Former sheriff recommended for election board post

Apr. 16—Former Garfield County Sheriff Jody Helm has been recommended to take on the role of secretary for the County Election Board, though the State Election Board tabled the appointment during its meeting Tuesday.

According to the Oklahoma State Election Board's meeting packet, on April 7, state Sen. Roland Pederson, R-Burlington, requested Helm's appointment to the position following the resignation of Michael Frisbie, saying he believes Helm, who "has much experience serving his community" and would be well-suited for it.

"He served as Garfield County sheriff, so he knows the lay of the land, and I just think that he has got a lot of qualities there that would fit the position," Pederson said.

On March 4, Frisbie announced his resignation in a letter to OSEB, stating an opportunity arose for him to live close to his aging parents, a chance he is grateful for. Frisbie's last day was April 9, and in the Oklahoma State Election Board's April 13 virtual meeting, his resignation was acknowledged.

Helm's appointment, however, was tabled for the next meeting, which could be next week, OSEB Secretary Pauk Ziriax said during the meeting. The date for the meeting hasn't been set as of Thursday evening.

Misha Mohr, public information officer for OSEB, said in an email that it is not uncommon for an agenda item to be tabled, but did not say why it was tabled.

Mohr said OSEB makes the appointment for the county election board secretaries and that traditionally, those appointments are made based on the recommendations from the state senators.

Helm is the second person Pederson has recommended for secretary in Garfield County to the election board, as Frisbie was his first appointee.

"In the past, the way I've chosen people that I've selected is based on recommendations by other people, and, in this case, some former people that held that position, and they thought that Jody Helm would be a good choice," Pederson said.

Pederson said Helm went along with Frisbie to polling precincts during the April 6 school board and municipal elections so Helm could see firsthand how elections were run before Pederson gave his letter of recommendation to OSEB.

"We were waiting to hear for sure that (Helm) wanted to make the commitment," Pederson said.

Pederson said he talked to Frisbie after the April 6 elections and asked him what he thought, to which Frisbie said he thought Helm could handle the job, Pederson said.

Helm has no previous experience with the election board, though that's not uncommon, said Lois Clausing, the current Republican chair of the GCEB who has served on the board for 10 years and is about to see her fifth secretary.

"We've had a lot of people that have started out and didn't have any experience in that line but did really well," she said.

GCEB Assistant Secretary Sheila Mills said two of Frisbie's predecessors, Cheryl Patterson and Roy Schneider, did not have experience with GCEB prior to becoming secretary.

Helm served in law enforcement for 15 years, becoming acting sheriff of Garfield County in April 2018. He was officially sworn in to serve the remainder of the term in August 2019 and lost in an August 2020 runoff race to current Sheriff Cory Rink.

In a letter to OSEB, Helm said he has no intention of becoming an elected official any time soon or in the future.

In his cover letter, Helm said he believes he will bring a "comprehensive set of skills" that is valuable to GCEB and that his abilities to work as a team member and in managing both provide a "firm foundation" for the position, along with his communication, people-centric nature and compassion.

Pederson said he thinks Helm is a good choice for secretary of the GCEB.

"I think that people will be satisfied and that he'll do a good job," Pederson said. "They've informed me down here that they will have plenty of assistance for him to help learn the job. ... He should be in good shape as far as learning what he needs to do and what the responsibilities will be."

The News & Eagle reached out to Helm on Thursday but did not hear back from him before this story was published.

Kelci McKendrick is police and court reporter for the Enid News & Eagle.

Have a question about this story? Do you see something we missed? Do you have a story idea for Kelci? Send an email to kelcim@enidnews.com.