PURCELL — The two attorneys vying to be elected district judge for Garvin and McClain counties regret that the race has been tainted by a political advertisement claiming one of the candidates is unfit to serve.
Greg Dixon, 43, and John Mantooth, 63, are seeking the post that is being vacated by District Judge Candace Blaylock, who is retiring after 16 years of service.
Just days before the July 27 primary vote, candidate Mantooth’s daughter, Jan Mantooth Schill, and her husband purchased a political advertisement with the headline “DO NOT VOTE FOR MY DAD,” which appeared in The Transcript and Purcell Register. An accompanying website drew national media attention and more than 750,000 visits.
“This is the most regrettable situation,” Mantooth said. “I’m sad about it. I want to reconcile with my daughter and I hope to make peace as soon as possible. It’s important for me to get past this.”
Bad feelings can be the result of divorces, said Mantooth, who was divorced from Jan’s mother 30 years ago.
Mantooth’s opponent Dixon said he wants everybody to know that he played no part in running the ad.
“I have clean hands in this deal,” Dixon said.
Both candidates said they would rather talk about their qualifications than dwell on this unusual incident involving Mantooth’s daughter.
Voters in all three counties — Cleveland, Garvin and McClain — will find the Mantooth-Dixon race on their ballots. However, the winner will serve as district judge for only two counties, Garvin and McClain.
In the summer primary, Dixon received 16,365 votes, amounting to 42.3 percent. Mantooth received 11,917 votes or 30.8 percent.
The rest of the votes went to Edward Tillery, who was defeated in the primary.
Meanwhile, Mantooth has decided that he will not accept campaign contributions from attorneys. He said when he was campaigning door to door, he found that people want to make sure their judges are impartial.
Judges seeking office must run nonpartisan campaigns.
Dixon said he is flattered that so many attorneys have donated to his race. Typically, attorneys donate to judicial candidates because they often have had previous professional experiences with them.
Dixon said the contributions speak well of his own standing in the legal community where he has worked with several other attorneys and judges.
Both candidates now are working in private practice with offices here.
Besides being a practicing attorney, Mantooth has served for 36 years as a municipal judge in Purcell and Lexington.
Dixon, a native of Checotah, worked for several years as an assistant district attorney in two judicial districts, which he says makes him more qualified.
His experience includes serving as an assistant DA in Okmulgee and McIntosh counties and also in McClain and Garvin counties.
As of Aug. 8, Dixon had received $61,812 in contributions. Mantooth received $47,701.96, with the bulk of that money — more than $39,000 — contributed in private funds from Mantooth himself.
Dixon, who was on the OU Sooners football team during his college days, received $1,000 from Barry Switzer.
“I was not a starter, but I was a member of the team for five years,” Dixon said. “Barry’s endorsement is more than a handshake.”
Mantooth, a colonel in the state Army Reserve, pointed out that he was on active duty last year for a six-month tour in Afghanistan. He served as lead military attorney for the combined forces in Afghanistan and Southeast Asia.
Another complication in this race, Mantooth said, is the fact that Andrew Schill, his son-in-law, had worked with both Mantooth and Dixon in their Purcell law offices, before the Schills moved to Colorado.
Dixon said he has handled several cases involving family law, and he would never take advantage of such a case as this for the election.
Mantooth said that he has lived his whole life in the Purcell area, and his home in Purcell was part of the family’s property.
Mantooth’s wife, Dr. Robin Mantooth, is an emergency room physician at Norman Regional Hospital and Moore Medical Center.
Dixon’s wife, Gina, has worked as a teacher and counselor for more than 20 years. Both men are members of the Purcell Rotary Club.
