By Mindy Ragan Wood
Staff Writer
James Nance is seeking a town board position with ideas he believes will move Okarche forward.
Nance, who sought the town clerk position two years ago but lost, will face Joe Frisby for Ward 3 during the April 2 election.
“I believe there needs to be significant change in city government since I’ve been here the last 15 years,” the Carnegie native said. “There’s nothing really wrong, but there are systematic differences I see that I think can be implemented.”
Nance said he has been listening to voters who want to see the town government become more transparent through technology.
“It was brought up to the city trustees two years ago, when I ran for city clerk, to move the city into the digital age. Expand on a social media footprint. When OG&E wants to change something in the city, they (town officials) can post that out there. A live feed of the city’s meetings to a Facebook page. Increasing transparency cuts down on rumors,” he said. “My supporters would like a city website to pay their water bill online, do permitting online and have our city codes online so builders and contractors can see our codes so they can research it themselves.”
Voters have also decried the constant battle for ball field space as baseball and softball players battle it out for game and practice time. Nance sees the problem as an opportunity.
“We need to build some sort of sports complex to support the baseball and softball teams to host tournaments. That would bring in revenue,” he said.
Nance, who is married to Okarche Board of Education member Heather Nance, said he is also concerned about affordable housing.
“My wife is a school board member and we’re having a hard time finding affordable housing for teachers moving to town,” he said.
For the last 10 years Nance has worked for AT&T and the last seven years as a small business advisor. He works with small businesses and serves small municipalities on communications systems.
“I’ve worked with EMT’s, the fire department, police department to help them get the first MET network for first responders. Working with small businesses and governments has taught me how to network. Knowing what you know is not the same as knowing who you know. CEO’s surround themselves with people who know everything.”
Nance has never held public office. He is a union steward for the Communication Workers Association. He and his family attend Kingfisher Nazarene Church.
