By John Dobberstein, Editor
Chris Elliott and Tyler Cooper, the Republican candidates for Wagoner County sheriff, went toe to toe during a candidate forum in Broken Arrow Tuesday before a packed house at the Veterans Center.
Elliott touted his efforts to modernize the department and his experience in the position, while Cooper said he wants to improve retention and morale among the ranks and restructure the department to give more control to shift lieutenants.
Elliott won his primary in June but failed to gain the 50.1% needed to avoid a runoff election, which will be held Aug. 27.
Cooper is a former Wagoner County Sheriff’s deputy who left in 2017 to join the Grand River Dam Authority police, where he is an administrator and directly supervises 19 officers.
Cooper is a rancher and served in the Air National Guard, and has been endorsed by retired Wagoner County Judge Dennis Shook and retired U.S. Marshal and former Wagoner County Sheriff Dan David.
Elliott has served as sheriff in Wagoner County since 2016 and served in law enforcement for more than 33 years, including 27 years in the Tulsa Police Department.
His accreditations include a Bachelor’s Degree in science/criminal justice and counseling, the Tulsa Police Department Medal of Valor, FTO, Advanced Accident Investigator, C.L.E.E.T Instructor, Recruit Training Coordinator for the Tulsa Police Department Training Center along with winning the Oklahoma Sheriff’s Association Sheriff Of The Year in 2021.
Elliott has earned endorsements from the Wagoner County FOP, Rogers County FOP and the Tulsa Police Department FOP.
You can see the entire debate on our YouTube channel. And watch out for more coverage of what the candidates had to say coming soon.
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