Local town,school board races see 2 incumbents unseated
Two incumbents were unseated in six races Tuesday night in the annual school and municipal elections in Kingfisher County, according to unofficial results posted on the state election board’s web page.
Town of Okarche
Trustee, Office 1
Challenger Matthew Blackwood defeated incumbent trustee and current mayor Michael D. Mendel, carrying 68 percent of the vote to Mendel’s 32 percent (230-107).
Among Kingfisher County voters, the count was 187 for Blackwood, 89 for Mendel.
In Canadian County, Blackwood carried 43 votes to 18 for Mendel.
Trustee, Office 3
Joe Frisby carried 69 percent of the vote to defeat challenger James Nance’s 31 percent (233-105). The current trustee did not seek re-election.
Among Kingfisher County voters, the count was 192 for Frisby, 85 for Nance. In Canadian County, the vote was 41-20 for Frisby.
Town Clerk
Incumbent Dana Reese handily retained her seat, carrying 84 percent of the vote to challenger Stacey Morgan’s 16 percent (283-54).
Among Kingfisher County voters, the tally was 233 for Reese to 43 for Morgan. In Canadian County, Reese carried 50 votes to Morgan’s 11.
Boards of Education
Cashion
Steve Andrews carried 54 percent of the vote over Chuck Kordis’ 46 percent in a tight race (91-77).
Andrews carried the majority of the votes cast in all three counties straddled by the district: Canadian (3-0); Kingfisher (53-49), and Logan (35-28).
Andrews served 15 years on the Cashion school board before taking a break and then seeking election to another term this year.
Kingfisher
Charles Walker will replace outgoing school board member Mark Squires after carrying 89 percent of the votes to challenger Servrina Prim’s 11 percent (284-36).
Walker’s win follows his unsuccessful bid for another school board seat last year, when he narrowly lost to current board member James Perdue.
Okarche
Challenger Ryan McIlvain unseated longtime school board member Beth Schieber, carrying 59 percent of the vote to Schieber’s 41 percent (264-182).
McIlvain prevailed among voters in both Canadian (56-43) and Kingfisher County voters (208-139).
Unofficial vote totals were scheduled to be certified by the respective county election boards on Friday, after any provisional votes are taken account. Provisional votes would not change the outcome of any of the local races.