It’s a really exciting time to be an Oklahoman.  In the last ten years, we’ve seen a lot of changes in central Oklahoma, with investments in projects like MAPS and MAPS for Kids, and we’ve seen those investments begin to pay off.  Just last year, we found ourselves joining the ranks of “Big League Cities” as we welcomed the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Ford Center, and we’re not done yet!

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation is currently applying for federal funds to help build a high speed rail line between Oklahoma City and Tulsa.  And just recently, Oklahoma City leaders announced the details of plans for an extension of the current MAPS sales tax to support a new set of projects called MAPS 3, which includes plans for rail-based street cars, 57 new miles of public bicycling and walking trails, a 70 acre central park, and aquatic centers designed for the health of our seniors.  These projects will create jobs, improve our quality of life, encourage local economic development, and help us draw even more good jobs to the area.

These projects are a great example of our determination to move forward and build a brighter future in central Oklahoma.  We have plenty of reasons to be excited about the future in Oklahoma.

Unfortunately, not everything in our state looks quite so rosy.  Our unemployment rate has doubled in the last year, health insurance costs are sky-rocketing, and several prominent Republican leaders in the State House have appeared more interested in stoking division and fear, rather than working toward bi-partisan solutions to the issues facing hard working Oklahomans.

In fact, it was recently announced that Oklahoma’s public school teachers, already the lowest paid in the region, are going to be asked to dig into their own wallets and pay twice as much for doctor visit co-payments as they currently pay starting this January.

Also, according to a recent report by the State Regents for Higher Education, the number of students entering teaching programs in our universities has declined 24% in the last decade.  Meanwhile, the number of teachers retiring in the state has seen a rapid increase.  It’s expected that that nearly half of Oklahoma’s public school teachers will retire in the next decade.

So, if we’re going to be creating new jobs and bringing new jobs and industries to our state, we also have to address the needs of our schools.  After all, we are going to need more qualified teachers to meet the increased demand.  So how are we going to get there?

We could just give it lip service and ask people to enter our teaching programs out of civic duty, or we can do what any good business would do to attract qualified and talented employees—we can increase the starting salaries of our teachers and start taking better care of the people that educate our children.  Oklahoma’s teachers have performed well and they merit a pay raise.

The incumbent in House District 84 used to be a teacher herself, so she should know first hand the difficulties facing our teachers.  As a state legislator, Rep. Kern pays less money out of pocket for health coverage than our teachers, yet when she was recently asked about this discrepancy, she said it was beyond her why teachers have to pay out of pocket.

After five years in the legislature, I think our teachers and our citizens would like to know why this issue is beyond her.  Instead of working on legislation to address this issue, Rep. Kern found time to craft House Concurrent Resolution 1033, a resolution to condemn the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child—a human rights declaration meant to protect children around the world from abuse and enslavement.  So while our teachers here in HD 84 are being asked to pay more and more for insurance, Rep. Kern has been more interested in drafting resolutions condemning international human rights treaties.  Such resolutions have no practical impact on our day to day lives.  Rep. Kern is out of touch.

The voters of House District 84 deserve a representative who will fight for them.  So today, I’m officially announcing my candidacy for State Representative.  I believe I have the drive, dedication, and determination to fight for the people of the district on the real issues they face—jobs, education, and transportation.  I look forward to the opportunity to meet with my neighbors and voters in the district in the coming year as we build this grassroots campaign to give the voters a real choice to have a representative who will fight for their issues and build a brighter future for Oklahoma.