Melton ready to serve on city council

By Jeff Harrison
Midwest City Beacon

It took a little longer than he had hoped, but Raymond Melton will soon fulfill a dream to serve his community on the Midwest City Council.

After coming up short in a crowded race two years ago, Melton is preparing to serve as the next Ward 3 city councilmember. He won the seat outright this year after he was the only candidate to file.

“I was ready to run again,” Melton said. “I still had my signs from two years ago.”

Melton said he remained interested in public service after the earlier loss, encouraged by supporters and motivated by decades of experience in municipal government with Oklahoma City. He said the opportunity to serve the community where he has lived for more than 35 years made the decision easy.

“I would have probably got into it earlier, but working for the city, you can’t run for office and hold a city position,” he said. “But I was always interested in it, and loved that side of what I was doing.”

Melton grew up in Oklahoma City and graduated from Bethany High School and what is now UCO before beginning a career with the city in 1993, the same month voters approved the original MAPS initiative.

He started in permitting before moving into stormwater quality, a division created to meet federal Environmental Protection Agency mandates. Melton spent 15 years as superintendent of that division and later oversaw streets, traffic and drainage in his final three years before retiring.

“I know public works inside and out,” he said.

That background, he said, gives him a perspective past council members have not had.

“They’ve told me nobody with a public works background has ever been on council,” Melton said. “So I think they’re pretty excited about that.”

Throughout his career, Melton worked with city leaders, department heads and residents, often responding to citizen concerns and coordinating solutions across departments. He said that experience will translate directly into his new role.

“I’ve worked with police, fire. I’ve worked with every division, every department,” he said. “As far as experience, just public works stuff, I look at things like where the water’s going, where it’s draining, if it’s polluted. I look at signal lights. I look at potholes.”

Melton and his wife moved to Midwest City more than three decades ago. She recently retired as a music teacher from Country Estates Elementary, and the couple remains active at First Baptist Church of Midwest City, where Melton serves as a deacon. They have three children and six grandchildren.

Melton said his first priority will be building relationships across Ward 3.

“My first goal is to visit all of the businesses in Ward 3 and give them a business card and let them know I’m here,” he said. “I would like to go to the neighborhood association meetings and meet as many people as I can.”

He also emphasized collaboration with fellow council members and city staff.

“I hope that our council works together, and I think we’ve got a great group of people,” he said. “I like working with people.”

Looking ahead, Melton said he is especially excited about large-scale development opportunities and continued growth in the city.

“I’m excited about the mall and what we’re going to be able to do down there and get a fresh start,” he said. “I think there’s new businesses coming in and some things happening that I’m really excited about being a part of.”

Having witnessed the early days of MAPS in Oklahoma City, Melton said he sees parallels in the potential for transformative projects in Midwest City.

“I can always look back and say, ‘Hey, I had something to do with that,’” he said.

Melton will be sworn in April 20, with his first council meeting scheduled the following week.

“I’m just really excited about it,” he said.