Former state Sen. Judy Eason McIntyre gave $4,000 to District 1 City Council candidate Dr. Corinice Wilson's campaign, $500 more than Oklahoma law allows, and the campaign announced a refund only after The Black Wall Street Times asked about it.

The overage surfaced five days before the Aug. 25 election, in which Wilson is challenging incumbent Councilor Vanessa Hall-Harper.

McIntyre made six donations between May 20 and Aug. 6, according to an amended campaign finance report Wilson's committee filed Aug. 17. Oklahoma's individual contribution limit is $3,500 per election. The amended filing reported the full $4,000 and showed no refund.

The Black Wall Street Times sent questions to Wilson's campaign at 2:51 p.m. on Aug. 19. The campaign's written response acknowledging the overage arrived at 8:29 p.m. that evening. Eight minutes later, the campaign posted its response on its Facebook page.

The campaign said it would return the $500. It did not say when. The Black Wall Street Times reported it has not independently verified that the money has been returned.

Wilson's largest donor

McIntyre's $4,000 represented roughly 21% of the $19,318 Wilson reported raising through Aug. 10. That made McIntyre the campaign's largest individual donor, contributing more than Wilson herself gave ($2,500 on June 1). The next-largest outside donor, Kara Ryan Johnson, gave $1,025.

McIntyre served in the Oklahoma Senate from 2004 to 2012 representing District 11 and spent 16 years on the Tulsa Public Schools board. In January 2019, she filed an ethics complaint against Hall-Harper amid a dispute involving the Greenwood Chamber of Commerce and the Black Wall Street Chamber of Commerce. Wilson's campaign confirmed the candidate was aware of that complaint.

Incomplete donor records

The amended filing also lists at least 28 contributors who gave a combined $4,788 with "INFO REQUESTED" in place of a complete street address, occupation or employer. Oklahoma requires campaigns to itemize those details for donations of $200 or more. The campaign did not respond to questions about whether it would file corrected information before the election.

PAC ties

Wilson's campaign manager, Sharmien Watkins, also serves as chair of North Tulsa For Change PAC, which filed its statement of organization with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission on Aug. 4. Signee House Bland, the PAC's treasurer, appeared as deputy treasurer on Wilson's original campaign filing. Both entities share the same North Main Street address and Bank of Oklahoma branch.

Wilson's campaign denied the candidate participated in creating the PAC or coordinated with it, saying Watkins and House Bland registered it "in their separate capacities."

When asked whether Wilson supports the PAC voluntarily disclosing its donors before Aug. 25, the campaign declined, saying disclosure decisions belong to the PAC.

Hall-Harper told The Black Wall Street Times in an Aug. 17 story on the PAC's ties to Wilson's campaign: "Voters deserve to know who is funding efforts to influence their vote before they cast their ballot, not weeks or months afterward."

What's next

Early voting runs Aug. 20 through Aug. 22. Election Day is Aug. 25. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the top two finishers advance to a November runoff. Hall-Harper has held the District 1 seat since 2016 and faces four challengers.

Oklahoma Ethics Commission Rule 2.21 gives committees time to return an over-limit contribution before it is deemed accepted. Whether the $500 has actually been refunded remains unconfirmed.