Four seats are up for grabs on Tuesday’s Municipal General Election as voters will head out to the polls to decide the seats on the Guthrie city council.
All eligible voters in the Guthrie city limits will vote for a council member in their ward and in the mayor’s race.
Incumbent Steve Gentling is seeking a second term and will be up against challenger Mike Monahan.
Gentling says one of his better skills is listening to citizens and business owners.
“I try to maintain a very open dialogue with the community with citizens and with the business representatives and how the City can help them and make their businesses be better,” Gentling said at the mayoral debate.
“Our economic engine is a critical part of our existence and our future,” Gentling added
Monahan says he wants to be more involved with the community.
“We have to be good stewards of the CIP (Capital Improvement Projects) money and be able to start putting those funds to good use to fix our infrastructure,” Monahan said.
“With the new school, hopefully that will help us drive the infrastructure and tax dollars,” Monahan added.
In Ward 1, a new council member will be elected. Current Vice Mayor John Wood is not seeking a third term. Jim Case and Price Purvis are running for the spot after finishing 1-2 in the February primary election.
“My vision for Guthrie is to see it become vibrant again. See us capitalize a little bit better on the events we do have,” Case said on Guthrie moving forward.
Purvis says he wants to see Guthrie thrive.
“Guthrie is a great community and we have many opportunities to showcase ourselves. We need to a have a 20-30 year plan to build ourselves up,” Purvis said.
To view their complete interview with the Guthrie Chamber of Commerce click here.
In Ward 2, incumbent Jeff Taylor seeks a second term and is challenged by Darryl Gellenbeck.
Taylor says he wants to see the growth in southern Logan County continue to come north into the city limits.
“Guthrie is going to grow. There is a lot of properties here. We’re going have to work.”
Gellenbeck was not made available for the Chamber interview and did not attend the candidate forum.
To view the complete Taylor interview with the Guthrie Chamber of Commerce click here.
In Ward 3, incumbent Gaylord Z Thomas goes for a third term and is being challenged by Jason Smedley.
Smedley says he wants to see the growth in tourism and economic development.
“We have great opportunities with I-35 and Edmond expanding north. We will have tons of opportunities to expand a small industrial complex and more residents here for more jobs.”
Thomas states the Capital Improvement Project has Guthrie moving in the right direction.
“We need to take care of that money and spend it properly and be good stewards of that money.”
To view their complete interview with the Guthrie Chamber of Commerce click here.
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
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