Muskogee City Council Runoff Today

Muskogee's February 14th municipal elections resulted in three of the four city council seats going to a runoff. That vote is taking place today. If you reside in Muskogee, and are a registered voter, don't forget to vote. Because 'ward-voting' has not taken effect yet, voters in all four city wards can vote in all three races.

Personally, I voted for Gary Cooper in Ward I (my ward), Shawn Raper in Ward II, and D. Boots in Ward III. All three gentlemen are fine individuals, and would serve Muskogee well as city councilors. While municipal offices are non-partisan in Muskogee, these three men are facing union-backed candidates in the runoff. Cooper, in particular, is running against a very liberal candidate.

If you live in Muskogee, and have not voted yet, I encourage you to vote for Gary Cooper, Shawn Raper, and D. Boots.

Coburn wins mayor, three council races go to runoff

In last night's Muskogee mayoral contest, Bob Coburn defeated David Ragsdale with a resounding 69% to 31% margin. Coburn, cousin to the U.S. Senator, vacated a city council seat to run to succeed Mayor John Tyler Hammons.

Three council wards will be having runoff elections on April 3rd. In Ward I, Lee Ann Langston (49%) and Gary Cooper (42%) will face each other again. In Ward II, incumbent councilor Shawn Raper (47%) and Dan Hall (34%) are in a runoff. In Ward III, Derrick Reed (41%) and Dale "D." Boots (33%) finish out the runoff matchups. Wayne Johnson defeated Ron Venters 58% to 42% in Ward IV.

All three ballot propositions passed, with ward-voting receiving 57%. Proposition 1 (moving election date to comply with state law) took 79%, and Proposition 3 (moving swearing in date) got 88%.