Jones wins District 1 commissioner

According to unofficial totals released the night of Nov. 6 by the Osage County Election Board, Republican candidate Randall Jones defeated incumbent District 1 county commissioner Jerry Howerton, a Democrat, by a count of 2,499 to 1,940. That is 56.30 percent to 43.70 percent.

The election of Jones will tip the makeup of the Osage County Board of County Commissioners from 2-1 Democratic to 2-1 Republican.

In another local race Nov. 6, Republican candidate Ed Quinton Jr. defeated Democrat Lisa Traylor for the post of county assessor. Unofficial totals showed Quinton took 59.22 percent of the vote to 40.78 percent for Traylor. The vote totals were 8,993 for Quinton to 6,192 for Traylor.

Unofficial totals showed majorities of Osage County voters Nov. 6 supported two out of five state questions that were on the ballot.

Totals showed 79.26 percent of Osage County voters supported passage of State Question 794, which calls for the expansion of the rights of crime victims in the criminal justice system.

Meanwhile, 51.16 percent of Osage County voters supported passage of State Question 801, which calls for the expansion of the range of purposes for which school district ad valorem tax revenues can be used.

The Osage County Election Board disseminated its unofficial totals as of 9:02 p.m. on election night. Statewide on Nov. 6, only Question 794 passed. The other four state questions on the ballot failed to receive majority support.