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ENID, Okla.– A recall election has been set for an Enid City Commissioner seat after residents raised concern over the past behavior of current seat holder Judd Blevins. The election has been scheduled for April 2, 2024.
Blevins was first elected to office in 2023. Before his campaign, a photo started to circulate of the commissioner at the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. They held the rally to protest a city proposal to remove a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. This convening of several white nationalist and alt-right groups made headlines when a car drove through a crowd of counter-protesters. One person died, and 35 others sustained injuries.
The photo in question shows Blevins holding a tiki torch at the rally. It was first posted on the website Right Wing Watch in 2019. The blog post alleges that Blevins was the Oklahoma coordinator for a group called Identity Evropa, sometimes referred to as the American Identity Movement. The Southern Poverty Law Center defines Identity Evropa as being at the forefront of “the racist ‘alt-right’s’ effort to recruit white, college-aged men and transform them into the fashionable new face of white nationalism.”
The blog also brings to light leaked chat logs from a group message Blevins allegedly participated in. Under the pseudonym “Conway,” Blevins said that he’ll bring an Oklahoma 46 flag to the Unite the Right rally. The 46 flag, immediately adopted following statehood, was the initial version of the state flag. Days later, a photo of the flag being carried at the rally made its way to the local media.
Concerns Ignored
Before taking office a local paper published a piece on Blevins’ problematic ties but it didn’t garner widespread attention. In an opinion editorial from the Enid News and Eagle, Stephen Jones argues that a candidate’s past should be “fair game” for scrutiny. He specifically cited Blevins’ alleged alt-right connections.
In May, protestors gathered at Enid’s city hall during Blevins’ swearing-in ceremony. The group coined the demonstration “Hate Has No Home Here.” At the time, Blevins said he supported the groups First Amendment right to protest but didn’t entertain any claims of involvement with Identity Evropa.
City officials have given him opportunities to own up to any involvement but he has repeatedly ignored the claims. Now, Enid residents have taken it upon themselves to demand the recall of Blevins’ 2023 election.
Gathering Signatures for Recall
In November 2023, the Enid Social Justice Committee began petitioning City Commissioner District 1 voters. Petitioners had to gather at least 200 in-person signatures to get a recall election on the ballot. Around the same time, Enid Mayor David Mason and other city commissioners began to consider censuring Blevins.
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Over the coming months, they were able to obtain 350 signatures from voters. On December 5, the Enid City Council passed the recall resolution.
“He has the right to his free speech, but we have the right to judge him by that speech,” Krisit Balden, an organizer with ESJC, told KOCO. Cheryl Patterson will replace Blevins if he loses the recall election.
Response from the City Commissioner
Blevins released the following statement to KOCO:
“I could have chosen the easy way out. I could have caved in to the demands of insane leftists, like most other elected officials would have. But I chose to place my future in the hands of voters because I am confident they are going to re-affirm the decision they made a year ago. That I am the best to represent them.”
In the statement, he took a jab at Mayor David Mason. “Because the social justice squad who recalled me failed to produce their own candidate, the mayor took it upon himself to recruit one, and then took measures to ensure she was the only challenger to file for the office.”
The fate of Blevins’ political career once again lies in the hands of Enid District 1 voters. The election will take place on April 2.