city council and Oklahoma City Public Schools.

He was sued last week by a campaign consultant, 46 Creative, for breach of contract.

Pankratz, 60, is former senior pastor of Church of the Harvest in northeast Oklahoma City.

He named economic development and strategic partnerships with public schools as his priorities.

Voting records show Pankratz has never voted in a Ward 7 election, or in any other Oklahoma City municipal elections.

He said he had lived in Oklahoma City since around 2011. He remained registered, and voted, in Edmond until March 2017.

Johnson, 41, is a Douglass High School graduate and Eagle Scout.

He said his priorities included promoting city involvement in public schools, particularly in Ward 7, and building strong neighborhoods.