Broken Arrow City Council filled its vacant Ward 3 seat Tuesday night after hearing from nine candidates earlier in the month.
Local insurance agent David Pickel got the unanimous nod from councilors. He will keep his appointment until elections on April 1, 2025. But Pickel said he plans to campaign to keep his seat for the remaining two years left in Christi Gillespie’s term.
Gillespie is the former vice mayor of Broken Arrow. She resigned the Ward 3 seat after being elected to the state Senate.
Pickel told Public Radio Tulsa he wants to focus on improving infrastructure in Ward 3 because of “the growth that’s going on.”
Pickel is the owner of The David Pickel Agency, a franchise of Brightway Insurance.
Councilors tabled appointing a member at their last meeting on Dec. 3.
Vice Mayor Johnnie Parks said at that meeting he wasn’t enthusiastic about appointing a councilor, but conceded the seat must be filled given the eight meetings before elections.
Parks believes being appointed will give Pickel a leg up in the April election, as he was appointed in 1978 to the council for three years.
