An Oklahoma town has been struggling with voter apathy, white nationalism on a national stage

ENID — About 100 miles northwest of Oklahoma City, the city of Enid is known for its wheat, its oil and gas and its Republicans.

It’s been that way for decades.

Enid is the Garfield county seat. Named after a character in Alfred Tennyson’s poem, "Idylls of the King," it's No. 9 on the list of Oklahoma's biggest cities. Affluent with vibrant arts, museum and theater districts, Enid has been the home of two major oil companies and two higher education institutions.

Since 1934, Enid has hosted the Tri State Music Festival, a two-state music competition that draws high school musicians from all over the region. The Gaslight Theater has mounted productions ranging from Shakespeare to "Monty Python."

But things have changed. Today, Enid is fighting voter apathy and white nationalism.

The controversy in Ward 1, and the election of Judd Blevins

The election this year of Judd Blevins to Enid's Ward 1 city council seat came as a surprise for many. Blevins, who has been tied to the white nationalist group Identity Evropa by several progressive groups, won the election by a mere 36 votes — 422 to 386.

Blevins’ campaign material said he was a Marine who returned home to take over the family business. Blevins even touted his Republican credentials in the non-partisan council race. At first glance it seemed Blevins was a successful, conservative businessman seeking office.

But shortly after he announced his bid for office, the Enid News & Eagle published a story about Blevins quoting several groups who said he was a white nationalist. The newspaper was criticized, and several of Blevins' supporters went public with their defense.

The News & Eagle, though, stands by its story.

"We spent about five weeks working on that story," said Cindy Elliott Allen, the newspaper's retired publisher. "We received very strong criticism from some conservatives here and folks who are involved in what I would call right-wing politics."

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One of those who complained was pastor Wade Burleson. Burleson heads one of Enid's larger churches. He wrote on Facebook that he was stunned the News & Eagle would publish the story about Blevins.

"Judd loves Jesus and his country, and he has not one racist bone in his body," Burleson wrote. "Judd, wear this news article as a badge of honor."

The newspaper's story, Burleson wrote, was "absolutely, utterly, positively yellow journalism."

For his part, though, Blevins declined to speak to the newspaper. Blevins never addressed the claims that he was a member of a white nationalist organization, nor did he seek legal action against the newspaper for the stories after they were published.

In fact, other than text messages, Blevins has remained largely silent on the issue.

Blevins was sworn into office in May. And for most of those five months, residents said, Blevins has been quiet. "He has not raised any hackles or done anything that indicates his past associations," Allen said.

But while Blevins has been low-key during his five months in office, his opponents haven't. In October, the group Enid Social Justice Committee launched a recall petition in an effort to oust Blevins.

The group said it launched the petition to "correct a grievous error." Organizer Kristi Balden, the group's chair, said the residents of Ward 1 weren't informed about who Blevins was and that voters deserved to make a new decision on him.

"I struggle with terms like allegedly because I feel like the ties have been verified and that he's had six months to deny these associations and these ties," Balden told the News & Eagle. "The fact that he recruited for Identity Evropa, his presence in Charlottesville, his marching with a torch, him being in attendance for a two-day white supremacy rally, again he's had six months to deny this and he won't."

Blevins has declined interviews with both the News & Eagle and The Oklahoman. Instead, he sent a statement to a reporter via text message.

“These allegations were made long ago, and they were addressed during the campaign,” Blevins’ text statement said. “The voters of Ward 1 settled this issue. They elected me because they believed I was the best candidate who shared their values, their concerns, and their hopes for the future of Enid. Regrettably, this fringe group, with the help of local and state media outlets, has chosen to continue a smear campaign against me rather than simply accept the results of an election."

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Moving forward with the recall petition would be an added cost to taxpayers, Blevins said.

"What’s profoundly sad is the fact that they can not even honor the wishes of my predecessor, the late Mr. Jerry Allen," Blevins said. "During his farewell remarks on May 1, 2023, he said, 'Mr. Blevins deserves the respect of the office, and I hope you give him the opportunity that I was given many years ago.' While I do not believe this fringe group will be successful in their efforts, if it comes to it and another election has to be held, I will now have a track record to run on and it’s a record that I am proud of and I am confident the voters will re-affirm the decision they made last February."

So far, no recall election has been set, but organizers said they'll continue the effort.

Blevins' election may seem like an outlier for those who pay attention to Oklahoma politics, but his successful bid for a council seat is actually Round Three in a seven-year cultural war that has raged in Garfield County.

The first battle took place in the fall of 2016.

The editorial that sparked a range fire

Back in 2016, a right-wing faction of Enid's conservatives went after the town's newspaper. The fight split the community and hammered the newspaper. It spilled over into the Chamber of Commerce and divided friends. The whole thing then went national, when The New York Times published stories about the face-off.

All about a 730-word newspaper editorial.

On Oct. 6, 2016, the News & Eagle published an editorial endorsing Democrat Hillary Clinton over Republican Donald Trump. The paper’s editorial board chose Clinton, writing that Trump lacked “the skills, experience or temperament to hold office.” Clinton, the News & Eagle wrote, was the newspaper’s choice for commander and chief.

After that, things turned ugly.

According to the Times’ story, 162 subscribers quickly canceled their subscriptions. Advertisers bailed. Readers turned to social media posting message after message. The newspaper was denounced by some church leaders.

“Eleven advertisers pulled their ads, including a funeral home that had a sizable account. Someone stuck a ‘Crooked Hillary’ bumper sticker on the glass doors of the paper’s downtown office,” the Times reported. “A man left a late-night message on the publisher’s voice mail, expressing his hope that readers would deliver, to put it delicately, a burning sack of steaming excrement to the paper.”

Jeff Mullin, the newspaper’s senior writer, was confronted at a restaurant by a man who told Mullin he was going to beat the hell out of him — all because of the newspaper’s editorial.

“My first thought was just to kind of try to keep things calm,” Mullin told the Times. “Otherwise, it was going to be two old guys rolling around on the floor of the steakhouse, and that would be pretty unseemly.”

Seven years later, people are still angry.

“Enid is a very conservative town and always has been or at least in the recent decade,” said Allen, the retired publisher of the News & Eagle. “The (endorsement) impacted the newspaper greatly in advertising revenue and in circulation at the time.”

Still, while Enid proudly touts its conservative credentials, “that doesn’t mean it necessarily endorses neo-Nazism or anything like that,” Allen said.

After the fight, one group launched an alternative media outlet, The Enid Buzz. The Buzz, a chatty, social-media type website, has drawn readers away from the newspaper. But just about the time the fight with the News & Eagle began to fade, a second battle began on a different front — the public library.

Books, displays and far-right politics

About five years after the fight over the newspaper's editorial, things had returned to normal in Enid. The election came and went. People returned to their jobs, the News & Eagle received less hate mail and even picked up a couple hundred subscriptions from out of state.

At the same time, some conservatives pivoted to a different arena: books, namely those housed in schools and public libraries.

By 2022, the second skirmish in Enid’s culture war was well underway.

Supporters said the efforts to remove books that addressed sex, sexuality, LGBTQ issues, racism and other hot-button topics were nothing more than a desire by concerned parties to ensure that "age appropriate material" was available to children.

Critics charged that small groups were trying to ban books, censor materials and, in the process, stomp all over the First Amendment.

In Enid, the fight centered on book displays and programs.

Back in July of 2021, Enid’s public library put up a display that featured LGBTQ books and Pride Month. Not long after that, the complaints started. The display drew a complaint from Kayla Nichols, who sent a letter to the library objecting to what she called the display’s "anti-Christian message." Nichols wrote that she wanted the display and its books taken down.

“I ask that the Enid Public Library follow the law and not embroil themselves in the promotion of select political and religious ideas,” Nichols’ letter — according to the Enid News & Eagle — said. Nichols said she wasn’t trying to ban books, but instead asking library officials to follow state and municipal law.

Reacting to increasing public pressure, by mid-April 2022, the library board had adopted two proposals that clamped down on displays books and meetings.

With a 3-2 vote, the board changed its exhibit and program policies. The new policy said the library would not promote exhibits or programs that feature “the study of sex, sexual activity, sexual perversion, sex-based classifications, sexual preferences, sexual identity, gender identity or subjects that are sexual in nature.”

For a brief moment, things again returned to normal. Then questions arose about a book club that featured romance novels, and a display about sexual assault awareness month, even displays that featured materials for Mother's Day and Father's Day — since both holidays were based on gender identity.

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A short time later, the sexual assault awareness month display and the romance novel book club meeting were canceled. There were also threats of lawsuits and pushback from all sides. Some called for the librarian's job, and normally tame library board meetings drew long lines and angry people.

The library's staff focused on keeping the doors open. “We just continued to do the job,” said librarian Theri Ray. “There were people in the community who felt very strongly on all sides of the conversation.”

Though the library controversy eventually faded, Ray said the library still sees the occasional book challenge. And Ray remains a target for firing by some in the community.

“For me, librarianship is ruled by a code of ethics. We believe these specific things and how I feel about certain things shouldn’t affect the collection,” she said. “It’s not about what I do like or what I don’t like but about what the community is interested in.”

I defend all books the same, she said, “because it’s about access to information and not if I like that particular book.”

Ray said she believes a large majority of Enid’s library patrons aren’t interested in removing books; they just want to live their lives. “I think most people just want to make sure the books and information they are looking for is in the library,” she said. “I just can’t imagine a world without a library.”

The good, the bad and the apathetic

Not far off the main drag downtown, there's a small tea shop where a person can chat, purchase a healing crystal or two or get a fortune told. Jezebel's Emporium and Tea Room is peaceful, serene and seems a million miles away from the strife that has haunted Enid.

For former city council member Frank Baker, the fact that both Jezebel's and ultra-conservative residents call Enid home indicates the community — even with its conservative nature — is open to diverse ideas.

"Enid is home," Baker said. "And, yes there are elements that are on the extreme, there are also a lot of good people here and yes, they're conservative."

While Baker said it's hard to predict what will happen with Blevins and the attempt to recall him, he said a lot of the tension has died down because of Enid's mayor, Dave Mason. "The mayor has really stabilized the community," he said.

Radio personality Derek Darr agreed, saying "I think he (Belvins) is a controversial figure for sure. But I'm not sure the petition will go anywhere."

Darr, the news director at KNID radio, said many in the community remain upset over Blevins, the library and even the 2016 editorial, but that fight is now largely confined to social media.

"I think some people think since he (Blevins) has gotten there he's not what people expect," Darr said. "He has been measured. He's not grandstanding or drawing a lot of attention to himself."

At the same time, he said, Enid voters — though they express their outrage on social media — have largely stayed away from the polls.

"Here people complain a lot about politics and stuff like that, but then a commissioner vote comes and only 300 people vote," he said. "People will complain on social media, but when it comes to actually doing something, or signing a petition or voting, whatever, that's not gonna happen."

That apathy and the subsequent lack of action, both Baker and Darr said, is prevalent in Garfield County.

"Even with everything going on there's a lot of 'ehhh' in Enid," Baker said.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Enid Oklahoma's struggle with voter apathy, white nationalism