— Candidates for Muskogee’s mayoral post and four City Council ward seats met Thursday for the final public event before Tuesday’s general election.

The forum, sponsored by the Greater Muskogee Area Chamber of Commerce, focused on a number of issues.

The two mayoral candidates discussed economic development, marketing the city, outsourcing jobs, ward voting and taxation. Candidates for City Council ward seats were quizzed about the city budget, poverty and crime.

Two of the four candidates for the Ward III post, from which Vice Mayor Robert Perkins is stepping down after two decades, failed to appear. They were Christopher Fulton, who owns a wrecker service, and William Strand Jr., a heavy-equipment transporter for Glover and Associates.

The mayoral candidates, Ward I Councilor Bob Coburn and former Ward III Councilor David Ragsdale Jr., had varying ideas about economic development.

Ragsdale said city leaders must look at Muskogee’s strengths and weaknesses and define and distinguish the city from those with which it competes.

Coburn touted the City Council’s commitment to fund economic development with up to $1.2 million of the city’s use tax collections. With that funding and the Port of Muskogee’s business development arm, the city has in place what it needs to retain businesses already here and recruit new ones, he said.

The mayoral candidates split on whether the city should outsource jobs. Ragsdale said it should never happen, and Coburn said it was an option that should be considered in appropriate circumstances.

“We have a fiduciary duty to see where we can get the most bang for our buck,” Coburn said, citing more efficient management purchasing practices as examples.

Coburn said no local workers would have been displaced by a controversial plan to outsource the management of the wastewater treatment plant. But Ragsdale argued that money paid to an outside management company would have taken money out of the local economy.

Both Coburn and Ragsdale said they supported Proposition 2, a measure that would require City Council ward representatives to be elected only by voters within their respective districts. Neither candidate would support increasing the city’s sales tax at this time.

When ward candidates were asked to identify three top budget items that need to be changed, some of their answers lacked specifics or were unresponsive to the question. Candidates Gary Cooper Jr., John Lowrimore and Dan Hall said, respectively, they would encourage local shopping, focus on jobs and find ways to revive downtown Muskogee.

Ward I candidate Lee Ann Langston said her top budget items would be to invest in local businesses, workers and youth.

“We need to grow them here, train them here, and keep them here,” Langston said, echoing comments she made at a forum sponsored by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 2465.

Derrick Reed, who heads the after-school program and other activities at the Martin Luther King Center, said he also would use the budget to support more youth programs.

“An idle mind is the devil’s playground,” Reed said, noting that troubled youths often have nothing constructive to do. “And idle hands are the devil’s tools.”

Ward II candidate Michelle Green said the city needs to use the facilities it has — the sports complex, fitness center and Civic Center — to attract more people. Dale Boots Jr. said the city needs to budget better for employees’ health care, and Wayne Johnson said safety and health should be among the city’s top issues.

Ron Venters Sr., who previously served 12 years on the City Council, said his top three issues would be addressing violent crime, marketing Muskogee, and improving its infrastructure.

Ward II Councilor Shawn Raper, the only incumbent seeking re-election, said present commitments and stagnant economic growth makes it hard to do much. His top goals, however, would be a continued focus on economic development, pay raises for city employees, and better management of health benefits trust.

“I would like to tell you we will be back to pre-downturn levels,” Raper said about Muskogee’s revenue stream before the recent recession. “But we haven’t seen that yet.”

In regard to poverty, all but one of the ward candidates present spoke about the importance of early childhood development, education and the involvement of businesses with youth mentoring programs.

Lowrimore, who is competing against Cooper and Langston for the Ward I post being vacated by Coburn, warned about problems with temporary workers. In regard to Muskogee’s homeless population, Lowrimore said, “We need to talk to them people.”

When quizzed about crime, council candidates cited a need for personal responsibility, accountability at home and in the schools, more community youth programs, and efficient policing.

The election for four ward representatives and the city’s next mayor is Feb. 14, with a runoff election April 3 if necessary. Muskogee voters also will decide the fate of three ballot propositions, one of which is how ward representatives will be elected in the future.

Registered voters may cast early absentee ballots from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. today and Monday at the Muskogee County Election Board, 400 W. Broadway.

Reach D.E. Smoot at (918) 684-2901 or dsmoot@muskogeephoenix.com.

Muskogee City Council candidates



Mayor — Bob Coburn, David Ragsdale Jr.

Ward I — Gary Cooper, Lee Ann Langston, John Lowrimore.

Ward II — Michelle Green, Dan Hall, Shawn Raper (i).

Ward III — Dale “D.” Boots Jr., Christopher Fulton, Derrick Reed, William Strand Jr.

Ward IV — Wayne Johnson, Ron Venters Sr.



Key dates



Today and Monday — In-person absentee voting.

Feb. 14 — Election day.

April 3 — Runoff elections, if necessary.

Muskogee voting districts map

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