Attorney Pete Regan outright won the open District 9 seat on the Tulsa City Council, never letting up on the lead starting with early voting returns and ending with nearly 70% of the vote.
Just before 8 p.m. at his Brookside By Day watch party, Regan thanked family members, campaign staffers and supporters.
“This is a town that raised me, and it’s where we decided to build our career, raise our family, and there’s a lot to give back,” Regan said.
During his remarks, one of Regan’s campaign staffers said he had garnered 69% of the votes with 18 precincts reporting. Regan said that result is due to the “people in this room.”
“Tulsa’s been very good to me,” Regan said. “There are some things we need to work on. There’s nothing that’s broken in Tulsa that can’t be fixed by what is right in Tulsa.”
Attendees of Regan’s watch party included former Mayor and District 9 councilor G.T. Bynum; former District 9 Councilor Ben Kimbro; state Rep. Suzanne Schreiber, D-Tulsa; state Rep. Amanda Clinton, D-Tulsa; District 4 Councilor Laura Bellis; District 6 Councilor Christian Bengel; District 8 Councilor Phil Lakin Jr.; and Jeff Stava, a chief program officer at the George Kaiser Family Foundation.
With 10 of 19 precincts reporting, Regan received 2,616 votes Tuesday, making up about 66% of District 9 voters. Author and public safety dispatcher Ben Johnson came in second with 1,054 votes, marking 27% of the electorate, while Shawn Tiemann, a St. Louis native and longtime sportscaster, placed third with 289 votes, 7% of the vote.
Regan will take over for Carol Bush, who didn’t seek re-election after a single term. District 9 boundaries reach as far north as East 31st Street, east to South Sheridan Road, south to East 71st Street and west as the Arkansas River.
Regan is an attorney and vice president of WSB, an architecture, engineering and construction firm. A former Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor and a graduate of Edison Preparatory School, he previously worked as a staffer for former Gov. George Nigh during his presidency at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond.
He later worked for then-U.S. Sen. David Boren in Washington, D.C., and followed him back to Norman when Boren became the University of Oklahoma president in 1994. After graduating law school, he served as the chief of staff and legal counsel for Boren’s son, U.S. Rep. Dan Boren.
Tiemann posted a statement to Facebook at 8:20 p.m. congratulating Regan and suggesting items District 9 “needs to tackle.”
“Love you District 9, love you Tulsa! Let’s keep asking the hard questions! Your voice matters at City Hall,” Tiemann posted.
Johnson texted a statement to the Flyer Tuesday night, saying that he ran his campaign for Tulsa’s working people.
“We ran this campaign because working people deserve a voice at City Hall and because Tulsa’s future is worth fighting for,” Johnson said. “I’m proud that we put real issues on the table: affordable housing, protecting our water, responsible development, and making sure working Tulsans have a say in the decisions that affect their lives.”
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