Republican Ron Peters easily defeated Democrat John Bomar on Tuesday in the District 3 Tulsa County Commission special general election.
With all precincts reporting, Peters had received 78 percent of the vote, according to unofficial results from the Tulsa County Election Board.
Peters, 68, will succeed former Commissioner Fred Perry, who resigned in July for health reasons.
The new commissioner is expected to be sworn in Monday and will serve through the end of 2014. Perry appointed Chief Deputy Mark Liotta to perform his duties until his successor was elected.
Tuesday's turnout was extremely low, with 4,799 of the district's 123,473 registered voters participating.
That's less than 4 percent.
Peters represented House District 70 for 12 years before term limits forced him out of office. He also has 30 years’ experience in the oil and gas industry and is president of RelationsInc., a public relations firm.
Bomar, 64, is a field construction supervisor for the Tulsa County Engineers Office, where he has worked for 17 years. He had never run for elective office before.
Peters defeated three opponents in June in a special Republican Party primary. No other Democrat filed for the office.
Peters has said previously that overcrowding at the Tulsa Jail is the biggest challenge facing the county, followed by the increased demand for infrastructure in the booming communities of south Tulsa County.
But he has stopped short of endorsing a ballot initiative being pursued by County Commissioner Karen Keith and Sheriff Stanley Glanz that would put a 0.167 percent sales tax on the Nov. 12 ballot to pay for a new juvenile justice center and additional pods at the jail.
With Peters’ election, the three-member Board of County Commissioners now has two Republicans — Peters and Commissioner John Smaligo — and one Democrat, Keith.
Local
The driver had a suspended license, police said.
Adm. William F. Halsey, commander of the 3rd Fleet rode a white horse in Tokyo but he didn't enjoy it. In fact, he said "I was never so scared in my life."
