Making a Difference

Later this week, hundreds of Oklahomans will go to the state Capitol to take part in the ultimate act of a democratic republic: running for office. Having taken that plunge myself several times, I know it’s not a decision to be taken lightly.

Very few of our citizens volunteer to put their names on the ballot. Why? Because being a state representative or senator requires hard work, dedication and sacrifice. The 149 members of the two bodies – and all of their challengers over the years – ran because they cared enough about their communities and the state to make a difference through public service. The public sometimes loses sight of this fact. We see the vote, but we may not understand all of the time, study, work and compromise required to produce good legislation.

For 30 members of the legislature, this is the last of their 12-years in office. When you stop and consider what these lawmakers helped create during their tenure, it’s quite amazing. Oklahoma has an administrative workers’ compensation system that has saved hundreds of millions of dollars and allowed injured workers to get prompt treatment. Lawsuit reforms are in place which protect doctors, nurses, teachers and every other Oklahoman from frivolous litigation. Investments in roads and bridges are putting Oklahoma on the path of having no structurally deficient bridges by the end of the current Eight Year Construction plan. And education spending is up 50% from $3-billion in FY2006 to $4.5-billion in the current fiscal year.

We don’t always agree with everything lawmakers do, but looking at the successes over the last 12-years there is no doubt that the state is better off and lawmakers deserve a large share of the credit for that. They know providing more employment opportunities for Oklahomans is important and have created one of the best pro-growth business climates in the country. They put programs in place to help diversify the state’s economy and attract companies and capital investment. We are leaders in oil & gas production, wind power generation, aerospace technology, agriculture and more. All of that comes because of the dedicated Oklahomans who cared enough about their communities to throw their hats into the ring and run for office. On behalf of the 1,500 member businesses of the State Chamber, we thank all of our elected officials for making Oklahoma a great place to do business.

This article was posted in The Journal Record as part of Fred Morgan's monthly opinion editorial.