(Update: On Tuesday, June 16, Sam Mitchell won election to represent Senate District 65.)
Tuesday’s Republican primary between two-first time candidates will decide the open House District 65 seat, with each highlighting how changes to tax policy and education reforms could affect rural communities in southwest Oklahoma.
Rancher Sam Mitchell, 60, and licensed real estate agent Carla Blue Weaver, 63, are running to succeed incumbent Rep. Toni Hasenbeck (R-Elgin), who decided to run in the state superintendent of public instruction primary. No other candidate filed to run, so the winner of the June 16 primary will be the next representative for HD 65, which encompasses all of Caddo County and the a northeast segment of Comanche County. In addition to Anadarko, Apache, Cement, Cyril, Elgin, Fletcher, Fort Cobb and Medicine Park, the district includes a sliver of Lawton.
Both candidates agreed to interviews about their backgrounds and priorities ahead of the June 16 election.
Sam Mitchell is native Oklahoman, rancher and small business owner. He attended Cameron University and currently resides in Fletcher, where he and his family operate Mitchell Cattle Co. LLC. Additionally, Mitchell and his wife own and operate Great West Carriage Company, a horse-drawn carriage business known for providing services at the Festival of Light in Chickasha. He has served for 20 years as a board member of Arena Cowboy Church.
Mitchell also served on the board of Farm Credit of Central Oklahoma for nine years. In a May 27 announcement, the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Ag Fund political action committee endorsed Mitchell. Of the 36 candidates OKFB endorsed, Mitchell is one of 14 candidates they organization financially supported.
Mitchell said his two youngest sons have both served in the military and his older twin sons fully partner with him on the ranch. According to him, his family’s support made him feel comfortable to run for the House, where he says there are no longer many representatives who have made a living in production agriculture.
“There are people who are ag-related (in the Legislature), but when you just actually have to get down to the bones of having to make a living out of production agriculture, it’s a little different perspective on what you have to do,” Mitchell said. “We know a lot of people in this district, and we care about them. I feel like if we can go to the House and be the representative, then we feel like we could do a good job with that.”
Carla Blue Weaver was born and raised in Fletcher, where she currently resides with her husband. She studied business administration and management at Alvin Community College and is a licensed real estate agent, home builder and small business owner. She serves on the Fletcher Public Schools Board, is a member of the Southwest Oklahoma Home Builders Association and worships at Fletcher Christian Church.
Weaver said many things motivated her to run, but being on the local school board and seeing issues in education became a big factor in her decision.
“I stand strong for public education. I see the issues there, and I just want to try to work in that aspect pretty hard to see if we can make changes there — support our administrators and our teachers,” Weaver said. “I have some ideas on some other places too, like DHS. I also stand strong for law enforcement, and I’m not favorable of raising taxes.”
Polls are open on Election Day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Weaver: ‘Our children are our future’
Weaver said testing requirements in public schools need reform, but she emphasized that changes in education policy should be made with professional educators as a guide.
“I don’t believe that our testing in education is a fair way to represent our children. We have special-needs children that are being tested that can never pass a test, and that’s reflecting on our testing scores for the rest of our children,” Weaver said. “Our children are our future, and I want to make a difference there.”
According to Mitchell, not every kid is best served by public education, and he is in favor of school choice. He said maintaining quality science, mathematics and technical teaching is important, but he said pushing to increase vocational learning would help students see how those skills are applied.
“The percentage of kids that need public schools is very high, and we need to continue to strive to have the best public schools we can have, but I also believe that we need to have the option to have private schools and still have home schooling,” Mitchell said. “You’re learning algebra, you’re learning these other things, and you’re thinking, ‘How in the world am I ever going to use that?’ But if you can get them enrolled early in something that is technology related, then they see, ‘Well, this applies to this over here.'”
Each candidate mentioned priorities the other candidate did not. For Mitchell, retaining health care workers and resources in rural Oklahoma is critical.
“We need to have a workforce available for our rural communities that can service them. I know so many people I’ve knocked doors on, they’re up in the years, and they don’t want to have to drive to Oklahoma City for all their health care, or to any bigger city for that matter,” Mitchell said. “It’s important to me just to make sure that we have local clinics and things like that available to our district.”
For Weaver, her experience as a home builder and real estate agent has convinced here that insurance costs in Oklahoma are “getting out of control.”
“We’ve got to figure out a way to reel that back in a little bit. I understand we’re in tornado alley and it hails, and the wind blows and we get damaged, but we’ve got to figure out a way to kind of get that under control,” Weaver said.
Mitchell: ‘The things Lawton has to offer, we absolutely have to keep those very viable’
Both candidates said they want to see tax reform, but each considered the economic impact tax changes could have on the region.
Mitchell said he would like to cap the amount of property taxes seniors have to pay or at least reduce the percentage they can be raised each year. (A state question to do the latter is set to appear on ballots in November.) He said fluctuations in taxation would “absolutely” impact the region economically.
“If you cut it out of one area, you have to take it from another, or you have to cut the service, and I don’t think we want to cut our law enforcement and our firefighters out of funding,” Mitchell said. “For sure, I know we don’t.”
Mitchell said the broader economy is a big factor for both counties in HD 65.
“If you look at Caddo County (…) you’ve got ag, gas, oil, wind energy, solar energy. When you get outside of that, you know, we’re real short of industry to support these areas,” Mitchell said.
According to Mitchell, Comanche County is fortunate to have Fort Sill, a major U.S. Army post north of Lawton.
“With Fort Sill and Goodyear and the things Lawton has to offer, we absolutely have to keep those very viable,” Mitchell said. “I think it’s $2 billion to the local economy and almost a little over $4 billion to the state’s economy, just out of Fort Sill alone.”
Weaver said she sees several different avenues to take regarding reform, but overall, taxes are a concern to her.
“I am in favor of not raising taxes, and I am in favor of getting rid of property taxes. But then on the other side of that, my concern is, how do we replace that money that goes back into our public education? Because we still have to fund our education,” Weaver said. “I’m not that person that knows the answer to that yet, but I see the concern and the issues there.”
Weaver said she wants to support small business owners and economic development in any way she can, but she said she also realizes tax increases have impacted homeowner accessibility.
“The property tax thing keeps coming up and our taxes keep increasing, insurance keeps increasing, and that is forcing people that are trying to buy houses to not be able to buy in that sweet spot that they were going to be in,” Weaver said. “I need to get there and jump in and get some elbows in there and figure out how to most effectively help the situation.”
Both candidates agree their professional experiences and community involvement provide them with strengths that will help them if elected.
Mitchell said that, although he is new to politics, he brings a small business background and real life experience to the table.
“To survive in the ag environment, you’ve got to be an accountant, you’ve got to be so a plumber, you’ve got to be an electrician, you’ve got to be so many things and the risk management is such a high factor,” Mitchell said. “All of that, bringing it to the table could be valuable and bring a common sense approach to legislating.”
Mitchell is longtime family friends with House Appropriations and Budget Committee Chairman Trey Caldwell (R-Faxon), who has endorsed Mitchell’s campaign. So has the Oklahoma Cattleman’s Association.
Weaver said is not a “career politician,” but she is a mother and grandmother who stands strong in her Christian faith and will use it to guide her through leading her district.
“I think that’s what the people of southwest Oklahoma want. They don’t want a politician, they want a strong-minded business person that will stand up for what’s right,” Weaver said. “I will definitely fight for their values, their conservative values and our way of life. I love Oklahoma, and I love this district. It’s not a job for me. I’ve got plenty of jobs. It’s a service to the people of southwest Oklahoma.”
