Eastside candidates lining up for OKC City Council Ward 7

OKLAHOMA CITY (Free Press) – Two candidates have announced their intention to run for the Oklahoma City Ward 7 seat after Councilwoman Nikki Nice filed to run for the State Senate. 

The official filing period for the February 2025 City Council of Oklahoma City election for Wards 1, 3, 4, and 7 is in December. However, these two candidates are already gearing up to start campaigning several months in advance.

town hall
OKC City Councilwoman Nikki Nice moderating the Town Hall panel on the site selection for the new Oklahoma County Jail Jan 29, 2024 (B.DICKERSON/Okla City Free Press)

Senator George Young triggered a chain reaction when he announced in February that he would step down early from his Senate District 48 seat.

Earlier this month, Nice officially entered the race to replace Young, who was first elected to the Oklahoma House in 2014 and then to the Senate in 2018. 

The massive Ward 7 encompasses a wide area of the city’s north, northeast, historic Eastside, and stretches into southeast sections down to Nicoma Park and Del City. It is far larger than most state senate districts.

Ward 7
City of Oklahoma City Ward 7 map. (from the city website)

Masood A. Haqq

Muslim community leader and author, Masood A. Haqq, launched his campaign to represent Ward 7 earlier this month. 

Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Haqq established roots in Oklahoma City in 2012. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business law from the University of Central Oklahoma in 2018.  Haqq co-founded Peace of Mind Pediatrics, an evidence-based pediatric facility located in Del City. 

Haqq is the chairman of the Council on American-Islamic Relations Oklahoma (CAIR Oklahoma), the state’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization.

photo
Masood A. Haqq who is running for City of Oklahoma City Ward 7 City Council seat. (pro photo – courtesy)

Haqq said Young encouraged him to run for the Ward 7 seat to replace Nice as she seeks the Senate District 48 seat.  

Haqq believes that Young sees him as a good candidate and encouraged him to run to succeed Nice. 

“He [Young] was encouraging me to be considerate of the vacuum that his departure might create, which means if Nikki leaves the Ward 7 seat then he saw me as a great fit for that,” said Haqq in an interview with Free Press. “I admire Senator Young so much and so I had given it some thought and I came up with a team who were ecstatic to help me, you know, put my name in the hat and make sure we give ourselves a good chance to win that seat.”

The political newcomer plans to focus on homeless outreach, affordable housing, economic development, and improving OKC’s transportation and infrastructure. He stressed the importance of improving public transit to link Ward 7 to other parts of the city, aiming to boost opportunities. 

“One of the biggest things I want to do long term is to vastly improve our transit, our ability to move around, from Edmond to Norman to Yukon to Spencer, you know these places should be connected better than they are,” Haqq said. “A person in Spencer or Midwest City who doesn’t have a car is going to spend a vast majority of their life there… and that limits job potentiality. That limits all sorts of resources.” 

Haqq likened OKC’s current state to Atlanta in 1992, suggesting that OKC is evolving into a major city and a center for growth and investment.

“The main thing for us is just to make sure that Ward 7 doesn’t get overlooked when all those resources are coming,” Haqq said “I keep saying that ‘as goes Ward 7, goes OKC’ and that’s true because every ward in the city should be working together to make sure that the entire city is ready for this influx of interest, of business, of citizens, and of families.” 

Camal Pennington 

Camal Pennington, the Ward 7 Planning Commissioner, spoke with Free Press about his intention to run for the seat. 

Pennington currently serves as the Interim Executive Director at It’s My Community Initiative, a non-profit organization focused on enhancing and expanding programs to strengthen families and communities.

The northeast OKC native earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and government at Oklahoma City Univiersity on a Clara Luper Scholorship, then attended law school at the University of Oklahoma. 

camal pennington
Camal Pennington (file, B.DICKERSON/Okla City Free Press)

Pennington worked in Washington, D.C for Kathy Castor, a representative from Florida as an intern, staff assistant, and legislative correspondent.  In 2016, he ran in the Democratic primary for House District 97 but ultimately lost. 

Some of Pennington’s priorities include public safety, community development, economic development, and family strengthening. 

If elected, he mentioned that he would focus on community-led economic development and housing access, highlighting the importance of trust and safety in northeast OKC. 

“The reason why I’m running is because I believe that every kid in every part of our community deserves the same opportunities that I did to grow up in a safe neighborhood, where I was able to get an excellent education and go on to pursue my dreams,” Pennington said. “So, all the work that I want to do is centered around how we can build safe, healthy, and thriving communities so that our families are strong.” 

When discussing public safety, Pennington mentioned that it involves improving relationships with the police, recruiting more people of color as officers, and continuing to invest in programs that reduce prison populations. 

“I think we’re building a really great city. I think there’s a reason why so many people are moving into OKC, because we’re great people and we’re providing great opportunities,” Pennington said. “I just want to serve in this capacity so that I can ensure that all the growth that’s happening in OKC is experienced by the people of northeast OKC.

Oklahoma holds non-partisan city council elections. The primary election date is February 11, 2025. The filing period for the municipal election is December 2, 3, and 4. 

The special election for Senate District 48 will be held on  November 5, 2024. According to the city’s code, if there’s a vacancy on the Council, the Council must, within 30 days of the vacancy, appoint a qualified person to fill the position by a majority vote. 

The OKC municipal code states that, “no special election will be called if the vacancy occurs on or after July 1 in an even-numbered year and the regular council election in the same ward will be held in the following year.”


Author Profile

Brianna Garcia is a freelance journalist covering local politics and culture for Free Press. She has a degree in Journalism from the University of Central Oklahoma.