Election Brings New Faces To Tulsa City Council

The election brought change to the Tulsa City Council. 

It was a close upset Tuesday night when longtime incumbent Councilor James Henderson lost his seat to newcomer Vanessa Hall Harper.

And in the race to fill the seat of Mayor-Elect GT Bynum, Tulsa Ben Kimbro will step in. 

Those are two big changes for the council. 

"I was very humbled and thankful," Hall Harper said. "I think giving the people a voice and representing that voice and I think that's what was absent and I think really that's why I won this time."

Hall-Harper isn't new to the issues facing Tulsans and the needs of district one, since she's been a community activist in the district for years.

"I'm hoping that that skill set will bring that new energy that we need to resolve some issues that we have in the community," Hall Harper said. 

There's also a new face in the District 9 seat, which was new Mayor-Elect GT Bynum's seat.

Kimbro is a Native Tulsan and a developer with Ross group.

"It's been a fun process and I'm still kind of soaking it up," Kimbro said.

Kimbro said he wanted to give Tulsans something to vote for, not against.

"I think like any daddy, I would want to leave a better place with more rich opportunities for them and if I've done that, then I will have done it for a lot of other people presumably," Kimbro said. 

These two new faces still have some time before they take their places at the table under the leadership of new Tulsa Mayor GT Bynum, but they said they're already hard at work.

The city's inauguration is set for December 5, 2016.