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Show love to your city by voting on Feb. 14

By Maegan Dunn / Inside OKC / February 3, 2023

Residents throughout the Oklahoma City metro will have the opportunity to vote in important municipal and school board elections on Tuesday, Feb. 14. In Oklahoma City, registered voters in Wards 2, 5, 6 and 8 will be able to vote for their City Council representative. This nonpartisan election will decide who represents those wards and districts for the next four years.

While the Chamber does not endorse candidates for any city office, it contacted each candidate to ask questions regarding their approach to the office if elected as well as their thoughts on issues of importance to the Chamber.

Members of the Oklahoma City Council have a significant impact on the growth of OKC, making the upcoming municipal election critical to our future. Below are the names of all the candidates on the Feb. 14 ballot, and to read their responses to the Chamber’s questions, visit the Chamber’s website.  

CITY COUNCIL

Ward 2

  • James Cooper (incumbent)
  • Alexander DeShazo
  • Weston Storey

Ward 5

  • Audra Beasley
  • Matthew Hinkle
  • Thuan Nguyen
  • Jeff Owen

Ward 6

  • Marek Cornett
  • JoBeth Hamon (incumbent)

Ward 8

  • Mark Stonecipher (incumbent)
  • Frank Urbanic
  • Amy Warne

All registered voters in Wards 2, 5, 6 and 8 are eligible to vote in the Feb. 14 general election. If a candidate earns more than half of the votes on Feb. 14, he or she is elected to office. No runoff is necessary.

If no candidate earns more than half of the votes on Feb. 14, the two candidates with the most votes advance to the April 4 runoff to determine the winner.

The last election for Oklahoma City Council occurred in 2021 when voters went to the polls to make selections for Wards 1, 3 and 4. Bradley Carter (1), Barabra Young (3) and Todd Stone (4) won those races. David Greenwell, who currently serves as Ward 5 councilman, chose not to seek another four-year term.

SCHOOL BOARD

Only one Oklahoma City Public Schools Board of Education seat is up for election in 2023, District 6. The seat only received one candidate, Juan Lecona, who automatically wins as he is unopposed. The Chamber did contact Mr. Lecona for his response and his answers are listed on the Chamber’s website.

VOTING INFORMATION

Early voting is 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Feb. 9-10 at your local county election board:

Regular voting is 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Feb. 14 at your assigned polling location. Find your polling location on your voter ID card or by using the voter portal at oklahoma.gov/elections/ovp.

EMBARK bus and OKC Streetcar service will be free on Election Day to help get voters to the polls, and you can learn more about their routes by visiting their websites.