Primary contests for both Republican and Democrat candidates vying for the Canadian County District 3 commissioners race will be held March 2.
As the filing period for the seat ended at 5 p.m. Wednesday, seven candidates - five Republicans and two Democrats – had declared their intention to run. The individual earning the most votes in each party primary will go on to an April 6 special general election.
Four candidates filed Monday, with three submitting their paperwork Tuesday and Wednesday.
The latest individuals to file their intent to run were:
Ray Melvin
A 1962 graduate of El Reno High School, Ray Melvin worked in oil fields throughout the country and overseas before returning to the area to work for Warren Cat for about 15 years, he said. He also worked for other Caterpillar dealers and ran his own business, Melvin said.
After resigning from Warren Cat recently, Melvin said he wanted to “give being a commissioner a try and work for the voters.”
Melvin said because he has not been a part of county government, he would need to study issues that will face the new commissioner – including the issues surrounding the Canadian County Jail''s overcrowding problems – before he could give his opinion on how that should be handled.
Melvin has been married 48 years to his wife, Barbara, and has three grown children – sons, Tim and Mark, and daughter, Cathy.
Daniel Pugh
A painting contractor for 29 years, Daniel Pugh said road and bridge management became the focus of his “concern” over the last several years.
Pugh said roads, water and the “jail funding crisis” are top issues for the county. A rural resident of the county – Pugh purchased acreage and built his home near the state Highway 66 corridor between Calumet and the Cherokee Trading Post – the Republican candidate said he wanted to promote a “proud and prosperous experience for all its (county) citizens, whether of city, town, farm or prairie.”
Jack Stewart
Although Jack Stewart filed his candidacy paperwork Monday, he was not available for comment until Wednesday.
A Republican, Stewart lived in El Reno for about seven years, where he said his father was a civil engineer at the Rock Island Railroad.
Stewart followed in his father''s footsteps, becoming a civil engineer himself. He worked for the Oklahoma Department of Transportation for 31 years, retiring about four years ago. Since that time, he said he has worked for a private engineering firm. In that capacity, he said he has worked on projects in Canadian County.
Stewart said he wanted to hit the ground running to address issues across the county, including overcrowding at the Canadian County Jail.
“We need to look at all the options – let''s do it right the first time. We don''t want to end up like Oklahoma County or look at the (state) jail inspector threatening us in five or 10 years,” he said.
A Yukon resident, Stewart is married to Jan and has three grown daughters – Lisa, Dina and Maryann.
C.A. Wilkinson
Claude “C.A.” Wilkinson has been an Army officer, farmer, rancher, restaurant manager and oil and financial consultant. Now semi-retired, the El Reno resident Wednesday submitted his bid for county commissioner.
Wilkinson said he would like to look at forming a county job corps and look at roads running throughout District 3, including establishing a perimeter industrial road from U.S. Highway 270 to the new gas plant being built about one mile east of the intersection of that highway and state Highway 66.
“Canadian County has so much potential, and I believe I can help tap that potential to make it even greater,” he said.
Melvin and Pugh join Audre Knott, Joshua Moore and Stewart, who filed their candidacy papers Monday, in a five-way race for the chance to run against the winner of the race between Democrats John Morris and C.A. Wilkinson in the April 6 special general election.
The April 6 ballot only fulfills the unexpired portion of former Commissioner Grant Hedrick''s third term, which expires Dec. 31. Therefore, whoever wins that election will have to start the campaign process all over again shortly after taking office if he or she wishes to serve a full four-year term.
Hedrick was killed in a single-car accident in November. Since his death, District 3 foreman Troy Boling has served as interim commissioner. Boling said recently he did not have any interest in pursuing the commissioner post.