Paula Lewis
float:right; border:1px solid #FFB81F; background-color: white; width: 250px; font-size: .9em; margin-bottom:0px;
} .infobox p { margin-bottom: 0; } .widget-row { display: inline-block; width: 100%; margin-top: 1px; margin-bottom: 1px; } .widget-row.heading { font-size: 1.2em; } .widget-row.value-only { text-align: center; background-color: grey; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.value-only.white { background-color: #f9f9f9; } .widget-row.value-only.black { background-color: #f9f9f9; color: black; } .widget-row.Democratic { background-color: #003388; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.Republican { background-color: red; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.Independent, .widget-row.Nonpartisan, .widget-row.Constitution { background-color: grey; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.Libertarian { background-color: #f9d334; color: black; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.Green { background-color: green; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-key { width: 43%; display: inline-block; padding-left: 10px; vertical-align: top; font-weight: bold; } .widget-value { width: 57%; float: right; display: inline-block; padding-left: 10px; word-wrap: break-word; } .widget-img { width: 150px; display: block; margin: auto; } .clearfix { clear: both; }
Paula Lewis is the chairperson of the Oklahoma City Public Schools school board. She assumed office in 2017.
Lewis won re-election as chairperson of the Oklahoma City Public Schools school board outright in the primary on February 11, 2025, after the general election was canceled.
Biography
Lewis attained a license in occupational therapy through the University of Phoenix. She is the founder of the Oklahoma Therapy Institute where she also works as an occupational therapist.[1]
Elections
2025
See also: Oklahoma City Public Schools, Oklahoma, elections (2025)
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Oklahoma City Public Schools school board, Chairperson
Incumbent Paula Lewis won election outright against Niah Spriggs and Jan Barrick in the primary for Oklahoma City Public Schools school board, Chairperson on February 11, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Paula Lewis (Nonpartisan) | 53.5 | 6,174 |
| Niah Spriggs (Nonpartisan) | 29.7 | 3,424 | ||
| Jan Barrick (Nonpartisan) | 16.8 | 1,933 | ||
| Total votes: 11,531 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Endorsements
.ballot-measure-endorsements p {
display: inline;
}
.ballot-measure-endorsements td {
width: 35% !important;
}
.endorsements-header {
margin-top: 10px !important;
margin-bottom: 5px !important;
}
.ballot-measure-endorsements ul {
margin-top: 0 !important;
margin-bottom: 0 !important;
}
.split-cols-bm {
columns: 2;
-webkit-columns: 2;
-moz-columns: 2;
}
@media screen and (max-width: 792px) {
.split-cols-bm {
columns: 1;
-webkit-columns: 1;
-moz-columns: 1;
}
}
Lewis received the following endorsements. To send us additional endorsements, click here.
- State Sen. Kay Floyd (D)
- State Sen. Julia Kirt (D)
- State Sen. Mark Harold Mann (D)
- State Rep. Forrest Bennett (D)
- State House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson (D)
- Oklahoma County Commissioner Carrie Blumert
- Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt
- OKCPS Board Memb. Juan Lecona (Nonpartisan)
- OKCPS Board Memb. Dana Meister (Nonpartisan)
- Oklahoma City Councilor Todd Stone (Nonpartisan)
- Okla. Commissioner of Labor Leslie Osborn (R)
- Frmr. OKCPS Board Memb. Gloria Torres
- Frmr. State Rep. Collin Walke (D)
- American Federation of Teachers - Oklahoma City
- Teamsters Local 886
- Oklahoma City Metro Association of Realtors
2021
See also: Oklahoma City Public Schools, Oklahoma, elections (2021)
General election
General election for Oklahoma City Public Schools school board, Chairperson
Incumbent Paula Lewis defeated incumbent Charles Henry in the general election for Oklahoma City Public Schools school board, Chairperson on April 6, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Paula Lewis (Nonpartisan) | 51.9 | 4,579 |
 | Charles Henry (Nonpartisan) | 48.1 | 4,236 | |
| Total votes: 8,815 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Oklahoma City Public Schools school board, Chairperson
Incumbent Charles Henry and incumbent Paula Lewis defeated Wilfredo Santos-Rivera in the primary for Oklahoma City Public Schools school board, Chairperson on February 9, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Charles Henry (Nonpartisan) | 48.1 | 2,246 |
| ✔ | | Paula Lewis (Nonpartisan) | 43.8 | 2,042 |
 | Wilfredo Santos-Rivera (Nonpartisan) | 8.1 | 378 | |
| Total votes: 4,666 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2017
Three of the eight seats on the Oklahoma City Public Schools school board were up for runoff election on April 4, 2017. The runoff for all three seats was held since no candidate in any of the races received a majority of the votes cast in the general election on February 14, 2017. The district was the largest school district in the state in the 2014-2015 school year. This election fell during an ongoing community discussion on the role of charter schools. A total of 11 candidates filed for the seats, making this race the most highly-contested election in the state covered by Ballotpedia in 2017. One of the seats, that of the chairperson, was elected at large, while the other two were elected by district.
Five candidates filed to run for chairperson, including Office 4 incumbent Paula Lewis. Newcomers Stanley Hupfeld, Gregory Wyatt, Bianca Rose, and former board member Wilfredo Santos-Rivera joined Lewis on the ballot. Hupfeld and Lewis faced each other in the runoff, with Lewis winning the seat. The Office 1 incumbent did not file for re-election, leaving Nathan Shirley, Cheryl Poole, and Charles Henry to compete for the open seat, with Henry and Poole moving on to compete for the seat in the runoff. Henry won the runoff election. Office 2 incumbent Justin Ellis faced Nick Singer and Rebecca Budd in his bid for re-election. The incumbent was unsuccessful in his bid and Singer and Budd advanced to the runoff, with Budd winning the seat.[2][3][4]
Runoff results
| Oklahoma City Public Schools, Chairperson Seat Runoff Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Paula Lewis |
53.00% | 6,157 |
| Stanley Hupfeld | 47.00% | 5,459 |
| Total Votes | 11,616 | |
| Source: Oklahoma State Election Board, "Official Results," accessed April 28, 2017 | ||
General results
| Oklahoma City Public Schools, Chairperson Seat General Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Stanley Hupfeld | 39.82% | 3,119 |
| Paula Lewis | 37.33% | 2,924 |
| Wilfredo Santos-Rivera | 10.95% | 858 |
| Bianca Rose | 7.34% | 575 |
| Gregory Wyatt | 4.56% | 357 |
| Total Votes | 7,833 | |
| Source: Oklahoma State Election Board, "Official Results," accessed March 7, 2017 | ||
Funding
Lewis reported $3,000 in contributions and $35 in expenditures to the Oklahoma City Public Schools board clerk, leaving her campaign with $2,965 cash on hand as of January 30, 2017.[5]
Every school board candidate in Oklahoma who accepted or spent more than $1,000 was required to file a Statement of Organization with the school district clerk within 10 days of the transaction. This statement establishes the candidate's campaign committee and declares the names of the chair and treasurer of the committee. Once a candidate filed a Statement of Organization, his or her committee was required to make reports of contributions and expenditures.[6]
Contribution and expenditure reports had to be made for the last quarter of the year preceding the election and quarterly during the election year until the committee was dissolved and a final report of contributions and expenditures was made. The reporting dates for this 2017 election were:[7]
- January 31, 2017: Post-General Contributions and Expenditures Report
- April 30, 2017: 1st Quarter Contributions and Expenditures Report
- July 31, 2017: 2nd Quarter Contributions and Expenditures Report
2016
Two of the eight seats on the Oklahoma City Public Schools school board were up for general election on February 9, 2016. District 3 incumbent Philip Horning did not file to seek re-election. Two candidates vied to replace him: Carrie Coppernoll Jacobs and Adam Zodrow. District 4 incumbent Laura Massenat filed the paperwork to seek re-election on December 7, 2015, but officially withdrew her candidacy on December 12, 2015. Due to this lack of opposition candidate Paula Lewis did not appear on the ballot and was automatically elected.[8]
Results
Due to lack of opposition, the election was canceled and Lewis was automatically elected.
Funding
Lewis reported no contributions or expenditures to the Oklahoma City Public Schools Department of Board Services as of January 21, 2016.[9]
Endorsements
Lewis received no official endorsements for her campaign as of January 21, 2016.
Campaign themes
2025
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Paula Lewis did not complete Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey.
2021
Paula Lewis did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.
See also
2025 Elections
External links
.contact_entity {font-size: 1.5em ;margin-top: 0.6em; margin-bottom: 0em;margin-right: 0.5em;}
.contact_office { margin-top: 0.3em; margin-bottom: 0em;margin-right: 0.5em;}
.external_links_table { width: auto !important; }
@media (max-width:600px) {
.contact_entity {font-size: 1.0em ;margin-top: 0.6em; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-right: 0.5em;}
.contact_office { font-size: 0.8 em; margin-top: 0.6em; margin-bottom: 0em;margin-right: 0.5em;}
}
Footnotes
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Paula Lewis," accessed February 3, 2016
- ↑ Tiffany Rouse, "Phone conversation with the Oklahoma County Election Board," December 9, 2016
- ↑ Oklahoma State Election Board, "Unofficial Results," accessed February 14, 2017
- ↑ Oklahoma State Election Board, "Unofficial Results," accessed April 4, 2017
- ↑ Elisabeth Moore, "Email conversation with Craig A. Cates," March 2, 2017
- ↑ Oklahoma Ethics Commission, ""NEW" Guide for School Board Candidates," accessed January 13, 2017
- ↑ Oklahoma Ethics Commission, "2017 Reporting Calendar," accessed January 13, 2017
- ↑ NewsOK, "Oklahoma news briefs for Dec. 12," December 12, 2015
- ↑ Mandy Gillip, "Email communication with Craig Cates, Oklahoma City Public Schools school board clerk," January 20, 2016
