Colorado Politics

A dead man is on the ballot for mayor in Oklahoma

EDMOND, Okla. – Voters in an Oklahoma City suburb will choose a mayor Tuesday from two men who held the job before, except that one of them is dead.

Edmond city rules require that the name of late Mayor Charles Lamb, who died Dec. 11 while in office, must appear on Tuesday’s ballot facing Dan O’Neil, who also served as mayor. Lamb came in second to O’Neil in February’s primary.

If Lamb wins, the City Council would appoint a mayor.

When Lamb died, the deadline to remove his name from the ballot or to add anyone else had passed, according to city spokesman Casey Moore.

Michelle Schaefer, of Edmond, organized a Facebook campaign backing Lamb because she wants City Councilman Nick Massey to be appointed and carry on the late mayor’s policies. Schaefer referred questions to Massey.

Massey said the situation was awkward and said he would have run for mayor had Lamb not sought re-election. He said he would be “honored” to accept the appointment but that he would not campaign for people to vote for Lamb in the general election.

“I think I prefer to sit back and let the citizens do what they think is right,” Massey said. “If you like the direction the city has been taking over the last six, seven, eight years, you might consider voting for Charles and let the City Council decide who to appoint” to lead the city of nearly 92,000 people.

Polls are open Tuesday from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.

In this Nov. 29, 2010, file photo, Charles Lamb, Mayor Pro Tem and council member for the city of Edmond, Okla., answers a question at a news conference in Oklahoma City. Lamb, the late mayor of the Oklahoma City suburb, who died in December 2018, has advanced to the general election following a Facebook campaign supporting him. Lamb’s name will be on the April 2, 2019, general election ballot with former Mayor Dan O’Neil, after Lamb finished second to O’Neil in the February primary. If the late Lamb is elected, the City Council would appoint a mayor. 
(AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
In this March 30, 2019, photo, a campaign sign for the late mayor of Edmond, Oklahoma, Charles Lamb reminds residents of the Oklahoma City suburb that the deceased mayor is still on the ballot. Lamb died Dec. 11, 2018, but after the city’s deadline to remove names from the ballot. He advanced from a primary in February and will face former Mayor Dan O’Neil on Tuesday, April 2 in a general election. 
(AP Photo/Ken Miller)
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