The Black Chronicle Endorses Jason Lowe for Oklahoma County District 1, Dr. Herschel Brown for HD 99

On June 16, voters in northeast Oklahoma City were asked to vote in a few key races for the candidates they want to represent them. In both races – Oklahoma County District 1 and House District 99 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives – none of the candidates secured more than 50% of the vote, requiring the top two finishers in each race to face one another once again in a runoff election to be held on Tuesday, Aug. 25.
In Oklahoma County, District 1 Commissioner Jason Lowe faced three challengers in the Democratic primary, all trying to take the seat he has served well for the past year. Though Lowe received the most votes out of all the candidates who ran – wining 49.31%, just shy of the 50% required to avoid a runoff – he will face the second-place finisher in the primary, Kayla Baker, in the Aug. 25 runoff. Baker received 27.95% of the vote.
Lowe is a criminal defense attorney who previously served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, representing HD 97. Baker is the president of Midwest City-based construction firm Northline950; she has never held public office before.
During his time as District 1 County Commissioner, Lowe has held the line, fighting on behalf of his district. The first Black man ever to serve as an Oklahoma County Commissioner, Lowe has repeated found himself as the lone voice on the three-member commission speaking on behalf of the voters when it comes to the incredibly contentious and controversial plan to build a new county jail facility, as well as the persistent – and deadly – operational deficiencies at the current jail.
On her campaign website, Baker mentions the jail as literally the last item on her list of six priorities, after quality-of-life issues, the challenges facing working women, affordable housing, access to healthcare and public safety. Baker asserts that her experience in construction project management will enable her to handle the issues with the jail.
We know Commissioner Lowe, and we know how hard he has worked on behalf of this community. The Black Chronicle endorses Jason Lowe for Oklahoma County Commissioner, District 1. The winner of the Aug. 25 Democratic runoff wins the seat, as no Republican challengers filed to run for the office.
In June, the voters of Oklahoma’s House District 99 were asked to choose from among five candidates – all good men – who stepped up to fill the vacancy left when longtime Representative Ajay Pittman resigned.
Though none of the men running in the race garnered a clear majority, two outstanding gentlemen rose to the top: Dr. Hershel Brown and Dr. Carlos Robinson. Brown is an emergency room doctor. Robinson heads the Oklahoma City Black Chamber of Commerce.
Voters will have the opportunity to choose one of these men to serve HD 99 at the runoff election scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 25. Both candidates have been campaigning for the last few months as they seek the Democratic nomination for the seat. The winner of the Aug. 25 runoff will face the Republican candidate for HD 99, Melvin Latham, in the general election on Nov. 3. (Latham did not compete in a Republican primary for HD 99, as he was the only Republican to register for the race. So far, no Republican has ever been elected to serve HD 99 in state history.)
Neither Brown nor Robinson have held office before, but both are active leaders in the local community. Both are residents of the district they desire to serve in the state legislature. Both have fine qualities.
But today, The Black Chronicle is endorsing Dr. Hershel Brown to serve the voters of HD 99.
Over and over again, the community has expressed concern over the issues of access to healthcare and education as the most pressing issues for their families. While Robinson has extensive experience with economic development, Brown has specialized experience working in medicine and in education.
Dr. Brown noted that the legislature is currently trying to find a way to thwart the voters’ decision to expand access to Medicaid, which was passed a few years ago via the initiative petition process when no amount of lobbying could get the legislature to do it.
“I don’t agree with that,” Dr. Brown said in an interview with Nondoc. “Everyone should have access. That’s probably my No. 1 thing.”
Brown said he is in a position to clearly see how decisions at the State Capitol directly impact the people of HD 99 – including himself, as a resident of the district. A while ago, his own insurance company abruptly stopped paying for services provided to his middle son, who has autism. Why? Because, he found out, insurance companies had successfully lobbied state lawmakers to change the law requiring that Oklahoma insurance companies cover that care.
Brown has also seen firsthand how Oklahoma laws regarding insurance and healthcare affect the people he has treated during 30 years of practicing emergency medicine here.
Dr. Brown has been giving back to his community regarding education as well, serving as a board member of Northwest Classen High School Academy of Health Sciences, where he himself attended high school. Improving our outcomes in education will lead to greater economic development, once we can produce workers ready to take on the kind of high-level jobs that will spur the local economy.
Dr. Brown has a history of giving back to the community that made him through his local house of worship, Voice of Hope Church, where he serves as a health minister, men’s ministry leader and an elder. The church has an outreach program that has been supporting the unhoused population for years.
Dr. Brown is the man we need for this time, in this district. If you live in HD 99 (mainly northeast Oklahoma City, between Reno on the south, NW 122nd on the north, MLK on the east and May Ave. on the west), please vote for Dr. Hershel Brown.
If you live in District 1 of Oklahoma County – which includes parts of northeast Oklahoma City, Del City, Forest Park, Jones, Lake Aluma, Midwest City, Nicoma Park, Spencer, and The Village – please vote for Jason Lowe.
Polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 25. Early voting will be available the weekend before, at the Oklahoma County Election Board, 4201 N. Lincoln Blvd., from 8:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 20 and Friday, Aug. 21, and from 8:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 22.