(Update:Â On Tuesday, June 16, judicial candidates Megan Hickman and Brian Mitchell advanced to an Aug. 25 runoff election.)
Northwest of Enid and south of the Kansas state line, Alfalfa County’s approximately 3,000 registered voters will choose among three candidates for associate district judge June 16. Incumbent Loren Angle is facing both Megan Hickman and Brian Mitchell in the nonpartisan election.
The Alfalfa County Farm Bureau hosted a candidate forum May 18, which can be viewed on their Facebook page in four parts.
Alfalfa County includes the Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge east of the county seat of Cherokee, which has a population of about 1,400 people. Other Alfalfa County communities include Jet, Aline, Amorita, Ashley, Burlington, Byron, Ingersoll, Nescatunga, Yewed, Carmen, Helena and Goltry.
Only six judicial elections across the state are set for a June primary after candidate filing. If no candidate secures a majority in the June election, the top two candidates will advance to a November runoff election.
The following candidate biographies were constructed from publicly available information, campaign websites, social media and the Alfalfa County Farm Bureau’s candidate forum. Candidates for Alfalfa County associate district judge are presented in alphabetical order by last name.
Loren Angle (incumbent)
Hometown:Â Burlington
Age:Â 63
Profession/background: Loren Angle grew up on a farm near Byron raising cattle, and he graduated from Burlington High School before attending Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma College of Law, according to his campaign website. He is a lifelong member of Driftwood Christian Church, a Protestant church in the county.
Angle was admitted to the bar in 1988. He was first elected Alfalfa County associate district judge in 2002 after winning a majority in a three-candidate primary. He held off a challenge for the seat in 2006 and has been reelected without opposition every four years since 2010.
Platform:Â Angle’s campaign Facebook focuses on his 24 years of experience in the office, with his website noting he has an “unblemished record,” with no major incidents or scandals during his tenure. His campaign Facebook argues “you may not be friends with Judge Angle and Judge Angle may not be the most charismatic candidate,” but “he has always been bright and he has been perfecting his craft for more than two decades.”
Those statements appear in an April 20 post that opens with the word “Cronyism” and implies Angle’s opponents are less qualified but could win if people simply “vote for your buddy,” as Angle wrote in response to a commenter.
“People vote for candidates for all kinds of reasons. Some vote for them because they are the most charismatic while others vote for them because of friendships or connections. Voting for associate district judge is an important responsibility,” Angle’s post stated, using the third-person. “There are people that depend on that office. There are victims who want justice because of a crime. There are children who are wards of the state who need protection. There are addicts who are trying to get traction in life and looking for hope. You may not be friends with Judge Angle and Judge Angle may not be the most charismatic candidate. The problem caused by cronyism is that jobs are not filled with the most qualified people. Very often in this job, hairs have to be split and justice has to be administered with nuance. Judge Angle has been splitting those hairs for 24 years. He has always been bright and he has been perfecting his craft for more than two decades. It is important that on June 16th you vote for the most qualified candidate. This job is exponentially important. There are people depending on the decision you make in that voting booth.”
During the candidate forum hosted by the Alfalfa County Farm Bureau, Angle argued consistency was important in Oklahoma’s courthouses.
“The reason we keep the same judge in office, as a matter of good public policy, is for the consistency in the way the law is interpreted. People need to know what to expect when they go to the courthouse,” Angle said in the forum. “If we had a new judge every four years with different ideas, the same laws would be applied differently with confusing results. Consistency promotes security, and security is what the public wants from the legal system.”
Angle’s simple reelection campaign slogan is, “A good man doing a good job.”
Megan Hickman
Hometown:Â Jet
Age:Â 45
Profession/background: Megan Hickman is a graduate of Timberlake High School in Helena, she explained at the Alfalfa County Farm Bureau candidate forum. She graduated from the University of Oklahoma College of Law and was first admitted to the bar in 2010. She then went on to work as a city attorney and as an assistant district attorney before being appointed the municipal judge for the City of Cherokee.
Platform: In an April 6 Facebook post announcing her campaign, Hickman said “Alfalfa County is my home,” although she noted in other posts that she was born in Tulsa, raised in Kansas and Colorado, and is the granddaughter of people from Jet.
“I’m running because I believe our court systems should reflect the values important to our community including accessibility, civility, fairness and common sense. Alfalfa County is my home. It is where I’ve chosen to raise my family and build my career,” Hickman wrote. “I will work to ensure our local court remains impartial and independent. Each case deserves careful consideration and thoughtful application of the law.”
At the candidate forum, Hickman said she would like to see the Alfalfa County Courthouse more actively pursue grants for technology upgrades and change local rules to limit continuances causing delays.
“This helps both with the accessibility of people using the courts and making sure that our community can put on their best case if they go to trial,” Hickman said. “I would like to consider implementing some type of drug court or mental health court that would essentially allow people who wanted to work hard have availability for more resources and if they successfully work toward that, they would potentially have a better outcome in their criminal case.”
Links:Â Facebook
Brian Mitchell
Hometown:Â Cherokee
Age:Â 56
Profession/background: Brian Mitchell graduated from Cherokee High School in 1987 and was first admitted to the bar in 1999. He has been a prosecutor since 2003 and is the first assistant district attorney for DA Chris Boring in District 26, which includes Alfalfa, Dewey, Major, Woods and Woodward counties. He also previously served as the municipal judge for Waynoka in Woods County.
According to his campaign material, Mitchell is an Iraq War veteran and former judge advocate who served on the Oklahoma Military Court of Appeals, an obscure Oklahoma appellate court set up to review state courts martial of Oklahoma National Guard members.
He also has an unusual endorsement from Oregon Court of Appeals Judge James Egan.
Platform: Mitchell told attendees of the candidate forum he was primarily running because he loves public service.
“I’ve worked for the DA’s office for 23 years, and I love being a public servant. That’s my calling,” Mitchell said. “I was city judge in Waynoka for a few years and I was in private practice, but I started January of ’03 with the DA’s office and have been there ever since.”
He was also the only candidate at the Alfalfa County Farm Bureau forum to offer criticism of his opponents, albeit not by name.
“I am offering myself to the people of this county to serve in that capacity. Not 15 years ago when I was still learning things. Not 15 years from now when maybe my skills have diminished, but at this point in time in my career because I think it’s important,” Mitchell said.
Links:Â Facebook
