Twin cities voters reject propositions to appoint public officials

Nov. 9—Voters in Hartshorne and Haileyville overwhelmingly rejected ballot propositions Tuesday which would have let their respective mayors appoint public officials who are elected by a vote of the people.

Both cities had special elections on the Nov. 8 ballot, asking voters if they would rather have the Twin Cities' mayors select some public officials instead of letting the people continue to elect the officeholders.

In Hartshorne, voters opted to continue electing the city clerk and city treasurer, rejecting the proposition with 329 votes against it, compared to 172 who supported it. The measure to let the mayor appoint the two public officeholders failed with 67.3% against the proposition, compared to 32.70% for it.

At Haileyville, voters chose to continue electing the city's police chief. A proposition on the Nov. 8 ballot asked voters if they wanted to let the Haileyville's mayor appoint the city's top law enforcement officer, as opposed to having the office continue to be elected by a vote of the people.

The measure failed, with 129 votes against the measure, compared to 54 voting for it. Haileyville voters rejected the proposition to appoint, with 70.49% of the ballots cast against it, compared to 29.51% who voted for it.

Propositions in both Hartshorne and Haileyville stated that whoever the mayors appointed would have to be approved by their respective city councils.

In Hartshorne, City Clerk Elizabeth Wilson opposed the measure to take away the people's right to elect the clerk.

"I think the most important voice in any of our elections is the voice of the people," Wilson said Tuesday night. "This is why voting's so important.

"I'm proud of our citizens for going out to vote today and letting their voice be heard," said Wilson.

At Haileyville Police Chief Brian Mathis opposed the measure to make the city's top law enforcement office an appointive instead of an elective office.

Mathis said he heard from lots of Haileyville residents prior to the election.

"People didn't want their voting rights taken away," Mathis said following the Tuesday night election results. "That's the way a lot of people approached me on it — another of their rights would be taken away.

"I'm happy with the outcome," Mathis said of the election results.

Hartshorne City Treasurer Renee Montgomery could not be reached for comment as this story was being prepared for publication.

If the propositions had passed, the current officials would have held their posts until the end of their current elected terms, since there are prohibitions against legislating elected officials out of office.

Wilson and Mathis both said their current terms end in 2023, while Montgomery previously said hers ends in 2025.

City councils in the two cities passed resolutions to bring the propositions to a vote. Both the Hartshorne and Haileyville propositions were one-sentence measures on the Nov. 8 ballot.

Hartshorne's proposition stated: "Shall the City Clerk and the Treasurer for the City of Hartshorne, Oklahoma be appointed by the Mayor with the approval of the majority of the City Council?"

Haileyville's measure stated: "Shall the Marshall/Chief of Police be appointed by the Mayor with the approval of the council?"

A "yes" vote on the Haileville ballot meant the voter agreed to give up the right to elect the city's marshall/police chief and to instead let the mayor appoint the city's top law enforcement officer. A "no" vote meant the voter did not support the mayoral appointment and prefered to let the police chief continue to be elected by the people.

In Hartshorne, a "yes" vote on the proposition meant the voter supported giving up the right to let the people continue to elect the city clerk and city treasurer and instead preferred to let the mayor appoint both citywide officeholders.

A "no" vote in Hartshorne meant the voter opposed letting the mayor appoint the city clerk and city treasurer and preferred to keep them elective offices.