Stoker running for at large council seat

Longtime Odessan Craig Stoker wants to take his volunteer spirit to the next level by running for the at large city council seat in Odessa.

Now is the perfect time for him, he said, as he has settled well into his job as executive director of Odessa’s Meals on Wheels and said he has the time to devote to making the city he loves better. He officially announced his candidacy at 10 a.m. today at Downtown Odessa’s Copper Rose building.

“We have the unique opportunity to heal the hurt and division in our community,” he said. “I am asking for you to vote for the future of Odessa and elect me as your next Odessa city council member at large.”

He said the national political nastiness is alive and well in Odessa, but he believes the March elections here “sent a loud message” with numerous incumbents being shown the door by mostly first-time challengers. “The meanness and the nastiness was part of the strategy because it keeps good people from running,” he said. “But the community spoke and the message was, ‘We’re done with it …. We’re tired of it.’”

He said the meanness is not productive and is not who Odessa is. “When you talk about Odessa, one of the top answers to what do you like about Odessa is always the people,” he said. “The people are wonderful and welcoming and will befriend you …. Our political climate has not reflected that.”

Stoker said he plans to ignore any nastiness, focus on the positive and moving Odessa forward. He will face incumbent At Large Councilperson Denise Swanner in November. Swanner is in her first term, which has been characterized by her almost always voting with Councilman Mark Matta and Mayor Javier Joven. Both Swanner and Joven lost their bids in March for local Republican party precinct chair seats in what was a particularly nasty campaign countywide.

The “squad,” as city employees have often referred to them, have been at the center of several issues, including fake profiles on Facebook used to attack anyone who disagrees with them. Swanner was called out last year for posting that she had met one of those fake profiles, a person named Josiah Vargas, and that he had bought her lunch and she had just met him. She backed off of that claim when others on Facebook called her out because that profile was phony.

She later tried to clarify that she didn’t mean she met him in person but that she was told he paid for her lunch. When questioned further by a constituent she said “I never pay for my own lunch.”

Stoker doesn’t want the drama, but said he is ready if the attacks turn ugly in the coming months. He ran for city council against Detra White in 2018 and lost. “I have always said that was the last nice election we had,” he said.

He said he did not know White at the time, but they were always congenial during the race and after she won she appointed him to some boards. “I consider her a friend and she is my neighbor,” he added.

Stoker said he doesn’t plan any attacks of his own and said he simply thinks his opponent and much of the rest of the council have missed opportunities to improve Odessa.

Recent issues such as broken water lines and problems with trash pickup due to broken trucks should be top priorities of council members. He said the water issue has simply been kicked down the road too many times.

Stoker becomes emotional when talking about needy Odessans. He said he sees the neediest of the needy with his work at Meals on Wheels. “Our clients have these immediate needs and we need to be able to serve them today and I feel like as a city we need to put some urgency behind the water and things like trash pickup,” he said.

He said water issues need to be addressed and federal and state grants need to be sought out to help pay for the many overhauls needed for the water system here. He said many will say “raise taxes or fees” and will detail to Odessans that their share of paying for that would cost less than a Starbucks coffee each week.

“But you know what? Many people here don’t have Starbucks money to pay extra for repairing what has been neglected,” he added.

He said what has been lost on many current elected officials is that the perception is that they are simply not taking care of the important issues like water and roads. Instead, he said, too many times the City’s Facebook page is used to prop up elected officials with photo ops while important issues are left to languish. “People expect good water to come out when they turn on the faucet,” he said.

“The perception of the city is nothing’s been done,” he said. “Why has nothing been fixed? Why are the pipes still bursting … It is too much of, ‘Look over here at the great things we are doing, but don’t pay attention over there.’ I know things move at a glacial pace in government, but there are still things that could have been done.”

He bemoans the misinformation that often comes out of the city and also the mass exodus of longtime employees with institutional knowledge that has left with them. He pointed to trash trucks ordered under this administration that won’t be here until 2026. Some new trucks (ordered by the previous administration) are apparently trickling in.

Stoker questioned why the City hasn’t hired an independent contractor to come in and provide some relief. “The perception, again, is that the ball has been dropped or something hasn’t been paid attention to … always shift the blame with ‘it’s not our fault’ and always blame the previous administration.”

WATER, WATER

He said some blame on previous administrations holds a little bit of water with him. “No one went out and broke the water pipe … but we go back to that whole could, would, should have and it’s too little, too late,” he said of talks in recent weeks of up to $25 million being allocated to local water issues. “Why the urgency now … three months before an election when these folks have had the majority (of the city council) for two years?”

According to records obtained under the Texas Public Information Act, the current city council has budgeted millions of dollars to repair or replace some of the city’s 500 miles of water lines and valves. Yet, only a small percentage of it has actually been spent during the last four years.

In 2021, $2.7 million was budgeted and $1.7 million was spent. It got worse in 2022; $3.7 million was budgeted and roughly $1.78 million was spent. Last year, $4 million was budgeted and $1.75 million was spent.

The City sat on millions of dollars during those years and water lines were breaking left and right. In fact, 263 water lines broke from 2021-2023 for an average of 88 per year.

This year, from Jan. 1 through June 30, 92 water lines broke in the city.

During the last year, Odessa lost 4.1 million gallons of water due to water line breaks, and so far this year Odessa has lost 6.1 million gallons. On Tuesday the council voted to allocate the $25 million to water.

Stoker said he wonders why plans were not followed to repair lines and valves in the last several years. “You can get a lot more done when you don’t care who gets credit for the idea,” he said.

“I think there is a lot of that in our city government right now … having to make sure it is the right person’s idea or else it is a bad idea.”

Lifelong Odessan and attorney Cal Hendrick is challenging Odessa Mayor Javier Joven. Both Hendrick and Stoker have said they want the City to get back on track and take care of water, sewer, trash, fire, police and infrastructure. Both have said social issues are not on the list of priorities.

Stoker said he doesn’t begrudge elected officials the time to do things that are important to them. “But we have to always ask ourselves: Is what we are spending our time on serving the entire population of Odessa?”

Stoker said elected officials must avoid doing things to simply “shine their own crown.”

He looks forward to the race and said he wants to highlight nonprofits, servant leadership and volunteering in addition to council duties. He said his council priorities, if elected, will be water, roads, trash and urging Odessans to take pride in their city. “Let’s partner up and help each other … even just pick up the trash.”

He hopes for better voter turnout and thinks many residents don’t participate because they feel marginalized. “The apathy is real,” he said. “To me it is because they are tired of it … the mud-slinging and rumors and outright lies and the fake profiles.”

He recalled the March elections and “the grassroots groundswell” led then by Odessan Ronnie Lewis, who was elected as a local Republican party precinct chair. “I’m curious to see what’s gonna happen,” Stoker said of the election in November.

“I really don’t want this to be a run against Denise; I want this to be a run for Odessa,” he said. “I want us to get back to work. I want to stop the division.”

FAIR CAMPAIGNING

Stoker said the packet to run for city council is large and includes one form called the Fairness in Campaigning Act.

He signed the form and added when he turned in his paperwork the city secretary told him it was optional.

“And so there’s not even an attempt by the City to say, ‘Hey here’s an opportunity to bring some congeniality back to these elections,’ and say, ‘Listen, I’m not gonna attack you personally. I’m not going to come after you about your personal life; I’m gonna stick to the issues; I’m gonna stick to your record.’ I hope the rest of the candidates in the election sign it.”

He even hopes all candidates will go one step further and vow not to use third parties — like fake news sites — to attack candidates.

“We can work on bringing back civility to our community and a spirit of togetherness and working together,” he said. “We have so many great things to show … and we need a hard look at what a city council does.

“The bottom line is it’s nonpartisan, the roads don’t care whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican. The trash doesn’t care. The water pipe two weeks ago didn’t care … I believe we have opportunities to find solutions to these problems without going in and issuing massive amounts of debt.”

• Executive Director of Odessa Meals on Wheels.
• Lived in Odessa most of his life and is a third-generation Odessan who was adopted at birth by Carole and Ray Stoker.
• Attended Gonzales Elementary, Nimitz Junior High and Trinity School.
• Stoker was director of Food 2 Kids and worked at the West Texas Food Bank before being named executive director of Odessa’s Meals on Wheels. During his tenure he has almost doubled the amount of meals served to needy Odessans.
• He serves on the Ector County Library Board, is board chair of Downtown Odessa Inc., and is a commissioner on the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission. He has also volunteered for the Crystal Ball Foundation, Permian Playhouse, Empty Bowls and the HEB Feast of Sharing.

ELECTION 2024

• Oct. 7 is the last day to register to vote.
• Early voting begins Oct. 21 and ends Nov. 1.
• Nov. 5 is Election Day.
• Other municipal offices up include Districts 1 and 2 city council seats. Also, the at large seat on city council. Steve Thompson (District 2) has indicated he will seek the office again as have (District 1) Mark Matta and (at-large) Denise Swanner. Odessan Craig Stoker will run for the at-large seat. Mayor Javier Joven will face native Odessan and attorney Cal Hendrick.