Primaries in House District 76 special election feature five Republicans, two Democrats – Tulsa World
Five Republicans and two Democrats will contend in their respective special election primaries on Tuesday for the vacancy in state House District 76, which encompasses eastern Broken Arrow between Elm Place and Garnett Road and Albany and New Orleans streets.
The opening was created earlier this year by the death of Republican incumbent David Brumbaugh. The legislators wife, Shelley Brumbaugh, is among the Republicans vying in the partys primary.
Other Republicans in the primary are retired lawman Ross Ford, Union High School teacher and coach Brian Elliott, teacher and writer Cliff Johns and commercial cleaning business owner Jess Guthrie.
The Democratic primary features two educators, Chris VanLandingham and Forrest Mayer.
The district is 60 percent Republican by registration and only about 25 percent Democratic so the winner of Tuesdays GOP primary has a big advantage going into the November general election.
And, because it is a special election, there is no run-off.
Shelley Brumbaugh would seem to have a name-recognition advantage because her husband represented the district for almost six years. She said, though, that she has tried to make clear to voters that Im not just Davids widow. Im an accountant and a businesswoman.
Brumbaugh said she has long been interested and involved in state government and watched House sessions online even after her husbands death.
She said she and her husband may not have always agreed, but their thinking followed the same general lines.
David and I were like-minded, but we did have differences, she said. I would characterize myself as a conservative and a true Republican.
Brumbaugh said education is an important issue in the district, which includes parts of the Union and Broken Arrow school districts, and believes her ability to work with people would be an important asset to her as a legislator.
Elliott has the best-financed campaign. While his opponents raised less than $15,000 through July 24, he had taken in almost $78,000. Of that, more than half $40,900 came from people with ties to optometry.
Their largess was enough for Elliott to hire experienced campaign consultants Karl Ahlgren and Trebor Worthen and buy radio time.
Elliott said he has concentrated on knocking on doors and listening to people.
I say, Tell me whats important to you, Elliott said. This isnt about whats important to me.
Elliott said he has mostly heard concerns about the state budget, education and character issues related to recent scandals involving members of the Legislature.
Elliott teaches high school math and last year was National High School Coaches Association National Girls Soccer Coach of the Year.
Another familiar name is Ross Ford, a retired police officer who has also been a Union Schools board member and head of security for Union and Holland Hall.
Aside from his own career in law enforcement and community activities, Ford comes from a well-known area family. His father, Beryl Ford, was a well-known local businessman and historian, and his uncle Charles Ford served 38 years in the Oklahoma Legislature.
Ross Ford said he is particularly concerned about public education and all of the things going on in Oklahoma City.
To me, state government is basically education, public safety and mental health and health care, Ford said.
As a former law officer, Ford said he especially recognizes the need for more mental health resources in the Tulsa area.
Another candidate well-known to area Republicans is Cliff Johns, an attorney, teacher and writer who has been a candidate for elected office several times.
Johns is a graduate of Union High School, the University of Oklahoma and University of Tulsa law school who advocates what his website calls long-forgotten founding principles such as funding the federal government primarily through trade tariffs instead of taxes.
The fifth Republican, Jess Guthrie, owns a commercial cleaning company and says he brings a small-business perspective to the discussion.
Small businesses dont get any tax breaks, he said.
Look at this mess weve got, Guthrie said. I know it will be different when I get (to the Capitol), but why cant Republicans and Democrats come together to find solutions?
As a business owner, I have to look at both sides. Ill never say I have all the answers, but Ill look out for the best interests of my district.
The two Democrats in the race, VanLandingham and Mayer, say they know the winner of their primary will have an uphill climb in the general election.
But both said they felt compelled to inject their own perspectives into the political debate.
I just cant take it anymore, said VanLandingham, who teaches politics and government at Cascia Hall.
I cant ignore whats going on at the state level. And its not just teacher pay, he said.
If were going to be a better, more prosperous state, we have to make some decisions about priorities.
VanLandingham, who holds a Ph.D. in Judaism and Christianity from the University of Iowa and is a fourth-degree black belt in judo, said Oklahoma should be at least average in education and other categories in which it now ranks at or near the bottom.
I cant believe Im saying that, he said. At least average.
Mayer, a science educator, said he is upset by the proud ignorance of the states leadership, and cited U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofes attitude toward climate change as an example.
Science is my life, Mayer said. I care about evidence. I care about evidence more than emotion.
Mayer said he belongs to several science organizations and the American Civil Liberties Union, and that aptly summarizes his interests.
Those organizations tell a story about what I do, he said.
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Primaries in House District 76 special election feature five Republicans, two Democrats - Tulsa World