The February meeting of the Creek County Democratic Party took place in the Hall of Joseph’s Fine Dining in Drumright. The meeting began at 6:30 p.m. after the attendees enjoyed a buffet of Fine food.
Chairman Stan Johnson introduced the guest speaker, Mike Workman of Tulsa, who spoke about the District 1 School District race. Workman said, as a distant relative of Will Rogers, he was using Roger’s words: If God intended us to vote, he’d send us candidates!
Then he said there hadn’t been an election is a long time and now there are 8 candidates—one Republican and 7 Democrats. The main contention is between Nicole Nixon, an activist conservative, and Stacey Woolley, a Democratic progressive activist.
He complimented the “pretty good voting system” in Oklahoma with “paper back-up.” He reminded the County Democrats that “the reason you have these meetings is to elect Democrats.”
Workman discussed upcoming dates for Democrats to be active, like writing down resolutions for the County Convention, which will take place this year on April 6th (every two years). The precinct meetings are March 14th, in Bristow at the Courthouse, in Drumright at Central Tech, and in Sapulpa at BT Washington Activity Center. The State Convention in Oklahoma City is on June 8th.
There will be changes coming up for officers: Fran Redding is not standing for Vice President, Vincent Hennigan is not continuing on as Secretary, and Jane Johnson is stepping down as Outreach Coordinator. Stan Johnson is running for Chair.
There is no Bristow meeting in March since there will be a lot going on with the precincts and district meetings. In April, there will be two meetings, one on April 6th that is the County Convention, and the regular party meeting on April 18th, which will be the day the Creek County Democratic Scholarships are given out. The deadline for completion of the scholarship essays was Feb.15th.
There was a long discussion about overpopulation of prisons in Oklahoma, with local Democrat and prison official, Bob McLaughlin, giving details. It costs $24,000 to incarcerate a person, but it is more than $79,000 lost to care for their children, in the lost tax base, upkeep, and other aspects of an incarceration.
There was a discussion about homeless people and the cost of their care.
Discussions included prospective auxiliaries like Young Democrats, Democratic Women, and Veterans. And a calendar of upcoming festivals and events.
