(Update:Â On Tuesday, June 16, Republicans Troy Talley and Rusty Rains advanced to an Aug. 25 runoff to represent House District 81.)
Three first-time Republican candidates are vying to fill the south-central Edmond seat being vacated by Rep. Mike Osburn after he decided not to seek a sixth and final term in the Oklahoma House.
Small business owner Amber Canary, investment manager Rusty Rains and telecommunications professional Troy Talley are set to face off in the June 16 Republican primary. The eventual Republican Party nominee will face the Democratic Party nominee, either Megan Hornbeek Allen or Jason Lankford, in November.
The Edmond Chamber of Commerce hosted a forum May 8, which four of the five total HD 81 candidates attended.
With Canary absent, Rains and Talley emphasized education as a priority, which surfaced at the forum following a question about strategies for Oklahoma’s tax structure.
While noting a dislike for taxes, Talley acknowledged the importance of using public revenue to provide funding for good schools and good roads.
“I come from a position of, ‘What can we do with the monies that we have now,’ but what creative ways can we add to that money? Kind of like Oklahoma City has done with MAPS, is there not a way that we could do something similar like that with Edmond? Where we get minimal taxes, and look at it long term as well,” Talley said. “I’ll be deferring to (…) people that would become advisors to help me understand better what are all the implications of how we collect taxes and when we should increase and should not increase taxes for any reason.”
Rains said he agreed with Talley that “lower is better” in terms of taxation, though he said basic services must be met.
“I think it gets back to looking at where the money is going and making sure that it is supporting the basic services,” Rains said. “But when you’re paying those kinds of taxes — $6 billion out of a $12 billion budget that the state appropriates for education — and you’re dead last, or close to dead last, then you got to start looking at [it]. Six billion might be right, it might be four, it might be 10, but you better figure out why your outcomes are not matching the dollars that you’re spending.”
In a video on her Facebook page, Canary discussed wanting to eliminate property taxes on the primary residence of seniors, which she defines as age 50 and older.
“Haven’t we seniors paid enough in property taxes for our primary residence?” Canary said.
If no Republican candidate attains more than 50 percent of the June 16 vote, the top two finishers will face each other in an Aug. 25 runoff election.
The candidate ultimately elected to House District 81 will represent residents living in south-central Edmond and a small portion of northern OKC.
The following cheat sheet offers an overview of the HD 81 GOP candidates based on information from publicly available sources and a forum hosted May 8 by the Edmond Chamber of Commerce. Candidates are presented in alphabetical order.
Amber Canary
Age: 57
Profession/Background: Amber Canary lists several occupations on her website, including small business owner, teacher at a Title I school, volleyball coach and a real estate agent. She is a graduate of the University of Central Oklahoma.
Platform: Canary prioritizes her Christian faith and constitutional rights on her website. Canary points to her personal experience in the education system and “will fight for programs that support teachers and improve funding,” her website states.
“I still do some tutoring because I have a passion for teaching kids how to read and write and spell,” Canary said in a YouTube video. “I’m really passionate about literacy. We really need to teach our kids how to read and write. And I’m really passionate about those textbooks, hard textbooks. Technology should enhance it, but not replace it and there is some scientific research on that.”
Reform for prisons and county jails is listed as one of Canary’s initiatives to ensure a “system that is just, humane and effective.” Her website also lists supporting small businesses, job creation, veterans and tax reductions as priorities.
“I’m pro-life, Second Amendment. I’m for limited government. I’m for lowering taxes. I’m for creating jobs — all the good things,” Canary said in a YouTube video. “I’m for parent choice. I raised my daughter, put her through private Christian school. So I totally believe that we need to continue to keep parent choice. We want parents to be in control of their children’s education.”
Rusty Rains
Age: 60
Profession/Background: Rusty Rains manages HGMR Properties, Three R Energy and TMCR Investments, a private investment partnership focused on mineral assets and energy development, according to his LinkedIn. He holds a degree in finance from the University of Oklahoma.
Platform: Rains’ website says the government should function like a successful business. To do this, Rains pledges to “fight to keep jobs in Oklahoma by reducing taxes, cutting red tape and making Oklahoma the best place to do business and raise a family.”
“I’ve spent my career signing both sides of the check. I know what it takes to balance a budget, meet a payroll, and make the hard decisions,” he said. “It’s time we had more of that at the Capitol.
Rains said he understands what it takes to run a small business and the need for an educated workforce.
“Small businesses require talented educational folks, and for that reason, I’m clear-eyed and making sure that we improve our educational system so that we can attract and retain the business that we already have here,” Rains said at the forum.
Rains is committed to providing accountability for tax dollars and eliminating wasteful spending, according to his website. As an “avid outdoorsman,” Rains is also committed to “preserving the rights of Oklahomans to pursue those passions.”
Troy Talley
Age: 62
Profession/Background: Troy Talley currently works at Chickasaw Telecom as a senior account manager, according to his website. He holds a business degree from the University of Central Oklahoma. Talley is also a deacon at Henderson Hills Baptist Church.
Platform: Talley is driven by his faith, family and strong conservative values, his campaign website states. His listed priorities include support of veterans, law enforcement and tax reductions.
Talley plans to “oppose taxpayer benefits to illegal immigrants and work to limit the growing welfare culture in our society, requiring recipients to work and be drug tested.” To “ensure that Edmond remains a beacon of freedom,” Talley aims to promote economic opportunity and small businesses.
“When I had the opportunity to step up and throw my hat in the ring for this race, it was always from the standpoint of, ‘How can we make Edmond an even better place to live, to do business in, to make it more attractive for people to come here, to live, to work, to play and to have their lives?'” Talley said at the forum. “Our city is growing and thriving, and I want to help push that even to greater levels for us to thrive over the next several years.”
Talley sees Oklahoma’s poor education rankings and the robust presence of medical marijuana dispensaries as barriers to economic development.
“You’ve got to have an educated workforce that’s ready to go. And obviously, where we rank as a state in education doesn’t do much to attract new businesses,” Talley said at the forum. “Another thing that’s been brought up is when [businesses] do come to tour, and if they look around at the state of Oklahoma, they notice how many roadside and prominent dispensaries there are everywhere. And that doesn’t bode well for our state either when we’re trying to attract new business.”
