Maria Veliz Barnes

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Maria Veliz Barnes

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

August 27, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

San Diego Community College

Personal

Birthplace

Tulsa, Okla.

Religion

Catholic

Profession

Community Outreach Director

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Personal Facebook

Personal Instagram

Maria Veliz Barnes (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Tulsa County Board of Commissioners to represent District 2 in Oklahoma. She lost in the Democratic primary runoff on August 27, 2024.

Biography

Maria Veliz Barnes was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She earned an undergraduate degree from San Diego Community College. Her professional experience includes working as the community outreach director for Crosstown Learning Center, as a teller at Utica bank, and as a retail associate at several different department stores. She also served as the District 4 Tulsa city councilor from 2006 to 2008 and 2009 to 2011. Barnes has volunteered at Marquette Catholic School, at Christ the King Church, and for Kendall-Whittier neighborhood association. She has served as a member of the Crosstown Learning Center Advisory Board, EduCare Board, Human Rights Commission, and Tulsa Midtown Coalition. Barnes was named a Woman Who Could Be President by the League of Women Voters in 2016, and she received the Defenders of Liberty Grassroots Activist Award.

Elections

2024

See also: Municipal elections in Tulsa County, Oklahoma (2024)

General election

General election for Tulsa County Board of Commissioners District 2

Lonnie Sims defeated Sarah Gray in the general election for Tulsa County Board of Commissioners District 2 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lonnie Sims (R)	50.8	38,776
		Sarah Gray (D)	49.2	37,524

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 76,300
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Josh Turley (Independent)

Democratic primary runoff election

Democratic primary runoff for Tulsa County Board of Commissioners District 2

Sarah Gray defeated Maria Veliz Barnes in the Democratic primary runoff for Tulsa County Board of Commissioners District 2 on August 27, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sarah Gray	59.0	7,786
		Maria Veliz Barnes	41.0	5,400

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 13,186
= 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.
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Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for Tulsa County Board of Commissioners District 2

Lonnie Sims defeated Melissa Myers in the Republican primary runoff for Tulsa County Board of Commissioners District 2 on August 27, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lonnie Sims	54.7	6,137
	Submit photo	Melissa Myers	45.3	5,092

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 11,229
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Tulsa County Board of Commissioners District 2

Sarah Gray and Maria Veliz Barnes advanced to a runoff. They defeated Jim Rea in the Democratic primary for Tulsa County Board of Commissioners District 2 on June 18, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sarah Gray	37.7	2,152
✔		Maria Veliz Barnes	33.4	1,909
	Submit photo	Jim Rea	28.9	1,654

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,715
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Tulsa County Board of Commissioners District 2

Lonnie Sims and Melissa Myers advanced to a runoff. They defeated Jeannie Cue in the Republican primary for Tulsa County Board of Commissioners District 2 on June 18, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lonnie Sims	40.3	2,827
✔	Submit photo	Melissa Myers	31.5	2,205
		Jeannie Cue	28.2	1,975

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,007
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Barnes in this election.

2020

See also: Oklahoma House of Representatives elections, 2020

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Oklahoma House of Representatives District 72

Incumbent Monroe Nichols won election outright against Maria Veliz Barnes in the Democratic primary for Oklahoma House of Representatives District 72 on June 30, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Monroe Nichols	68.9	1,655
		Maria Veliz Barnes	31.1	746

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,401
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Shan (R)

2016

See also: Oklahoma House of Representatives elections, 2016

Elections for the Oklahoma House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on June 28, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was April 15, 2016. Incumbent Seneca Scott (D) did not seek re-election.

Monroe Nichols ran unopposed in the Oklahoma House of Representatives District 72 general election.

Oklahoma House of Representatives, District 72 General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Democratic	Monroe Nichols  (unopposed)
Source: Oklahoma State Election Board

Monroe Nichols defeated Maria Barnes in the Oklahoma House of Representatives District 72 Democratic primary.

Oklahoma House of Representatives, District 72 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Monroe Nichols	51.99%	927
	Democratic	Maria Barnes	48.01%	856
Total Votes				1,783

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Maria Veliz Barnes did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Maria Veliz Barnes completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Barnes' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Born and raised in Tulsa and California as the daughter of a Navy officer, I know what it means to have a passion for and live a life of service to my community.

I have volunteered my time as an outspoken and committed community advocate for children, seniors and our neighborhoods for almost 30 years.

From 2006-2008 and 2009-2011, I was elected to serve as Tulsa District 4 City Councilor. Today I am the Community Outreach Director for Crosstown Learning Center.

As the representative for my Kendall-Whittier neighborhood for over 23 years I assisted with the Kendall-Whittier Area Master Plan overseeing developments and improvements in the community. Kendall-Whittier has emerged from a forgotten area to a thriving and desirable place to live and raise a family in Tulsa.

I am currently on the boards for Crosstown Learning Center, Kendall-Whittier Main Street, the Harmony Project and Life Senior Services. I was a member of the board for Tulsa Educare for 9 years. I have also served on the Human Rights Commission as a chair and board member for 14 years.

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?

• Oklahoma ranks lowest among the states in education. Budgeting shortfalls, misuse of money and a lack of resources has held our children back for too long. Political promises have done nothing to help schools and teachers. The legislature does not provide funds to protect the health of our students and staff. We still need to fund teacher recruiting and retention. It's time to step up and demand that things change and improve the futures of our children.
• Everyone deserves basic access to affordable healthcare. Oklahoma has the second highest uninsured rate in the country and refuses to accept federal money to expand healthcare among our most impoverished and in need. Instead of inaction, it's time to bring Oklahoma's tax dollars back to Oklahoma and expand Medicaid.
• Oklahoma's Seniors are increasing in numbers and the funds provided to subsidize their care are decreasing. We need to find alternative ways to provide them with the necessary resources to remain as independent as possible and promote the dignity of every Senior. It's time to protect those that raised us and it starts with your vote.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Our economy is hurting and people are out of work. We need to think about how we do things with less money and still take care of Education, Healthcare and Senior Citizens.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I personally look up to my 3 children, they have grown into 3 remarkably compassionate and incredibly intelligent people that continue to amaze me everyday with what they are capable of doing. I am proud to know that they put others before themselves and know that they will do anything to help others in need. I strive to learn from them and grow alongside them as they grow as individuals.

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

I have proven over the many years that I have served my community as both a volunteer and an elected official to be someone that genuinely cares about representing those that are under served and those that are in need of help. I continue to put the people and their needs as my top priority and not the wants of special interests. I have a track record of being willing to do what is necessary to help those in my community and with that passion I will represent my neighbors at the capitol and work for them.

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

As an elected representative of the people, it is crucial to be able to listen to your constituents and be able to hear their concerns. To be an effective representative, you have to be able and willing to represent your community.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

American Pie by Don McLean

What do you perceive to be your state’s greatest challenges over the next decade?

Oklahoma has plenty that it will need to overcome within the next decade, not only do we need to continue to grow and attract people to live in our great state but we also need to improve some of our basic standards to be able to compete with other surrounding states. Our Education system needs to be better funded, our healthcare options need to be comparable to the national standard and our economy needs to continue to grow before we can meet our true potential.

Is there a particular legislator, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

I have always been a supporter of Jeanie McDaniel whom I have worked with firsthand. When she was the representative for house district 72 she did an amazing job of listening to her constituents and working for them at the capitol. I hope to be an effective representative if elected, just like Jeanie was during her time at the capitol.

Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?

Unlike many others involved in politics, I do not have aspirations of pursuing other political offices. I chose to run for this seat in the House of Representatives because I truly feel like we will benefit from having a representative that has the experience of working for the community and that can listen to the people and work to better serve them.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2016

Barnes' campaign website highlighted the following issues:

“

Education reform Healthcare Protecting the rights of women, children and the elderly

”

See also

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Tulsa County Board of Commissioners District 2

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