Oklahoma County runoffs: Commissioner candidates discuss goals, priorities and the jail

The field of candidates seeking a pair of Oklahoma County commissioner seats will be narrowed Tuesday in the primary runoff election.

District 1 will choose a Democratic nominee and District 3 a Republican nominee to face opponents who won their June primaries.

Democratic and independent voters in District 1 can cast their ballots in the runoff for either incumbent Carrie Blumert or former state Sen. Anastasia Pittman. The winner will face Republican Willard Linzy in November.

Meanwhile in District 3, Republican voters will choose between Myles Davidson and Amy Alexander, both current county employees. The winner will take on Democratic candidate Cathy Cummings.

The candidates on why they are running

The Oklahoman reached out to the four candidates in the runoffs to discuss their motivations for running and their goals should they be elected. Alexander did not return multiple requests for participation made via phone, text message and email.

Blumert, who has a background in public health, social work and nonprofit work, is running for reelection to the role of District 1 commissioner.

"I decided to run for a second term because there's so much happening, there's so much momentum. We're building a new detention center, we have MAPS facilities coming online, we have ARPA (federal COVID relief) money to spend,” Blumert said. “It just felt like to me, if I were to only serve one term, there would be a lot of unfinished business.”

Blumert said her qualifications are influenced both by her background and her experiences through her first term. She said the role of county commissioner involves understanding the big picture and how the county fits into that with other levels of government.

“In my fourth year, I believe I'm just getting below the tip of the iceberg of how everything works, and who to go to for what, and how to get things done, and what statutes govern our work," she said. "I feel like I'm just getting started."

Pittman said her primary reason for running is "to educate and empower residents." She said she wants residents to be aware that funding roads and bridges is only one aspect of the role of county commissioners, and she wants to offer voters "an experienced leader, a strong voice, with a proven track record of leadership, and collaboration skills with local, state, and national agencies, businesses and residents."

In District 3, Davidson, who has worked for the county for 14 years, said becoming commissioner will allow him to continue the work he's been doing in that time.

He said he sees a lot of major projects in Oklahoma County's future, and those projects will take "a lot of coordination between cities and the county for the infrastructure." The county commissioner should be someone who already has built those relationships with other levels of government, he said.

In an interview in April, Alexander said her main motivation for running was to improve the troubled Oklahoma County jail. Voters in June approved a $260 million bond package to help pay for a new jail.

Candidates views on the jail, criminal justice reform in Oklahoma County

Both District 1 candidates and Davidson acknowledged the county's need for a new jail facility while also pointing out a need to continue improving conditions at the current jail.

"Oklahoma’s criminal justice system is in a crisis. Prisons have grown increasingly costly and are overcrowded without any clear pay-off in public safety," Pittman said. "We need a facility that will prioritize and address the mental health needs of the residents, among other issues."

Blumert said she has some concerns about spending too much of the county's available coronavirus relief funds on improvements to the current jail, saying there are community-based programs the county can invest in that will keep people out of the jail. She said the biggest goal is keeping people safe and keeping them alive.

"I frequently feel very frustrated that I have so little power to keep people safe in that building,” Blumert said. "I ran for this position to make changes in the justice system and to get people better access to treatment, and sometimes when it comes to the actual jail, I feel like I can't do that.”

Pittman said she plans to use data and research, along with her experience at the legislative level, while working "with the jail trust to develop and implement the best model for a new and modern facility."

Davidson said that the county holds the "purse strings" for the jail trust. While the trust is an independent body, its funding is entirely in the hands of the county commissioners — making any requests from the trust and jail administration "the beginning of negotiations" that commissioners can use to encourage changes and improvements.

Davidson wants to see issues in the criminal justice system repaired to help the county move away from incarcerating people because "we're mad at them" rather than because "we're scared of them," meaning those who do not have a propensity to cause harm are not held unnecessarily. Regarding a new jail, Davidson expects a lot of changes to come on board, including booking, classification and bond processes that will reduce the population and restore dignity and humanity to its functions.

“Now the way that it is, it's a maximum security prison, and it's not a jail," he said.

Candidates goals for Oklahoma County

Blumert said that in addition to issues with the jail, the county has a lot of other work she wants to continue and projects she hopes to see through to completion. District 1 encompasses areas of Oklahoma City, as well as towns including Spencer, Jones and Nicoma Park. Blumert said those areas have several projects to improve roads and schools that she would like to see undertaken, especially as growth with the turnpike development that is set to happen in the next few years. She also wants to help the county's coronavirus relief funds get to the right people and groups.

“As the community is coming out of the pandemic and we have all this federal money to spend to help the community, my relationships with nonprofits and social service agencies, I think, best suits me to build that community network and invest those dollars,” Blumert said.

Pittman said she wants to focus on "programs that are evidence based, patient centered, and seek preventative measures." She specifically pointed to helping Oklahoma residents in the areas of mental health services, poverty and expanding opportunities, affordable health care and quality education.

"Our ZIP codes should not determine the quality of our services," Pittman said.

In District 3, Davidson said he sees the role as county commissioner as a chance to make improvements to the lives of the county's residents. He said projects he's helped with in the past — like the county's work on Triple X Road — have decreased ambulance response times, something he is proud of and wants to continue. He also said as county commissioner he will make decisions that use county resources in the most productive way.

"Arcadia is in need of a new fire truck, Deer Creek is rolling one out. The county typically buys those trucks, so I'm just going to take this one and refurb it,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity to give Arcadia new resources to be able to battle grass fires, since it's a brush pumper.”

Candidate fundraising

In the latest filing of campaign ethics reports, the District 3 candidates showed sharp differences in fundraising.

Davidson reported receiving more than $32,000 in campaign contributions, including from the Oklahoma Republican Party and the Realtors Political Action Committee of Oklahoma. Davidson reported having just over $7,000 on hand as of the reporting deadline, Aug 15.

Alexander reported only $100 in contributions.

In District 1, Blumert reported raising more than $42,000, with just under $14,000 on hand, while Pittman had not filed her most recent reports as of the deadline.

Voting in the runoff elections for Districts 1 and 3 Oklahoma County commissioners is from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 23. Early in-person voting is available Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Oklahoma County Election Board at 4201 N Lincoln Blvd.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma County commissioner runoff candidates discuss goals