Councilman Kelly to be sworn into office

By Lisa Spinelli, News9.com

New Ward 7 City Councilman Ronald "Skip" Kelly will take his oath of office on January 2, said a press release from the City.

"One of the biggest issues facing Ward 7 is development, economic development," said Kelly. "The bond issue did pass and $83 million was allocated for infrastructure in Ward 7, streets and parks and rails. I just want to be there...to make sure those projects get where they need to be."

Kelly will be sworn-in during the City Council meeting at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, January 2. Kelly, an attorney, was the winner of the December 11 primary election to replace longtime Councilwoman Willa Johnson.

A strange twist of numbers happened the night of December 18, said Kelly. One of his campaign workers had spoken with the election board and wrote down Kelly had won by a hair more than 51 percent of the votes. The whole camp erupted in cheer, victory speeches and high-fives, he said.

Then a reporter with a local newspaper called Kelly and informed him the numbers he had recieved were incorrect. In fact, Kelly had been misinformed and he had not quite won the election. After a recount, however, the election board counted out the exact number of ballots the mistaken campaign worker had written down. Kelly had won with 51 percent plus the hair more after his side demanded a recount.

Kelly is also a lawyer, with a private practice in Northwest Oklahoma City. Kelly has also served as a parole officer, school counselor and attorney for the State Insurance Fund. 

He received his bachelor's degree in political science from Oklahoma State University and his law degree from Oklahoma City University.  His wife, Patricia Kelly, is the executive director of Oklahoma County Opportunities Industrialization Center.