Stan Griel lives 20 feet from the dividing line between the Ward 4 and 5 districts on the Mid-Del School Board.
He knows this detail only by accident, of course.
A few weeks ago, Griel, who is the vice president of Community and Workforce Development at Rose State College, went to go file his candidacy for Ward 4.
He had been appointed in May to fill the unexpired term of Kevin Loudermilk, who was moving out of the district.
Griel wanted to continue serving on the board, so he went to the Oklahoma County Election Board to do just that.
When he submitted his paperwork, he noticed it was taking a little longer to process his than everybody else’s.
He never imagined the words he would hear next: "Mr. Griel, you are not eligible."
"What do you mean I’m not eligible?" he asked the election worker.
They replied that he did not live in the confines of the Ward 4 district.
As it turns out, the list the election board gave the school district erroneously listed Griel and his wife as residents of Ward 4.
"The dividing line is the center of Ridgewood Drive," Griel said. "If I lived on the other side of the street, I would be in Ward 4, but I’m actually in Ward 5."
Le Roy Porter, current board president, is the seat holder of Ward 5 on the Mid-Del School Board.
Griel called Porter "a great school board member who he supports whole heartedly."
"I’m really disappointed. We have tremendous leadership on the school board. We have tremendous leadership in the superintendent and staff. We have great students," Griel said. "We have some financial challenges coming up, but we can overcome that. It has a great future, great potential, and I will just watch from the sidelines."
Taking Griel’s place will be former senator Jim Howell, who found out about Griel’s situation and filed.
"I’m honored that Jim Howell is replacing Stan Griel."
Griel called Howell the "epitome of community service."
"He is great, a great man, and I love him dearly."
"I’m disappointed that I cannot be part of the policy-making body. I support [Howell] and will do whatever it takes to keep that district going."
