Voters will go to the polls this coming Tuesday, June 26, 2018 to decide who will serve District 3 as the County Commissioner and who will serve on the Waurika City Commission.
We sat down with all the candidates to give them a chance to let the voters know a little bit more about them.
Last week, we featured the interview with the current District 3 Commissioner Ricky Martin.
First, we begin this article with the other two candidates for the District 3 seat, Macy Lovett and Kenny Wilkerson.
Macy Lovett – District 3 Commissioner Candidate
Macy Lovett was raised in Waurika and lived in Jefferson County his whole life.
Although he went door to door when he was a child campaigning for his dad when he was running for State Representative, this is his first time to run for any political office.
He is throwing his hat in the ring for the District 3 Commissioner position because he feels he can contribute to the success of Jefferson County.
One of his goals if elected is to improve the budget by “going after federal funds.”
He believes there are grants and funding available at the federal level.
He also wants to improve the roads within the district.
Lovett has worked hard his whole life starting when he began working for his dad at the Culligan Water Treatment Company here in Waurika while attending school.
After seven years, his dad retired and sold the business, Lovett then went to work in Wichita Falls for a subsidiary of ALCOA for the next seven years.
Next, he worked for the Goodyear tire plant in Lawton. He stayed with them for ten years.
He then moved out to the family farm east of Ryan and has worked for England Farm and Fuel for the past six years.
If elected he plans to serve the citizens of the district by being attentive and treating everyone with respect, listening to their concerns.
He says he will always be up front and honest with his constituents. He also commits to working hard for the community and the success of the county.
Kenneth Wilkerson – District 3 Commissioner Candidate
Kenneth Wilkerson has also lived in Jefferson County all of his life.
He was raised in Grady, Oklahoma and attended school in Ryan.
He moved to Terral in 1978.
He was a part of the last graduating class of Terral High School.
Wilkerson enjoys helping in any way he can in the community.
He has helped with the Fire Department and the Sheriff’s Department.
Wilkerson has worked for District 3 in the past.
Much of his work experience includes driving a truck for twenty-nine years.
During that time he got to see much of the United States but prefers life in Jefferson County.
He also wants to improve the county budget and improve the county roads.
Making the county the best it can be by giving back for how good it has been to him is a driving motivation in his life.
Rickey Porterfield – Waurika City Commissioner Candidate
Rickey Porterfield is a lifelong citizen of Jefferson County. He was born at the old hospital on Elm Street on Friday the 13th.
He is running for a seat on the Waurika City Commission.
Porterfield’s family has served the county in various capacities.
His father was a police officer back in the days when officers had to supply their own cars.
Like many, he is concerned about the increase in the water bill.
He is going into this race with his eyes open and says he will not make any promises that he can not keep.
Porterfield worked for the Waurika Fire Department for 27 years.
During that time he made lots of friends and impacted lots of people in a positive way.
He has also helped with the Ambulance service.
Porterfield worked for the Elliott Manufactured Homes in Waurika for a while and now works for local rancher John Ross.
He is running in order to help the community in any way he can.
James Terry – Waurika City Commissioner Candidate
James Terry is a familiar face in Waurika.
He is seeking a seat on the city commission to make improvements.
Lowing the water bills and improving the streets are his main two goals.
Terry was raised in Ryan and in Oklahoma City.
Terry moved back to Waurika 10 years ago.
He is famous for his watermelons.
His other occupation is mowing yards during the summertime.
Jacob Eck – Seeking Re-Election to the Waurika City Commission
Jacob Eck was elected to fill an unexpired term and is now seeking re-election.
Eck is quick to point out that the success of the city commission has been a group effort of all the commissioners. He says the commissioners are working well together.
He is grateful that the city is no longer in debt and is looking forward to continued growth.
Recently he said the city was able to save the citizens around $300,000 by refinancing and consolidating loans.
He is excited about the future of Waurika.
If re-lected he wants to see the city to continue to improve financially.
Eck’s reason for seeking another term is for the sake of continuity. He doesn’t want to see the city revert back to the way it was a few years ago.
He now understands how the city works, especially the city budget, and wants to maintain the growth and stability the city is currently enjoying.
Eck says that the inner workings of city government are more complex than many realize.
One of the things he has enjoyed is learning how city government works.
For instance there are limits on what the members of the council can and can’t do. That knowledge helps improve the relationship with other entities in the community like the chamber of commerce. It allows them to work together more efficiently.
Eck is proud of the hard work of the city employees in making Waurika a better place.
He said one of the things the citizens should be proud of is that one of Carole Eakin’s goals of seeing the water towers repaired and cleaned is coming to fruition.
It’s his goal that the city grow and be able to hire more employees in order to better serve the community.
Another goal of his is to see the golf course operating and successful again.
Eck says he is accessible to citizens and values their input. If their suggestion is not feasible or possible he always tries to explain why.
He understands the concerns citizens have about the increased water rate.
Eck explains that the rate increases have been necessary to ensure the balanced budget and keeping the city in the black.
Henry Lara – Seeking Re-Election to the Waurika City Commission
Henry Lara has been on the commission for three years. He said the first two years “you have to sit back watch and learn. During the third year, you have to remember that you are only one vote out of five. For instance, I voted against the 7.5 percent rate increase on the water bill. I want to see the town grow. I want to see more jobs come to Waurika.”
Lara is grateful for the improvements over the past three years. He even bragged on the efforts of Jacob Eck with the Downtown Again program and he was grateful for the new Farmer’s Market.
In the future Lara wants to upgrade the city vehicles. They are old he says and even lack air conditioning.
He believes the city is on the right track.
If elected, Lara states that his next term will be better than his first term. “I’m more knowledgeable, I can look more deeply into the subject matter and am a little wiser today.”
“There’s a good harmony among the commissioners,” he says. He believes they all want what is best for Waurika.
