Published: August 23, 2008 11:30 pm         

3 races highlight area ballots

Staff reports



A pair of state House races and the Woodward County sheriff’s contest highlight northwest Oklahoma ballots for Tuesday’s primary runoff election.

Polls will be open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday for residents living in affected districts. There are no statewide runoff elections scheduled.

In the House District 59 Republican primary, Kingfisher residents Mike Sanders and Chris Cameron will square off for the right to face Democrat Donald Edward Russell, of Hennessey, in the Nov. 4 general election.

Sanders came close to winning the nomination outright in the July 29 primary, gaining 49.6 percent of the vote and falling just short of the simple majority needed.

Cameron finished second in the three-way contest, which saw Tim R. Riddle, of Hennessey, eliminated.

The candidates are vying to replace former state Rep. Rob Johnson, R-Kingfisher, who decided not to run for re-election and lost in his bid to win a seat on the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.

District 59 includes all of Dewey County and parts of Blaine, Canadian, Kingfisher, Major and Woodward counties.

Cameron has said spending his life in Hennessey and Kingfisher gives him a better understanding of the issues of rural Oklahoma.

He said his work as a teacher in Kingfisher for nine years gives him a deep understanding of rural education’s needs and his work in banking and insurance have helped him understand the financial needs of Oklahoma’s rural workers.

Sanders said his experience working on the Bush campaign and working in the White House for rural development give him a better understanding of the processes of state and federal government.

In the House District 57 race, Harold Wright, of Weatherford, and Lyle Miller, of Clinton, will face off in the Republican runoff. The winner will face Democrat Perry Adams, of Custer City, in November.

Wright and Miller were the top two vote-getters in last month’s four-way Republican primary.

District 57 includes parts of Blaine, Canadian and Custer counties.

In Woodward County, suspended Sheriff Les Morton finished second in the Democratic primary in his bid for re-election. Joe A. Adams, a current Woodward County deputy, finished first.

The winner of the runoff will face Gary Stanley, a former deputy, in November.

Morton faces nine felony embezzlement charges accusing him of using a county vehicle and county funds to take personal trips between October 2005 and November 2007. A preliminary hearing on the charges has been set for Oct. 27-28 in Woodward County District Court.

Last month, the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office dropped 20 felony fraud counts against Morton that had been filed in March through a grand jury indictment.

Morton’s attorney, Mack Martin, had filed a motion to dismiss all 29 counts against the suspended sheriff July 17. In his motion, Martin stated the fraud accusations had been settled in August 2005 when the sheriff and special prosecutor Gene Christian agreed Morton would repay Woodward County $6,594.98 for expenses and travel claims allegedly not properly documented.

Associate District Judge R.W. Collier ruled earlier this month the nine charges still against Morton would stand. The remaining charges allege Morton used a county Fuelman credit card and a county vehicle for personal business in October, November and December 2005, February, March, April, July and August 2006 and November 2007 — all after the reimbursement agreement with Christian was completed. The amount of funds involved is just under $800.