14 municipal candidates who promised open government were elected Tuesday

Voters on Tuesday elected 14 municipal candidates had who signed FOI Oklahoma's Open Government Pledge.

The candidates had promised that they and the public bodies that they are "elected to govern will comply with not only the letter but also the spirit of Oklahoma's Open Meeting and Open Records laws."

They also pledged "to support at every opportunity ... the inherent right [of Oklahomans] to know and be fully informed about their government so that they can efficiently and intelligently exercise their inherent political power."

Now it's up to their constituents to hold them to that pledge.

Twenty-one municipal candidates have signed the pledge this year, with 15 being elected.

The pledge signers winning on Tuesday were in:

• Blanchard: City Council, Ward 4: Frank Broyles


• Cherokee: City Commission, Ward I: Diana Williamson


• Edmond: City Council, Ward 2: Elizabeth Waner


• Glenpool: City Council, At-Large: Alyce Korb
• Glenpool: City Council, Ward 4: Tommy Carner


• Jet: Board of Trustees: Carolyn Crossette
• Jet: Clerk-Treasurer: Donna Keller


• Minco: Mayor: Watson Mitchell
• Minco: City Council, Ward 1, Position 1: Rick Anthony
• Minco: City Council, Ward 3, Position 1: Jim Rice


• Piedmont: Mayor: Valerie Thomerson
• Piedmont: City Council, Ward 3: Bill Sharp
• Piedmont: City Council, Ward 5: Wade Johnson


• Vinita: City Council, Ward 2: Carol Austin

Another pledge signer, Roger Gallagher, was elected to the Norman City Council, Ward 1 seat, in the March 1 primary.

FOI Oklahoma began the Open Government Pledge in 2008 as part of a national effort to spur public commitments to government transparency from candidates for president down to city council contests.


Joey Senat, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
OSU School of Media & Strategic Communications