State Rep. Eric Proctor. Courtesy
State Rep. Eric Proctor said Monday that he will not run for mayor of Tulsa.
Proctor told The Frontier in November that he was thinking about entering the race.
“My first duty as a (state) representative is to be a voice for northeast Tulsa families who elected me to represent their views, goals and dreams,” Proctor said in a statement released Monday. “A run for mayor would require me to be away from the state Capitol during the legislative session.”
Proctor, 33, has represented District 77 since 2007. He is a commercial lender at First Oklahoma Bank.
Mayor Dewey Bartlett and City Councilor G.T. Bynum are the only people to formally announce their candidacies for mayor. Both are Republicans.
Proctor is a Democrat.
The state is facing serious issues, including a nearly $1 billion budget shortfall, that require the full attention of its representatives, Proctor said. The 33-year-old added that he wants to continue pursuing legislation to provide paid family leave.
Proctor’s family played a role in his decision not to run for mayor.
“My wife Tara and I are the parents of twin 16-month-old girls and a race for mayor would mean missing much of the second year of my daughters’ lives,” Proctor said.
Proctor’s statement suggests he would not mind seeing the field of candidates expand beyond Bartlett and Bynum.
“The office of mayor does not belong to any one person or any select group of powerful families,” Proctor said. “Rather, the position exists to be an advocate for every citizen of our city regardless of their station in life.”
Proctor said he has been humbled by the encouragement he’s received from across the city to run for mayor.
“I will always maintain a love for the people of this city and my desire to make life better for the people of Tulsa will be a lifelong commitment,” he said.
Under the city’s nonpartisan election system, if only two candidates run for office, they would face off in the general election, which is Nov. 8.
If more than two candidates enter the race, they would meet in a primary June 28. If one of the candidates receives more than 50 percent of the vote, he or she would become the city’s next mayor.
Otherwise, the top two candidates whose vote counts total more than 50 percent would move on to the general election.
The filing period for municipal elections is April 13-15.
In the rare instance when several candidates are on the primary ballot and no three or more candidates get more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff primary would be held among the candidates whose combined vote total exceeds 50 percent.
Next year’s runoff primary is scheduled for Aug. 23.
The latest figures from the Tulsa County Election Board show 196,410 people registered to vote in the city’s municipal elections. The Republican Party has the most registered voters, with 88,256, followed by the Democrats, with 79,932, and independents with 28,222.
