The Central Oklahoma Cherokee Alliance (COCA), a tribal community of Cherokee Citizens living in the greater Oklahoma City Metro area will host a candidate forum for those seeking one of two At-Large seats on the Cherokee Nation’s Tribal Council. The forum will be live-streamed on the COCA Facebook page at Central Oklahoma Cherokee Alliance-COCA. The moderated forum is set for Tuesday, April 22 and will begin streaming at 6:30 p.m. For those wishing to attend in-person, the forum will be held in Room 114 of the Tanenbaum Aerospace & Cybersecurity Center (TACC Building) on the campus of Rose State College in Midwest City, Oklahoma.

The Nation’s tribal council is composed of 17 elected councilors, two of which represent the “At-Large” citizenry living outside of the Cherokee Nation’s historic boundaries that encompasses 14 counties in northeastern Oklahoma. One At-Large seat is on the ballot for the June 7, 2025 Election. More details regarding the election schedule can be found on the Cherokee Nation’s web site at www.cherokee.org.

There are four candidates registered for the At-Large race. They are, Jonathan Carter, William Crowder, incumbent John Kidwell, and Brandi Ross.

Cherokee Citizens, friends, and interested parties are encouraged to attend on Facebook Live or in-person to learn more about the candidates and their vision for representing At-Large Cherokees.

Jay Hannah, Cherokee Citizen and COCA Convener says this event is the fourth forum held since 2017. “COCA has conducted candidate forums since 2017 as a way of introducing candidates to our At-Large Citizens. This meeting is a town hall forum that will give equal voice to each participating candidate,” said Hannah. “The forum is not a debate, rather an orderly platform for each participating candidate to outline their plan of representation of expatriate Cherokees here in Oklahoma and indeed around the world.”

For more information on this event or other events sponsored by the Central Oklahoma Cherokee Alliance, find COCA on Facebook at Central Oklahoma Cherokee Alliance-COCA, on Instagram at coca_cherokee_community or on the web at info@centralokcherokeealliance.org