Last Updated on August 6, 2023, 2:51 AM | Published: December 11, 2022
OKLAHOMA CITY (Free Press) – Eight candidates are running to fill the Oklahoma County Clerk vacancy left by David Hooten, who stepped down in June after an investigation was launched by the Sheriff’s Office over sexual harassment allegations.
Three Republicans and four Democrats will appear on the ballots of Oklahoma County voters. The governor has set the Special Primary Election for Tuesday, February 14, 2023, and the Special General Election will be held Tuesday, April 4, 2023.
The county clerk assumes many public service responsibilities for the county, including
- To serve as the registrar of deeds and custodian of records.
- Secretary for the Board of County Commissioners and other county boards.
- Record and maintain county proceedings and votes
- Perform accounting, administrative, and bookkeeping duties for the county.
The salary is a little over $122,000 a year after county officials voted to increase their salaries by 17% in 2020. The dollar amount of the raise was $17,374.92 annually, effective January 1, 2021. The raise affected three county commissioners, the court clerk, assessor, treasurer, county clerk, and sheriff.*
Republican Candidates
— GLORIA BANISTER — is one of the three GOP nominees seeking to fill the vacant position. Banister, a local businesswoman, and native Oklahoman, lost by nearly 21 percent to Democrat Ellyn Hefner for the House District 87 seat in the general election. The Oklahoma native and her husband own a local produce farm and the I-44 Riverside Speedway in southwest OKC.
According to her campaign website, Banister’s priorities, if elected, include:
- Eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse.
- Transparency and accountability
- Remove “job-killing” operations.
Banister did not respond to interview requests in time for publication. If she had, we would have asked to clarify what she means by “job-killing” operations, accountability for what, and what kinds of waste, fraud, and abuse she believes is currently a problem in the County Clerk’s Office.
— JONATHON CLOUR — who currently serves as the deputy County Clerk, also entered his name into the race on the first day of the filing period. Clour ran for the Ward 1 City Council seat in 2017 and ultimately lost to incumbent James Greiner. In 2014, he lost in the race for HD-43 in a runoff.
Clour was a part of the team that created the Oklahoma County Lien Alert System which provides automated alerts to users that notifies them if a document is recorded in the county clerk’s office.
In an interview with the Free Press, Clour said his biggest priority would be accessibility to the public to make sure people know how the clerk’s office can serve them. He said he’s the only candidate that has experience with the clerk’s office.
“The county clerk’s office is the most important office that people know nothing about,” Clour said. “I’m wanting to be able to spread the word, to go to different groups and communities to let them know the resources that we have available.”
According to Clour, his other priorities include:
- Combatting property fraud
- Being accountable with county funds
- Accessibility and security
- Improve customer service
— MARESSA TREAT — who is married to Oklahoma Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat, publicly announced her decision to run for the office Tuesday on a Facebook post. Treat is the director of GR Pro, a public affairs firm that specializes in strategic communications and political finance.
Treat does not appear to have a campaign website at this time. She did not respond to interview requests in time for publication.
Democratic candidates
— TOM GUILD — who ran unsuccessfully in the Democratic primary for State Treasurer in June, entered his name in the race among the field of Democratic candidates. Guild has made several unsuccessful attempts to run for public office, including losing behind Kendra Horn in the 2018 Democratic primary for Congressional District 5. Guild was a former professor at the University of Central Oklahoma and taught law at Oklahoma City University.
Guild does not appear to have a campaign website and did not list any contact phone on his filing form, but does have an active Facebook group where he announced his candidacy.
— B.C. PHILLIPS — a lifelong Oklahoman, has also entered the race. Phillips served as Director of Communications at CASA of Oklahoma County, a non-profit that advocates for children in foster care.
He said his experience with public outreach exposed him to county government operations, which encouraged him to run for the clerk’s office.
In an interview with the Free Press, Phillips said voters have shared their concerns with him while canvassing, which include management of the new county jail. He said, although the Clerk’s Office doesn’t have a direct say in that issue, they can push for more resources in county Budget Board meetings.
“The county clerk on the county Budget Board can ask those questions in the annual budgeting process about how we push more resources toward those things,” Phillips said.
His other priorities include:
- Modernize the accessibility of records and meetings
- Improve technology to be more available and user-friendly
- Ensure transparency
— SEAN CUMMINGS — The Village council member and restaurateur, also filed to run for the remainder of the county clerk’s term. Cummings, who is married to former The Village Ward 4 Councilor Cathy Cummings, will retain his seat on The Village City Council while he campaigns for the position, but he must step down if elected.
In an interview with the Free Press, Cummings talked about how his business experience has provided him with an array of skills that would benefit him as a county clerk.
“I’m a customer-oriented business, usually government entities are not,” Cummings said. “I mean, literally, if someone could sit there and go as a restaurateur, how does that translate, and you go, ‘anyone that wants to walk in the door, I have to take care of them. If I don’t have a high satisfaction rate, I’m not going to be there.’”
He said some of his priorities, include:
- Maintaining operations and improving customer service for customers
- Work environment improvement
- Working to restore the trust of employees and the public following the former Clerk’s time in office
— DERRICK SCOBEY — who serves on the Criminal Justice Authority’s Citizen’s Advisory Board, filed to enter the race. Scobey, a native Oklahoman, managed several sales organizations in Texas for a little over 19 years, then moved to Oklahoma City in 2015 to pastor Ebenezer Baptist Church on the east side.
Some of his priorities include:
- Improve transparency and accessibility
- Connect with and empower the current staff
- Work on recovering trust with the public
“I know how to mobilize people, I know how to encourage people,” Scobey said in an interview with the Free Press. “So with that, I do believe that I would be able to get in and be able to help tremendously in that role.”
— TIFFANY ELLIS — will be competing with the rest of the candidates as she entered her name on the final day of the filing period. Ellis is a communications and operations specialist at the Metisse Group, a business development firm in OKC. Her Facebook profile lists that she worked at the County Clerk’s Office.
She does not appear to have a campaign website at this time and listed no contact number on her filing form.
*UPDATE — Our original version of this report showed that the increase was $75,000 which is incorrect.
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.
