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Cleveland County District 3 commissioners race: Rusty Grissom, Michael Nash to face off

Michael Nash, Rusty Grissom

Former Ward 5 Councilmember Michael Nash and Incumbent Cleveland County District 3 Commissioner Rusty Grissom.

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Cleveland County commissioner District 3 candidates, incumbent Rusty Grissom and former Ward 5 City Councilmember Michael Nash, will face off in the June 16 primary election, determining who will represent the district for the next four years.

Rusty Grissom’s platform

Incumbent Cleveland County District 3 Commissioner Rusty Grissom is the owner of Grissom Landscape Nursery and has served on several local boards, including the Cleveland County Fair Board and the Oklahoma Electric Cooperative board, according to his campaign website. 

Decisions made by the Cleveland County Board of Commissioners during Grissom’s time on the board include:

• The reinstatement of the Cleveland County Budget Board.

• The relocation of the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office to be near the Cleveland County Detention Center.

• The approval of a bond anticipation note for the Rock Creek Entertainment District.

Grissom said he wants to continue addressing county issues including parking, road maintenance, courthouse growth and expanding economic opportunities.

“We’ve got development, a lot of development sites that we can bring new businesses in, …” Grissom said. “We’ve got one that we know is coming. It'll be hundreds of new high-paying jobs. There’s another one that we’re working with right now that is in the aerospace business, and we feel good about that one.”  

More information about Grissom’s platform can be found on his campaign website. 

Michael Nash’s platform 

Former Ward 5 Councilmember Michael Nash is a U.S. Marine veteran and served approximately three years on Norman City Council. Nash’s platform focuses on transparency, strategic economic growth and lower property taxes, according to his campaign website. 

“I’ve always been people-first. I respect the people enough to provide them with all the aspects and all the details of a problem when there's complicated decisions, and give them all the information that’s available,” Nash said.

Nash expressed frustration with politicians he believes do not listen to the people they represent, and said he found it disrespectful when politicians move forward with projects that receive large opposition. According to his website, he wants the county commissioners to be more transparent with their constituents. 

“I spent three of the last five years in Norman City Council. Not once did I get a phone call from any of the county commissioners, even when there were issues coming up that were of overlapping interest,” Nash said. 

Nash wants the city of Norman and the county commissioners to collaborate to reduce redundant spending and reinvest money in the community. He believes stagnant revenue in the city leads to stagnant revenue in the county. 

More information about Nash’s platform can be found on his campaign website.

Campaign finances 

According to his campaign expenditure report filed with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission, Grissom started the race with $55,700.91 and has since raised:

• $43,260.90 from individuals,

• $1,000 from PACs,

• $125 from in kind contributions and

• $728.79 of other funds, totaling $100,815.60.

His expenditures total $18,333.75, less than 20% of his total campaign fund. Grissom said he’s expecting to face more expenditures.

According to his campaign expenditure report, Nash has raised 12% of the campaign donations Grissom has raised. He has received a total of $12,802.50:

• $8,050 from individual donations,

• $4,000 in loans and

• $752.50 from in kind contributions.

He has spent $11,199.22 in campaign expenditures.

Rock Creek Entertainment District

In March, county commissioners approved an up-to $50 million bond anticipation note for the Rock Creek Entertainment District, an upcoming retail area in University North Park that will include an arena with OU athletics as an anchor tenant.

Grissom said he supports the entertainment district and said most of his constituents wanted it. 

“It’s a good thing for the community. If you don’t like it and you don’t go out there, you don’t contribute any money to it …” Grissom said. “If you didn’t build that, it would still be mostly dirt in the future, 10 years, 20 years down the road.”

Nash said he does not agree with Norman City Council's handling of the entertainment district, which it approved in September 2024. Council approved a phasing plan for the project in May 2025. Nash voted against both decisions during his time on council.

“When I was on City Council, I drafted a handful of ordinances to require (tax increment financing) that exceed a certain threshold to go to a vote of the people,” Nash said.  

South Extension Turnpike 

In March 2025, the commissioners approved a request from the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority to build service roads and access points through Cleveland County.

Two turnpikes are slated for the Cleveland County area: the South Extension Turnpike and the Toby Keith Expressway, formerly known as the East-West Connector.

According to the resolution, the board did not condone the construction of the ACCESS Oklahoma routes, but determined the frontage roads and additional access points were necessary for residents. 

“You wouldn’t want to have a turnpike going through your place and not being able to use it. So that’s all we did,” Grissom said. “We didn’t condone building it. That was already set in stone. All we did was accept the maintenance on the access points.”  

According to Nash’s campaign mailer, he is against a turnpike being built in Cleveland County. 

“I stand with the families fighting the turnpike. And if condemnation is imposed despite that fight, I will work to ensure strong protections for our water, land, and infrastructure so our communities are not harmed twice,” the mailer states.

Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office

In April 2025, a special audit detailing the budget of the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office revealed mismanagement by former Cleveland County Sheriff Chris Amason. One year later, Amason resigned effective immediately in April following his indictment on one felony count of embezzlement.

Grissom said Amason’s overspending was reckless and cost county taxpayers. 

Nash said commissioners haven’t communicated with the sheriff’s office to get the results they’d like to see. 

“It seems the county commissioners and the sheriff’s office didn’t communicate enough, or they communicated too much, and all behind closed doors, one or the other,” Nash said. 

Affordability

Grissom said he addressed affordability through the First Home Homebuyer Assistance Program, which offers below-market fixed-rate mortgages and down-payment assistance. He said school lunch programs can also help with financial assistance. 

Nash said property tax exemptions could help make Cleveland County more affordable. 

“Some people are having a difficult time affording groceries, and having an extra two or three hundred bucks a month with a property tax exemption could go a long way to buy some Lucky Charms and some milk,” Nash said. 

Artificial intelligence data centers 

Grissom said he was open to considering a data center, but doesn’t currently feel like they are a good investment for Cleveland County. 

“They don’t sound like a good deal for me. I think we need to take a look at it. Anything that’s presented, look at it and see if it’s a good thing for the community,” Grissom said. “I know that the water use and the electricity use is a lot.” 

Nash is opposed to building a data center in or near Cleveland County. 

“If any of the neighboring counties were to try to put one in, I’d immediately start looking for ways to get it stopped, …” Nash said. “I don’t want them anywhere near Cleveland County.” 

Per reporting by News9, there are currently no plans to build a data center in Cleveland County. 

This story was edited by Reagan Rozzi and Audrey McClour. Larkin Bock, Kennedy Johnson and Tori Pham copy edited this story.

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