Donald Cummins (City of Waynoka Mayor, Oklahoma, candidate 2025)

Donald Cummins

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Nonpartisan

Candidate, City of Waynoka Mayor

Elections and appointments

Last election

April 1, 2025

Education

Bachelor's

Iowa State University, 1983

Personal

Birthplace

Alva, Okla.

Religion

Non-Denominational

Profession

Chemical engineer

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Donald Cummins ran in a special election to the City of Waynoka Mayor in Oklahoma. He was on the ballot in the special general election on April 1, 2025.^[source]

Cummins completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Donald Cummins provided the following biographical information via Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey on March 27, 2025:

• Birth place: Alva, Oklahoma
• High school: Freedom High School
• Bachelor's: Iowa State University, 1983
• Gender: Male
• Religion: Non-Denominational
• Profession: Chemical Engineer
• Prior offices held:
  • Waynoka City Council Ward 1, Seat 1 (2019-Prsnt)
• Incumbent officeholder: No
• Campaign slogan: Make Waynoka Grow

Elections

General election

Special general election for City of Waynoka Mayor

Donald Cummins and Ana Ramirez ran in the special general election for City of Waynoka Mayor on April 1, 2025.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Donald Cummins (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Ana Ramirez (Nonpartisan)

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	Incumbency information for this election was not available.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Cummins in this election.

Campaign themes

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Donald Cummins completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Cummins' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Born in Alva, OK. Grew up on a small family farm North of Freedom OK. Started college at NWOSU in Alva. Finished Chemical Engineering degree at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. Worked for Dow Chemical in Midland Michigan. Worked for Phillips Petroleum in Borger Texas. Managed small chemical plant for Advanced polymer systems in Lafayette Louisiana. Plant and business were sold to Cardinal Health. Raised $20 Million in venture capital to purchase plant and business from Cardinal Health when they decided to sell. Cardinal Health declined to sell to a small startup. Plant and business were ultimately sold to Amcol International. Was awarded numerous awards for work on projects and has one US Patent. Came to Waynoka in 2016 when mother, Sonya (Meek) Cummins suffered a small stroke to look after her. She passed away in November 2021. Ran for Waynoka City Council, Ward 1, Seat 1 in 2019. Won and served and ran for reelection and won again. Contributed to major improvements for the city by the Council and Mayor. Became the President of City Council in December of 2024. Serving as acting mayor after resignation of previous mayor.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Want to positively impact the future the Waynoka and residents. Not interested in personal recognition or financial reward, only interested in making Waynoka all it can be. Will work tirelessly to make Waynoka great.
• Will discuss any and all issues with any concerned resident. No regard to who you are or how much money or influence one might have. Believes in doing the right thing and fairness.
• Does not like drama. One does not have to like someone to work with them to make things better. One cannot let one's personal feelings enter into the function of a small community.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Growth! Attracting jobs and people. Addressing housing availability and re-development of existing neighborhoods. Make Waynoka open for business.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Not really.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Honesty, openness and impartiality. Willingness to do what needs to be done without regard to effort required or personal gain.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Honesty, fairness and openness to other views. Desire to do what is right and best for Waynoka without regard to personal gain or cost.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Focus on Waynoka as a whole and not just one aspect.

What legacy would you like to leave?

He got stuff done.

A mayor is a leader in his or her city. What does that mean to you?

We have a weak mayor system. The support of the city council is necessary to get things done. The mayor's job is to identify what needs to be done and garner the support of the council to get it done. This is in addition to making sure the city government is functioning smoothly and making changes necessary to improve systems and processes.

If the mayor in your city is a member of the city council and there's a city manager appointed to handle the day-to-day administration of the city government, what do you believe should be the mayor's top priority in office?

Not applicable.

If the mayor in your city is not a member of the city council and oversees the day-to-day administration of the city government, what do you believe is the ideal relationship between the mayor and city council?

Close and open working relationship so that council is aware so that it can make the appropriate decisions using all available information.

What do you love most about your city?

We have the best people. There is a lot of untapped potential.

What do you perceive to be your city's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Reversing a declining population trend and starting a growth trend. And improving aging infrastructure and planning for the future needs.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between your city and the state government?

State funding of city projects is very important. State legislative needs of small cities like Waynoka need to be heard and addressed by State.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between your city and the federal government?

Federal funding of projects if vital to small communities. Federal legislative efforts to benefit and support small communities is also vital.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the mayor's office and law enforcement?

The city law enforcement reports to the mayor. The mayor should see that enforcement of ordinances are done uniformly and across the board without regard to who it is.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

Waynoka is a municipality that operates under the open meetings and open records laws. Public information should be available to all. Currently records are only available in hard copy. The city has a copier that is provided by a lease that charges by the number of copies made. The cost of the copies and labor to make the copies are currently passed on to the requester. We are moving to making these records available online without any copies needed to be made or charges to the requestor. Going back and making older records available by this method would be a large task and not possible without a grant or outside funding.

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