Oklahoma City Democrats file to run for vacant seat in state House

OKLAHOMA CITY — Two Democratic candidates will vie to represent part of Oklahoma City in the state House after the last representative resigned. 

JeKia Harrison and Aletia Haynes Timmons filed to run in the special election for House District 97. The seat became vacant when Jason Lowe, D-Oklahoma City, resigned April 7 to serve as an Oklahoma County commissioner.

The special primary election will be held on June 10. As no Republican or independent candidates file, the winner of the Democrat primary election will win the legislative seat. 

Harrison, 35, works as a legislative assistant for Rep. Meloyde Blancett, D-Tulsa, at the state Capitol. She previously worked as child welfare specialist for the Oklahoma Department of Human Services and on a few political campaigns. 

She owns Pen 2 Paper Consulting, a political campaign consulting and management firm, and has worked in leadership for organizations like Young Democrats of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma chapter of Moms Demand Action, which advocates for stronger gun laws. Harrison earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Fisk University in Nashville. 

Her priorities include increasing funding for public schools, growing affordable housing, accessible health care, criminal justice reforms and raising the minimum wage for working Oklahomans, according to her campaign website. 

Aletia Haynes Timmons, 64, retired from her position as district judge in Oklahoma County in March. Prior to her 2014 judicial election, she worked in civil rights and employment law at two separate firms and worked in the Oklahoma County District Attorney’s Office. 

Timmons’ priorities include criminal justice reforms, government accountability, strengthening the economy and “finding common ground and working for real solutions,” according to her campaign website.

She’s received several awards and recognitions for her “dedication to justice, community service, and diversity.” Timmons is also one of the founders of Jamming Hoopfest, a program in Northeast Oklahoma City addressing food insecurity, and has worked as an adjunct instructor at Langston University’s Oklahoma City campus.

Timmons earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from Oklahoma State University and her law degree from University of Oklahoma College of Law.