How campaign cash is flowing in OKC council races
Who's up, who's down financially
Several of the 18 candidates running for Oklahoma City Council in the Feb. 9 primaries entered the campaign's final weeks with cash to spend. Most, though, had filed no report, indicating at a minimum they started late. More reporting deadlines are coming up in the next week. Here's a rundown on who has reported what so far:
• Todd Stone: The Ward 4 incumbent had $38,258.88 on hand, according to his latest report, filed Oct. 27. Stone, a homebuilder, had contributions in the third quarter from firefighters, and the Building Trades and Southwest Laborers councils. Neither of the challengers for his seat reported raising any money.
• Jessica Martinez-Brooks: Running for the open Ward 3 seat, Martinez-Brooks had $24,542.47 on hand, according to her report, filed Oct. 27. She raised $26,695 in the third quarter, including $2,800 from firefighters.
• Barbara Young: A candidate for the Ward 3 seat opened due to the retirement of Larry McAtee, Young had $8,303.85 on hand when she filed her most recent report Oct. 5. She was the largest single donor to her committee, giving $3,005.
• Bill Fleming: Fleming is seeking the Ward 1 seat being vacated by James Greiner. Filing with the city clerk Jan. 21, Fleming reported his committee had $6,455.37 on hand.
• Megan Scott: Megan Scott's latest report, filed Oct. 30, said she had raised $5,695 for her Ward 1 race and had $2,399.45 on hand. She reported 29 donations of $50 or less, totaling $840.
• Jay Sherrill: Jay Sherrill's report dated Oct. 30 for the Ward 1 race indicated he had about $8,400 on hand. He spent about $7,600 in September with CMA Strategies, a political consulting and polling firm associated with the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, the city's leading business organization. The Municipal Contractors PAC gave $1,500.
Vaccine: Quoting the mayor
“The slow delivery of vaccine doses to Oklahoma City from the federal level means vaccinations are not likely to be a factor in decreasing our virus numbers any time soon.”
— Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt, remarking last week on trends in new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths. “There's been a mild and gradual decline in new cases the last few weeks, but all measurements are still two or three times higher than they were before the November spike,” he said. “We all need to continue our precautions.”
Worth noting: The city council voted last week to extend the city's mask mandate to March 5.
Facts and figures
• Shalynne Jackson, the city of Oklahoma City's incoming Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, will earn $132,200 annually. Her first day is Feb. 1.
• The city council withdrew proposed zoning rules for medical marijuana businesses. Surprised marijuana entrepreneurs had criticized the proposal and its sudden introduction at a council meeting last month. Currently, producers and dispensaries must adhere to existing zoning regulations, just like any other business.
Marijuana prospers, tax receipts show
Oklahoma City collected $5.6 million in sales tax revenue from medical marijuana businesses in 2020. Here are the month-by-month totals. Annual marijuana sales tax revenue more than doubled over 2019.
• January, $276,979
• February, $416,447
• March, $373,131
• April, $361,808
• May, $457,995
• June, $527,050
• July, $585,208
• August, $535,861
• September, $524,304
• October, $572,741
• November, $481,035
• December, $496,299
Calendar
The city council meets at 8:30 a.m. Feb. 2 at City Hall, 200 N Walker Ave. Find the agenda under the “Government” tab at okc.gov.
• The Regional Transportation Authority has scheduled a virtual town hall at 6:30 p.m. Thursday as it begins development of a transit plan for its member cities — Edmond, Midwest City, Del City, Oklahoma City, Moore and Norman.
• The city council's annual budget workshop is Feb. 9.
• City council primaries in Wards 1, 3 and 4 are Feb. 9. Early in-person voting will be Feb. 4-5. The U.S. Postal Service recommends returning mailin ballots by Feb. 2.
Present/absent
The mayor and all eight city council members attended last week's meeting.
Police chief promotes two
Police Chief Wade Gourley announced promotion of Maj. Ron Bacy to deputy chief, succeeding Paco Balderrama, who left to become chief of police in Fresno, California. Bacy will oversee the Operations Bureau. Capt. Beto Balderrama was promoted to major and assigned to Springlake Division.
Village councilman takes NLC post
Adam Graham, a councilman in The Village, has been appointed to the National League of Cities' 2021 Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Federal Advocacy Committee. The committee develops policy positions on behalf of cities and towns.
Of note: Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt is on the National League of Cities board of directors.