Young Osage Elected as Barnsdall Mayor

Newly elected Mayor Brock Moore plans to improve streets and water line

By ON Communications

PAWHUSKA, Okla. (April 13, 2015)— Barnsdall’s youngest mayor ever to be elected is also an Osage tribal member. Brock Moore, 36, a democrat, was elected Tuesday evening by 129 votes to 104 votes against incumbent mayoral candidate JD Cole who served two terms. Moore leaves a City Council seat vacant.

“I had a lot of people tell me that the town needs change and they’re right, Barnsdall is ready for a lot of change. So I filed in February and here we are,” said Moore early Wednesday morning following the election results.

Moore said he ran for mayor because the small town’s infrastructure is in need of long overdue repairs and updates. Barnsdall still has a few red brick paved roads eroding with large pot holes as large as eight to ten feet in length in some places. The main street also serves as a highway and has been maintained by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Most people visiting Barnsdall don’t drive through the neighborhood streets fragmented by the large potholes.

Also important to the City’s needs is the main water line from the lake, a 36 year old three mile long pipe that has repeatedly busted and needed repairs a few times each year. Moore hopes to secure enough funding to replace the water line during his term.

“That was the biggest issue, the water line, because a lot of people buy water around here and right now all we do are immediate repairs but the line just needs to be replaced so everyone can have good water all the time,” he said.

Moore is practiced in civic duties; he has served on the City Council as a past president and as a member. The City Council has been successful in supporting community improvement needs like a community center, a city park, main street improvements and a veteran’s memorial wall. The town now boasts a new welcome sign and a scrolling marquee with community information as well.

Integral to completing the veteran’s memorial and many of the town’s updates in Barnsdall is Claude Rosendale, Chamber of Commerce president, who said at one time everyone told him the wall and a cleaned up park would never happen. Rosendale has worked with Moore and supports him.

“[Moore] is about the same age as my kids and he’s pretty young to be doing this, there’s a lot to take care of, but he has [Chamber of Commerce] support…I’m excited to see what he can do for Barnsdall,” said Rosendale.

City Council member Ahnawake Mashunkashey has helped the small town develop and she also helped Moore campaign and said she is excited about him winning the election. She said his City Council experience and professional experience made him an ideal candidate.

“[Moore] is not going into this blind. He knows what’s going on around here because he grew up here. He knows exactly what we need,” said Mashunkashey, “and, he campaigned well. We went to the high school to get the eighteen year olds to vote. I think we got about ten kids to vote. That’s a big deal around here with a town of about 1300 and only about 240 people who actually show up to vote.”

Moore has worked for the Osage Gaming Commission for the past six years as a surveillance supervisor. In 2014 he was recognized as the Supervisor of the year and in 2011 he received Regulator of the Year.

“We got a lot of problems and no money. So we’re just like a lot of little towns, but we do have a lot of people who care about Barnsdall and I like serving the people and I will try my hardest to make this town better,” Moore said.

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