Sand Springs heads to the polls this Tuesday: a look at the candidates

/ Tulsa County Election Board/

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Many Sand Springs residents will head to the polls this Tuesday, and some will have two ballots. Tulsa Technology Center Zone 5, comprising most of Sand Springs and Owasso, will vote between Roy D. McClain and Danny Hancock for the vacant Board of Education Office 5 position. Sand Springs Ward 4 will vote between Christine Hamner and Nancy Riley for the vacant position on the Sand Springs City Council.

The Board of Ed Zone 5 seat was previously held by John Selph, first elected in 2008, who resigned last June only six months into his second seven-year term. Board members meet once monthly and are compensated $25 per meeting.

Danny Hancock is a lifelong Sand Springs resident and Tulsa Tech graduate with 28 years in the construction industry. He is a member of the Tulsa Tech Education Foundation, a program advisor for Tulsa Tech and the Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology, and a construction manager at Cowen Construction. He earned a Plumbing Program Certificate from TTC and an Associate’s Degree in Construction Technology from OSUIT. He also serves on boards for the Plumbing Contractors of Eastern Oklahoma Association (PCEO), and was appointed by Governor Mary Fallin to his current term on the Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission (OUBCC).

Roy McClain is an Owasso resident, Oklahoma State University graduate, and currently works as a Community Business Development Manager for Barnes & Noble. He was a Personnel Administrative Specialist in the U.S. Army, a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives serving District 71, and an Adjunct Professor for Community Care College. He has worked as a political advisor for Steve Gallo for State Representative and Steve Gallo for County Commissioner. He holds a degree in Economics from OSU and has been with Barnes and Noble since 2010.

The Sand Springs Ward 4 seat was vacated in December by John Fothergill, who was hired as Chief Deputy to County Commissioner Karen Keith. Fothergill was serving as Vice-Mayor at the time. City Council member is an unpaid position, meeting seventeen times annually. Terms are three years, with the Mayor and Vice Mayor being elected annually by the council.

SEE RELATED: To the people of Sand Springs, from City Council candidate Nancy Riley

SEE RELATED: To the people of Sand Springs, from City Council candidate Christine Hamner

 

Sand Springs heavily represented on the ballot, splits from Tulsa County on Commissioner

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

How did Sand Springs compare with Oklahoma as a whole in this election? Local voter turnout was up by 7% over the 2012 election as more than 12,000 voters showed up at the twelve Sand Springs precincts. 

Sandites were overwhelmingly Republican in the Presidential election, averaging 64% support for GOP candidates. Democratic candidates took home 28% of the vote, while Independents and Libertarians each snagged 4%.

Unsurprisingly, the black and gold went 71% to Donald Trump, who only gained 58% of the statewide ballots. This was consistent with the 2012 election when Mitt Romney garnered 70% of the local ballot, though Romney reached 67% in the rest of the State. Liberal leaning Sandites turned away from Hillary Clinton as she drew only 23% compared to 29% for Barrack Obama. Libertarian Gary Johnson earned just over 5% locally, compared to 6% across Oklahoma. Johnson has announced he will not campaign in 2020, but his performance in the polls will allow the future Libertarian candidate automatic ballot access in the next election.

Precincts in yellow were won by Lloyd Snow, precincts in white were won by Dan Newberry.

U.S. Senator James Lankford overwhelmingly won Sand Springs with 72% of the vote. Democrat Mike Workman took 20%, Libertarian Robert Murphy took 3%, and independents Mark Beard and Sean Braddy both took 2%. The third party candidates drew local support consistent with the Statewide election, but urban centers bumped Workman's support to 29% across the State.

The most heated of the local elections was between two-term District 37 State Senator Dan Newberry and Democratic challenger, former Sand Springs Superintendent Lloyd Snow. Though Newberry won the election by more than 15%, it was far closer in Snow's hometown where he won four of ten precincts and only trailed by 2%. Snow has announced that he does not intend to run for political office again.

Precincts in yellow were won by Jadine Nollan, precincts in white were won by Dianna Phillips. 

For District 66 State Representative, two-term Republican incumbent Jadine Nollan was aided to a landslide 67% of the vote due to her favorable view in the eyes of most Sandites. Though Democratic challenger Dianna Phillips is also from Sand Springs, she failed to win a single precinct in her hometown. Outside of Sand Springs, the two were neck-and-neck with Nollan getting a slight 4% margin of victory. Within Sand Springs Nollan won all nine precincts with 76% of the vote.

Incumbent Republican Vic Regalado easily won reelection for Tulsa County Sheriff with 66% of the vote in the State and 75% of the Sandite vote. Republican Tulsa County Court Clerk candidate Donald Newberry swept 71% of the Sand Springs vote and 63% of the County.

Precincts in yellow were won by Josh Turley, precincts in white were won by Karen Keith.

Another local election with major Sand Springs ties was the race for Tulsa County Commissioner for District 2. Democratic incumbent Karen Keith won the County vote by 13%, but Republican challenger Josh Turley won his hometown with 56% of the Sandite vote. Turley swung eight of ten Sand Springs precincts and overwhelmingly locked up the entire West side of the county. Turley has already announced his candidacy for the 2020 election. 

Sand Springs, like the rest of the region, voted to retain all seven justices. The only Justice not to break 60% approval in Sand Springs was Supreme Court Justice Douglas Combs who came in at 58%. He was also approved by the lowest margin of the justices across the ballot. He barely won Precinct 880 with only 51% of the vote, which is located in the Keystone lake area South of the Arkansas River. No justice has ever been removed via ballot in the history of the State. 

State Question 776 was approved by 61% across the State and achieved 69% in Sand Springs.

State Question 777 was rejected by 71% of both the State and Sand Springs.

State Question 779 was rejected by 57% of the State and 61% of Sand Springs.

State Question 780 was approved by 65% of the State and 58% of Sand Springs.

State Question 781 was approved by 62% of the State and 55% of Sand Springs.

State Question 790 was rejected by 60% of the State and 59% of Sand Springs.

State Question 792 was approved by 72% of the State and 68% of Sand Springs.