Cleveland wins commission election

Rod Cleveland, a 40-year-old Norman Republican, outdistanced his Democratic opponent by more than 1,600 votes to capture the Cleveland County District 1 Commission seat Tuesday evening.

With all 33 precincts reported, Cleveland earned 2,032 votes to Newalla resident James Earp’s 375 — about 84 percent of the vote.

Cleveland said he was “ecstatic” by the results

“It’s great to see the number of people who turned out,” he said. “I’m pleased that the people who voted for me in the primary turned out to vote again this time. I’m glad to see our get-out-the-vote effort worked again this time.”

Cleveland said he was thankful county Republicans “honored him” with the nomination and added he was “very proud” to be the county’s newest commissioner.

“I look forward to working with Rusty and George,” he said “They are great guys.”

With Cleveland’s election, the commission remains an all-Republican body.

While he was disappointed by the results 49-year-old Democrat James Earp said he had no regrets about the race.

“I fell like I ran a good campaign,” he said. “I still believe I’m the best qualified candidate; but I respect the voters of Cleveland County.”

Earp, making his first race for public office, said the campaign “was very educational” and taught him a great deal about government.

“I talked to more than 2,000 people,” he said. “I wore out a pair of dress shoes, but I learned a lot.”

With about 50,000 registered voters, commission District 1 is considered a “heavily Republican” district; more than 27,000 voters are registered as Republicans, while 17,740 are Democrats. 5,470 are registered as Independent.

“I knew it was going to be tough,” Earp said. “But, really, I have no regrets.”

And while Earp said he was surprised by the small Democratic turnout, he didn’t rule out another run for office.

“Yeah, we pretty much got spanked in this race,” he said. “But I’m not going to rule out another try.”

Cleveland said he would move quickly to educate himself about county issues.

“I’m going to work to get caught up with the issues,” he said. “The good thing is, right now, it’s summertime and it’s kinda’ slower. That gives me time to catch up. I want to help make this county better than it already is.”

Cleveland replaces interim commissioner Mark Meyer — former commissioner Bill Graves’ first deputy. Meyer has served as the interim commissioner since Graves’ death in early April following complications from surgery.

Cleveland will serve the remainder of Graves’ term and be paid $76,367 annually.