JENKS, Okla. — The race for Jenks City Council Ward 6 on April 1 is no joke for both challenger Catherine Lenhart and two-term councilor Cory Box, who has also served as Mayor since the council appointed him in 2021.
"There's one opponent with a resume and one with none," Mayor Box bluntly told 2 News on March 24.
The mayor's resume includes overseeing the town's rapid expansion in business and population, including tourist developments around Highway 75 like Tulsa Premium Outlets.
"I've been protecting and advocating for the city of Jenks for eight years," Box said. "I've been the mayor for four of those years. In every measurable category, the city of Jenks is excelling these last four years."
"But for the last two years, for the most part (the Lenhart campaign's) whole existence has been to slander the city council, to accuse us of taking money and taking bribes. And none of that is true," he added.
Box argued that Lenhart is only driven to run because of her efforts the last two years to stifle a planned youth baseball competition park across from both candidates' neighborhood, at 106th and Elm.
Lenhart told 2 News that issue is just part of a much larger problem with city leadership.
"It was the way that the information was either being suppressed or contained in a narrative," Lenhart said. "And so when we sought answers, we became the adversaries."
Since April 2023, Lenhart and her supporters have advocated for systematic transparency they allege the city lacks. They formed the group "Jenks Coalition for Smart Growth".
"At the end of the day, we want to recognize a Jenks of the future," Lenhart added. "That doesn't mean we're against growth. It means that we'd like curated growth that makes sense. That there's synergy within our community."
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Both candidates agree that Jenks residents should get out to vote early Thursday or Friday, or on the city's election day on April 1.
When asked why he would win in the city-wide election, Mayor Box answered, "I think it's because people see past all the slander. We have an opponent who pretty much nobody knew two years ago."
"If I win April 1, it will be because the voice of the people want to be heard and have not been acknowledged in our community," Lenhart told 2 News.
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