By Conrad Easterday, CTCN Editor

Out of 20,000 registered Republican voters in Grady, less than 6,000 voted in the June primary. Less than 2,000 voted in the County Commission District 2 contest, which encompasses about a third of the county’s area and population.
With the Aug. 27 primary runoff election just days away getting voters into booths will be key for both of the remaining candidates — incumbent Commissioner Kirk Painter and challenger Ruth Bingham. Just 16 votes separated the pair in the primary, but neither won a majority and both are now seeking the supporters left behind by Garland G. Terry and any other voters who can be called to the polls during the blistering August heat.
“Voter turnout in a runoff is crucial,” Painter said. “It’s very crucial that people get out and vote.”
Bingham, the first deputy in the County Treasurer’s office, agrees.
“It (the District 2 race) is the only thing on the ballot, so that makes it harder to get voters out,” she said. “And it makes knocking on doors important.”
The people who answer those knocks have been welcomeimg Bingham’s message of support for firefighters, the hospital, fairgrounds and senior nutrition centers, but they’ve been most concerned about how their tax dollars are being spent, she said.
“Most people are very surprised that we didn’t get appraisals for some of the things we purchased,” she said. “They’re very surprised that happened.
Painter, who has campaigned successfully in past races, thinks the election may benefit from summer vacations ending, creating a larger pool of voters.
He’s trying to educate the voters that he meets while standing firm on his seven-year record.
“Everybody asks me,‘I don’t even know what a commissioner does,’” Painter said. “We govern the county like the governor does the state. And the governor is our boss.”
A closer relationship with cities such as Chickasha is something Painter points to with pride. Road and street projects are supported with materials and labor.