OKLAHOMA CITY — In Oklahoma City’s staggered election process for its nine City Council members, four of the seats are up for election in 2025.
This time around it will be seats representing Wards 1, 3, 4, and 7. The mayor’s at-large seat and the other four ward’s seats will not be on the ballot.
The Oklahoma City Council is made up of elected representatives from OKC’s eight wards plus the mayor who is elected by all voters in the city when that position is on the ballot.
The structure of Oklahoma City’s council-manager form of government gives the collective city council members more power than other forms of city government where the mayor is the manager of the city.
The Oklahoma City Manager is hired directly by the council, not the mayor. The city staff members answer to the manager who answers directly to the council. Oklahoma City’s mayor presides over City Council meetings and makes appointments to the various boards and commissions of OKC’s government. More informally, the mayor is the chief promoter of the city.
Upcoming election
Candidates may file Dec. 2-4, 2024, to run for the Oklahoma City Council seats in Wards 1, 3, 4 and 7. Voting in the general election is set for Feb. 11, 2025.
The nonpartisan election will decide who represents those Wards on the Council for the next four-year term. See a Ward map at okc.gov/WardMap.
How the election proceeds in each Ward depends on the number of candidates:
- If only one qualified candidate files to run, that candidate is automatically elected to office.
- If two qualified candidates file to run, the winner of the general election on Feb. 11 is elected to office.
- If three or more qualified candidates file to run, the general election on Feb. 11 determines whether a runoff on April 1 is necessary.
- If a candidate earns more than half of the votes on Feb. 11, he or she is elected to office. No runoff is necessary.
- If no candidate earns more than half of the votes on Feb. 11, the two candidates with the most votes advance to the April 1 runoff. The runoff winner is elected to office.
The mayor’s annual salary is $24,000, and each Council member’s is $12,000. City Council members are allowed to participate in the city’s health insurance plan that is available to city staff.
All voters in Wards 1,3, 4 and 7 are eligible to vote in the election.
Candidate information
Candidates for Oklahoma City Council must be:
- A U.S. citizen.
- At least 21 years old.
- A resident of, and registered voter in, the Ward they are running for at least one year before the election.
Candidates are required to file their declaration of candidacy and filing fee or a petition signed by 500 registered voters with the Oklahoma County Election Board, 4201 N Lincoln Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK 73105-5210, (405) 713-1515.
Candidates may file their statement of organization for a campaign committee with the City Clerk anytime. However, it must be filed within 10 days after the candidate accepts or spends more than $1,000 on their campaign. A statement of organization is not needed if the candidate does not accept or spend more than $1,000.
Candidates may call the City Clerk at (405) 297-2397 or email cityclerk@okc.gov or visit the election page on okc.gov for details.
Brett is the founder, and editor in chief of Oklahoma City Free Press. He continues to contribute reporting and photography to the efforts of the publication as well as leadership in developing support.
