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Municipal elections in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma (2017)
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| 2017 Oklahoma County elections |
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| Election dates |
| Filing deadline: March 1, 2017 |
| Primary election: April 4, 2017 General election: September 12, 2017 |
| Election stats |
| Offices up: Sheriff |
| Total seats up: 1 |
| Election type: Partisan |
| Other municipal elections |
| U.S. municipal elections, 2017 |
Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, held a special general election on September 12, 2017, to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Oklahoma County Sheriff John Whetsel. Whetsel, who was under investigation for alleged financial mismanagement, retired effective March 1, 2017.[1] Undersheriff P.D. Taylor, who was named as interim sheriff following Whetsel's resignation, won the seat in the special general election in September.[2][3]
Republican Taylor faced Democratic candidate Michael Hanson and independent Ed Grimes in the September election.[4] The three candidates met in a debate—dubbed the "Tussle in the Tower"—on August 23, 2017. Conditions at the Oklahoma County Jail were the central topic of discussion between the candidates. To read more about problems at the jail and the candidates' proposals to address them, click here.
Taylor defeated three candidates to win the Republican nomination in the special primary election on April 4, 2017. Oklahoma County Deputy Sheriff Hanson won the Democratic primary over Helena-West Helena Police Chief Virgil Green.[5] The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was March 1, 2017.[6]
Elections
General
☑ P.D. Taylor (i) 
☐ Michael Hanson 
☐ Ed Grimes 
Primary
Democratic |
Republican☑ P.D. Taylor (i) |
Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Oklahoma elections, 2017
The special primary election for Oklahoma County sheriff shared the ballot with the general election for the Ward 4 seat on the Oklahoma City Council and elections for the Oklahoma City Public Schools school board.
The special general election for Oklahoma County sheriff shared the ballot with 15 ballot measures in Oklahoma City, including a $967 million bond package, a temporary penny sales tax extension, and a permanent quarter cent sales tax.
Issues
Oklahoma County Jail
As of August 24, 2017, 10 inmates had died in the Oklahoma County Jail in 2017. Fifteen died in the jail in 2016. The three general election candidates for county sheriff all agreed that there were problems at the jail. At an August 23 debate, each offered explanations for the problems and proposed ways to address them. Click "show" on the boxes below to view some of the comments the candidates made about the jail during the debate.[7]
| Ed Grimes |
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| "The first thing I'd like to see implemented in Oklahoma County—especially in the jail—let's treat people like human beings. They're not animals... The majority of them have not been convicted of anything. They've only been arrested. It's not our job to judge them."[8]
"There's no transparency [at the sheriff's office]. There's no record keeping that keeps people honest and it's got to stop."[8] "If you screen for somebody who is going to have mental problems, and you put them on watch, you can reduce a lot of suicides."[9] |
| Michael Hanson |
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| "Whenever there is a situation [at the jail], we can overwhelm the inmates with people—staffing. I think spending money anywhere else first is just wrong."[8]
"[Detention officers] need to be properly trained. Our training for our detention officers have gone down over the years and we need to strive to reach that goal to where their training is the best.[9] "[Increased staffing] will minimize deaths. It won’t stop them all. You can’t stop someone who is determined to do what they want to do to themselves."[9] |
| P.D. Taylor |
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| "We have policies in place. We just need supervision making sure those policies are followed."[8]
"Those small amounts of money we are saving [from changes made since Whetsel resigned, such as changing the graphics on sheriff cars,] is going to add up where I can put that money back to fixing the jail, giving those employees a decent salary."[10] |
The candidates also addressed problems at the jail in their campaign materials. Click "show" on the boxes below to see what they posted about the issue on their campaign websites.
| Ed Grimes |
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| "JAIL - I will create a task force of key agency personnel to investigate and study the jail issues. There are some that state a new jail is necessary and should be built using private dollars. There are others that believe the jail just needs repairs. My philosophy is to gather as much information as possible to make an informed, cost-effective and long standing decision. I believe the intake and outtake areas need to be reviewed for timeliness and functionality. Offenders must have access to their attorneys in a timely fashion not only to uphold their Constitutional rights but to lower the cost of maintaining and housing offenders going through the Court process."[11] |
| Michael Hanson |
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| "Another death in the jail! September can't get here soon enough.
Oklahoma County Jail use to be the place to hold your prisoners by many agencies and departments. It's just not safe to do that anymore. The administration for the Sheriff's Office and the Administration for the jail need to wake the hell up. Get the dang major, Captains and all other supervisors off their respective butts and start making the rest of the jail staff work along side the bosses. I know we can do better and I know it can be done. The jail can't stop every death but this has gotten out of hand and it looks as if nothing will be put in place to stop it. Let's not hire more staff in other places and pay them high wages then hire 10-20 low wage employees. Stop hiring anyone who can't work the jail. Stop paying for people to work at the Sheriff's office and they do nothing to change the outcome of the jail or any other division. There is so much that must be corrected, it will take a year to squeeze all the BS out of the cracks and crevices of the staff. We all must pull our weight. We must care for the inmates no matter what they are charged with. We must do what is right and improve training instead of lowering the hours of training needed to work at the jail."[12] |
| P.D. Taylor |
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| "Identifying solutions to the design and construction issues facing the detention center [is one of the challenges facing the next sheriff], as well as identifying alternative/additional funding to enhance the operations of the office and stabilize personnel issues. Since I took over on March 2, we have already instituted several cost saving measures by identifying where we can do more with less.
The detention center is a problem that affects the county and the city. It is imperative we work together and increase our partnerships and cooperative efforts where we are able."[13] |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Oklahoma County Oklahoma election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Oklahoma County, Oklahoma | Oklahoma | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The Oklahoman, "Sheriff John Whetsel to Retire," February 1, 2017
- ↑ KFOR, "Interim Oklahoma County Sheriff Announces Changes to Department," March 2, 2017
- ↑ Oklahoma State Election Board, "Unofficial Results," September 12, 2017
- ↑ News9, "The Race for Oklahoma County Sheriff," April 4, 2017
- ↑ Oklahoma State Election Board, "Unofficial Results," accessed April 4, 2017
- ↑ The Oklahoman, "Special Election Dates Set to Fill Oklahoma County Sheriff Vacancy," February 12, 2017
- ↑ The Oklahoman, "Acting Oklahoma County Sheriff Defends Progress at Debate," August 24, 2017
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 The Edmond Sun, "Oklahoma County Sheriff Candidates Debate," August 24, 2017
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 The Edmond Sun, "Inmates Struggle with Mental Health," August 28, 2017
- ↑ The Edmond Sun, "'Good Ol' Boy System Has Got to Go:' Sheriff Candidates Seek Change, Accountability," September 1, 2017
- ↑ Ed Grimes for Oklahoma County Sheriff, "Issues," accessed September 5, 2017
- ↑ Facebook, "Michael Hanson for Sheriff on July 19, 2017," accessed September 5, 2017
- ↑ Facebook, "P.D. Taylor for Oklahoma County Sheriff on March 28, 2017," accessed September 5, 2017
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