The last six weeks have been anything but business as usual for county elected officials operating in the midst of a global pandemic.

But the four incumbents up for re-election this year were spared the added pressure of running months’ long political campaigns on top of everything else.

District 2 County Commissioner Ray Alan Shimanek, Sheriff Dennis Banther, County Clerk Jeannie Boevers and Court Clerk Lisa Markus, all Republicans, were the only candidates to file last week for each of their respective offices.

Come January 2021, each will be sworn in to new fouryear terms.

Dennis Banther

Banther will start his fifth term as sheriff, helping to usher in a new era for county law enforcement with the planned opening this summer of the Kingfisher County Criminal Justice Center northwest of the Mercy Hospital Kingfisher.

“With this comes changes in procedures and additional staffing to train and produce for the safety of everyone involved,” Banther said. “I’m looking forward to this evolution and the next level of law enforcement we will be able to provide for our citizens.”

In addition to the recent added pressure of maintaining a more than 80-year-old jail facility in the midst of a pandemic, Banther also has dealt with major criminal justice reform measures that have redefined a number of crimes.

“We live in interesting times with the criminal conduct codes changing at a rapid pace,” he said. “This, along with our current COVID-19 crisis has led to more emphasis being placed on administration to ensure employees are adequately prepared daily to do their work.”

Lisa Markus

Markus will start her third term as court clerk after a year that has seen an unprecedented statewide shutdown of most judicial activities.

Additionally, she and her employees faced the added strain of possible exposure to a serious COVID-19 case when an Oklahoma City attorney appeared in county court before the shutdown when he was already ill but had not yet been diagnosed.

The lawyer subsequently was admitted to an Oklahoma City hospital and spent several days in ICU before he recovered enough to be discharged.

Fortunately, neither Markus nor any of her deputies have gotten sick, and like other courthouse employees, they continue to exercise precautions.

All employees wear masks and gloves and avoid direct contact with other offices by exchanging documents indirectly through bins set up for each office in the courthouse lobby.

Members of the public utilize the same bins when they bring documents to be filed or recorded.

Public access beyond the lobby is generally not allowed. “Office procedures are a little different for us right now,” Markus said.”Being closed to the public as a COVID-19 safeguard has been a challenge. “We are still here doing our jobs but we had to get creative in order to continue to serve our customers.”

Outside of the current crisis, Markus has seen a number of procedural changes in her term of office and looks forward to how court services continue to improve.

“We have seen a lot of changes since 2013 and things continue to change all the time,” she said. “We began credit card payments awhile ago and recently we began online payments.

“I cannot wait to see how we are going to grow in the future.”

Markus credits the efficient operation of her office to her “wonderful staff of hard-working ladies.”

“I would not be able to do my job effectively without my deputies and my family – my husband Joe, my daughters and my grandchildren,” Markus said. “I am looking forward to this next term and the opportunity to continue to bring the good service and openness that the citizens of Kingfisher County deserve. It’s been an honor and a privilege so far.”

Jeannie Boevers

Boevers has served in a number of county positions over the years and will be starting her second term as county clerk in January.

Like every other courthouse office, the county clerk’s office has faced new challenges in recent weeks adjusting to the current “normal” of social distancing and remote governmental services.

“It has affected our office. Since we are not open to the public, we don’t have any landmen coming in, the mail has slowed down and our revenue is down,” she said.

Even so, Boevers said she is excited about the opportunity to serve an additional term.

“I feel so honored to have another four years as your county clerk,” Boevers said. “I appreciate that Kingfisher County had the confidence in me to allow me to continue for another term.

“I also appreciate my employees and fellow officers. I could not do this job without them.”

Ray Shimanek

Shimanek will begin his fourth term as District 2 county commissioner.

He currently serves as chairman of the board of commissioners, who meet weekly to make financial and administrative decisions regarding county operations.

Each commissioner also monitors infrastructure improvements, pipeline easements and other matters in their respective districts.

Shimanek and the two other commissioners, after consulting with other county officers, acted quickly to close the courthouse to most public access before any county COVID-19 cases had been reported.

Commissioners continue to monitor the situation for any adjustments needed to the county’s emergency order.

“I would like to thank my District 2 constituents for allowing me to serve another term,” Shimanek said. “ I could not do what we have done without the dedication of our District 2 family.”

State Officers Re-Elected

Two Republican members of the State Legislature whose districts include portions of Kingfisher County also won new terms, with no opponents filing against them last week.

•State Sen. Lonnie Paxton (R-Tuttle), whose District 23 lies primarily in Canadian County, but also encompasses a portion of Grady County, and encroaches slightly into Kingfisher County, encompassing the entire town of Okarche.

•State Rep. Denise Crosswhite Hader (R-Piedmont), whose District 41 includes a vertical strip on the eastern edge of Kingfisher County.