(Update:Â On Tuesday, June 16, Ashtyn Smith won the Democratic nomination for House District 96.)Â
Three Democrats are running to earn their party’s nomination for the race to represent House District 96, a seat held by Republicans since 2000.
Cheat sheet:
HD 96 Republicans
Rep. Preston Stinson (R-Edmond) has held the seat for three terms and is seeking his fourth, but first, he will have to win his own GOP primary. The winner of that race will face either Philip Massad, Austin Reams or Ashtyn Smith, who are vying to flip the seat for Democratic representation.
House District 96 covers portions of Edmond, Arcadia and northeast Oklahoma City.
If none of the candidates receives a majority in the June 16 primary, the top two finishers will face each other in an Aug. 25 runoff election. The eventual Democratic nominee will face a the winner of the Republican primary in November.
The following cheat sheet offers an overview of the HD 96 Democratic candidates based on information from publicly available sources, such as websites, social media pages and other online resources. Candidates are presented in alphabetical order.
Phillip Massad
Age:Â 72
Profession/Background:Â Phillip Massad, who is styled as “Dr. Phil” on his website, describes himself as a “former Bronco, Sooner, and Cowboy.” Massad’s little-used Facebook profile notes he is a psychologist. He served as a fiscal analyst on Oklahoma State Senate staff before working at the Baylor Medical Center and the Menninger Clinic, a renowned psychiatric hospital in Houston.
Platform:Â Massad wrote on his website that he is tired of hearing Oklahoma politicians promise to eliminate income and property taxes.
“I am a grown up. I want politicians to tell the truth. I’m tired of hearing Oklahoma politicians who promise to eliminate income and property taxes as if we are children. It takes fuel to drive your car just like it takes money to build highways, bridges and schools. Cutting those taxes help the wealthy, not the rest of us,” Massad wrote. “It’s like burning your house down before you have another one to move into.”
Massad does not support tax credits for private education options. As a way to save money and reform the criminal justice system, Massad wants to redirect funds to mental health care, addiction treatment, housing and reentry support.
Massad says he is for deporting immigrants with “a history of serious crimes” but not “law-abiding persons.”
“We need strong borders, not dangerous detention facilities focused on profit, not public safety,” Massad wrote on his website.
Links:Â Website
Austin Reams
Age:Â 55
Profession/Background:Â Austin Reams is an attorney at his own firm, Reams Law. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma State University in Russian language and literature, a master’s degree from Boston University in international relations and a law degree from Oklahoma City University, his website states. He has a law license in Oklahoma, Texas, California and Missouri.
After studying abroad in Moscow, Reams taught Russian language and algebra at John Marshall High School in Oklahoma City. He has worked “as a political analyst and program administrator on collaborative nuclear non-proliferation programs between Russian and American scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico” and as a consultant to the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria.
Platform:Â Reams “will fight for fair tax code reform,” writing on his website that “large industries and ‘big box’ companies should be required to pay their income taxes for the benefit of Oklahoma health care, education, roads and other public programs.” Reams “will stand strong for better teacher pay and benefits.”
Reams said on his website that he will protect the right of Oklahomans to sue insurance companies “while home insurers are trying to find new ways to deny roofing claims in this region.”
In a Facebook post, Reams announced that he sued the governor of Missouri “over redistricting demanded by Trump.”
“As your Oklahoma state representative for District 96, I will fight gerrymandering and stand up for your fundamental rights,” Reams wrote on Facebook.
Ashtyn Smith
Age: 40
Profession/Background:Â Ashtyn Smith holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Oklahoma State University and is a former teacher, according to her website.
Smith is a mother of two, and she is known in the community for serving as the mascot for Centennial Elementary School, her daughter’s school, as “Buddy the Buffalo.”
Platform:Â As a former educator, Smith wants to prioritize “early literacy” and “using technology as a tool, not a replacement for learning.” Smith “supports thoughtful tax relief, but it must protect education, preserve local control, and ensures every student has access to opportunity,” she wrote on her website.
Smith’s children have attended both public and private schools, so she does not view education as “one-size-fits-all.”
“Parents deserve options, students deserve support, and communities deserve leaders who will listen,” Smith wrote on her website.
On May 29, Smith recorded a video pushing back on comments made by Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Mazzei, who said 541 Oklahoma school districts are led by “radical socialists.”
“Where are you getting this information, because I would genuinely love to know. I’ve been inside an Oklahoma classroom. Many. Have you?” Smith asked Mazzei. “I can tell you, the biggest problem is not socialism. There’s teacher shortages, lack of substitutes, overcrowded classrooms, which in turn makes classroom management more difficult. There’s excessive and unnecessary testing, which in turn creates stressed teachers and anxious students.”
Smith also spoke against the “smear campaign” against John Bachman, the Republican opponent of the incumbent Stinson, who has held the HD 96 seat for three consecutive terms.
“This smear ad represents everything I am against,” Smith wrote on Facebook. “If Preston is OK with taking and manipulating the narrative of a friendly opponent encounter, what else is he willing to manipulate? Or what else has he already manipulated and spun? My integrity and staying true to myself and my values are more important to me than winning a campaign. The bigger question is why is he so desperate to spin the truth?”
