Holder is new school board representative

Henryetta voters selected two new city council members during the April 4 Municipal Elections.

In Ward 1, business owner Steve Sanford won overwhelmingly the election after he received 347 ballots in his favor (64.5%), followed by former councilman Bill Goodner with 108 votes, Greg Williams with 45 votes and Annette Sisson with 38.

In a social media post, Sanford wrote: “Thank you all for your support! Some of you have been in my corner helping me for quite some time now and some are no longer with us. I am honored that you have put your faith in me! I promise that I will do my level best to work with everyone, treat everyone with dignity and respect! Help find solutions to the issues that face us Henryettans, I will work for Henryetta!

Thank you all for the comments, texts, phone calls and messages!”

Voters selected Vernon Van Meter as the Henryetta Council Ward 2 representative. He received 50.37% of the vote, garnering 272 ballots in his favor, followed by Shawn Buzan with 112 ballots. Christy Jeffcoat, who was the incumbent candidate, placed third with 86 votes, followed by Melissa Heminover who received 70.

“I am overwhelmed and humbled by the voting turnout today electing me as Ward 2 City Councilmen,” Van Meter stated in a post. “I will do ‘my best to do the best’ for Henryetta. I appreciate each candidate who ran and the passion they have, along with great ideas and desire to better our town. Looking forward to serving. Thank you again for your vote!

There were 540 residents who voted according to unofficial results, which will be certified by 5 p.m. today.

Retired school teacher Ginny Holder will be sworn in to the Henryetta Public Schools Office 3 position following her win Tuesday over Shawn Okerson. Holder received 425 votes, while Okerson received 171.

Katie Quillin will serve as Trustee for Office No. 3 for the Town of Dewar. She beat challenger Emily Ramirez, 51-36, with 87 total ballots cast by voters.

In Okmulgee, Steven Baldridge will represent Ward 2 on the city council following the April 4 Run-off Election.

Baldridge faced challenger Rose Lynch in vying for the post. Baldridge received 226 ballots in his favor (54.85%) while Lynch was close behind with 186 votes (45.15%). Unofficial results show 412 residents voted in an election that was open to any citizen residing in the City of Okmulgee.

Kenneth Lyons will represent Ward 4 on the Beggs City Council following Tuesday’s election. He received 47 votes in his favor (60.26%), with Rick Mitchell receiving 26 (33.33%). Don Goswick, who had dropped out of the race, received five votes. There were 78 total ballots cast in the city.