Residents of Ward 3 in Sand Springs will get the opportunity to vote for City Councilman Tuesday, February 11th. City Council is an unpaid position. Current Councilman Mike Burdge, 68, has been in office since 1996, including 13 years as Mayor and 6 years as Vice Mayor. His challenger is Justin Sean Tockey, 39. Both candidates have been invited to address their constituents directly. The following is a letter to our readers from Mr. Tockey.

“Hello Sandites! I want to thank you for the opportunity to campaign for and, if elected, serve as a Sand Springs City Councilor. I understand that this is an important decision for our town so I wanted to provide everyone with some background info on me, my values, and the vision I believe we can achieve to make Sand Springs the #1 place to live in Oklahoma.

Our family arrived in Sand Springs in 1959 where my Dad and Grandpa owned and operated Moon’s Paint and Body Shop on Charles Page Blvd. My brothers and I attended Sand Springs public schools and I graduated from CPHS, class of ‘98. During senior year, it was my pleasure to serve as the varsity team mascot, the Minuteman, and help the Sandites go undefeated all the way to the semi-finals.

After high school, I attended Tulsa Community College until September 11th, 2001 when I decided to join the U.S. Navy to help combat terrorism abroad. Over the next 12 years, I met the most amazing person ever, Sarah Trzynka, and we ended up getting married and having two kids, Samantha and Gabriel. In 2013, I was forced to choose between another deployment or to separate from the Navy and spend more time with my family. It wasn’t an easy choice and there was no wrong answer but I chose family.

When deciding where to live after the service, I couldn’t think of a better place, in all my travels, to raise our kids than in Sand Springs, Oklahoma. The challenge was to somehow convince Sarah that my hometown was better than Wahiawa, Hawaii, where we were living at the time. It was a tough sell but because she’s from Ft. Wayne, Indiana, we both understand the tremendous value of midwest family culture and affordable cost-of-living!

We moved back to Sand Springs in 2014 where I lucked into a career in the financial industry and am happily serving as a Financial Planner for the Oklahoma Methodist Foundation. Sarah was able to keep her clients from Hawaii and works as Landscape Designer from our home office. Our kids attend school in Sand Springs, including our third child, Archer, who graced us with his arrival last year.

I’ve watched this town grow for nearly 40 years and am very thankful to have the chance to continue our family’s roots here. Sand Springs isn’t without its problems but the benefits far outweigh the costs and I intend to work hard to keep it that way. With the help of our other amazing volunteers in the City Council, I want to see our schools flourish, our businesses boom, and every soul to be warm, safe, and fed. That’s the legacy that Charles Page left for us and I’m excited to be able to carry that torch.

Please cast your vote for Justin Sean Tockey as your Sand Springs City Councilor, Ward 3, on February 11th. For voter registration info or to check your polling place, visit:

https://okvoterportal.okelections.us “