Dear Citizens of Okmulgee,

I am honored to run for Okmulgee City Council Ward 2. I have been proud to serve as your Mayor, Vice-Mayor and City Councilman. My goal has always been to help Okmulgee grow by promoting our citizens and our community assets, which are owned by our citizens. I feel the Council’s goal should be to encourage growth for new businesses, along with sustaining current businesses and to combat the decline we have seen in our community in recent years. The citizens of Okmulgee have made major investments in infrastructure and maintaining that infrastructure. This had been put off in the past, and it really caught up with us over the years. Which means there is no easy fix, and we must consistently work on such projects as repaving our roads, replacing our water mains, maintaining our sewer, water treatment, stormwater systems, landfill, airport, city parks and our two lakes.

As a councilman, I try to ensure that our city is more business-friendly and welcoming. We just added the online process to turn on water for homes or a business. This is located on our city website. The city has and will continue supporting our Okmulgee Chamber of Commerce and our Okmulgee Main Street. They are an extension of the city in some ways. They can do more than the city can in promoting our city assets for growth to new and current businesses. The Council is very focused on economic development, which is a long-term endeavor that takes consistency and investment. Also reminding our citizens that purchases made within city limits help fund and support the City of Okmulgee.

The Council and our Citizens have invested significant dollars, and we have seen the results of those investments. But we need more of those successes such as 10 Box on 8th Street, the Tate & Lyle expansion, Casey’s, Love’s, Skate Park, Hawthorn Park improvements, New Pickleball Courts at Hawthorn Park, lights at the Okmulgee City/ YMCA Park, returning the Council House to the Muscogee Nation, Philips Refinery Cleanup/ repose and development, Cleanup of the old peanut plant, redesign of Tank Farm Road to improve access to the Industrial Park and the Muscogee Nation Omniplex, Phase 5 of our sidewalk renovations on Main Street, new camping areas at Okmulgee Lake, our new water tower, two new large airplane hangers at our Airport, working on a new airport terminal that is in the planning stage and currently the investment of $10 million dollars in new water mains for the city.

Our city is funded by sales tax so that is one of the driving factors for our council to promote businesses that can increase retail sales which will help fund improvements to our community overall. As industry comes to Okmulgee, we also benefit from the new jobs in our area and the PSO/AEP tax on electricity. Our schools get funded from the new ad valorem taxes associated with improvements. We also have a strong partnership with the Muscogee Nation. They have helped our city with many projects and supported us in other ways as well. At the end of the day, we all are citizens of Okmulgee, and we need to continue to work together for the betterment of Okmulgee and Okmulgee County.

Okmulgee has increased the capacity at our water treatment plant, and we have land that is now shovel-ready just waiting for new industry. Since I became a councilman, I have worked hard to represent the City of Okmulgee in a positive manner. I am committed to furthering the prosperity of Okmulgee, and I think we are on the edge of future growth because we have made the investments needed to position us specifically for business growth. It has been wonderful to see the investments downtown. Also, the N. Wood Drive/Highway 75 area is looking better and is attracting new businesses.

I started my public service when I enlisted in the United States Army in 1980. In 2008, I was elected to Okmulgee City Council and have continued my public service to this day. I have a deep commitment to Okmulgee, and I have tried to serve our community. I have served on the Okmulgee County Jail Authority, Okmulgee Area Development Corporation, Okmulgee Education Foundation, as an Okmulgee Elks Lodge Trustee, OSUIT Information Technology Advisory Board and the Okmulgee City Council.

I would like to continue working for Okmulgee as a councilman, so I am asking for your support. I am committed to continuing as a voice and advocate for our citizens. I need your support and your votes.

Sincerely, Steven Baldridge