Several members of the Oklahoma House from the Tulsa area will face challengers in the November 3 election.
Here are some candidate profiles for legislative races in the Oklahoma House in the Tulsa metropolitan area.
Oklahoma House of Representatives
House District 79
Republican Margie Alfonso has a degree in bacteriology and public health from Michigan State University.
She was the coordinator for The National Conference on HIV/AIDS with the assistance of the Reagan White House, spearheading legislation for nationwide testing. She was President of Tulsa Eagle Forum, a 1st Congressional District Committee Woman, a 2-time Oklahoma Republican Delegate to the national convention and a leading advocate for literacy.
Alfonso is a registered ASCAP member whose songs and poetry were aired on Armed Forces Radio and soldiersradio.com, and performed at venues including churches, Bob Hope Hollywood USO, Skelly Stadium, Orlando Convention Center, and the Library of Congress.
She supports policemen, firemen and teachers. She believes in the sanctity of life and supports a U.S. Constitutional amendment to protect unborn and post-born life.
She want to eliminate taxes on retirement income and state sales tax on groceries and medicine. She wants to cap property tax valuation for anyone over 65. She believes in Second Amendment gun rights and maintaining America’s sovereign borders.
Democrat Rep. Melissa Provenzano has an undergraduate degree in organismic biology from NSU and a master’s degree in educational leadership from OU.
She has been endorsed by the liberal Tulsa World, Oklahoma AFL-CIO, the Tulsa Chamber, the State Chamber and Sally’s List Oklahoma – a progressive organization that wants more women in public office.
She is a member of the Oklahoma Women’s Caucus.
She wants the state to hire more public school teachers and spend more money on education. She supports the expansion of Medicaid and she wants the state to mandate higher pay for workers. She wants to liberalize the bail system in Oklahoma.
She is critical of charter schools and wants more government restrictions.
House District 11 (Collinsville, Vera, Bartlesville and other areas)
Republican Wendi Stearman, Collinsville, is an educator and a mother of six children who believes in individual liberty and is a supporter of the U.S. Constitution. She wants to limit government and she backs the gun rights embedded in the Second Amendment.
Stearman is pro-life. According to her website, “At every stage, unborn to elderly, people have the right to life. This is the most basic right as a human being. I am thankful God gives us life and each one of us has a right to live.”
She supports local police and law enforcement. “The defund police movement is an unoriginal attempt at a Marxist takeover of our country,” she wrote.
Budget shortfalls are not a revenue problem, but a spending problem, she wrote. She wants fewer regulations and lower taxes.
Democrat Emilie Tindle, Bartlesville, has worked as an eye doctor’s assistant and more recently she revamped a social media program for a small business, according to her website.
She wants to expand Medicaid and cap drug costs. She wants more taxes to fund common education and higher education. She advocates “elementary play-based education.”
Tindle wants to increase the minimum wage in Oklahoma. She would end the cash bail system and end asset forfeiture. She supports State Question 805.
House District 23 (Catoosa, Fair Oaks, Owasso, Tulsa and Verdigris)
Republican Terry O’Donnell, Catoosa, was first elected in 2013. He is the Majority Whip in the House and is the chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
O’Donnell has a degree in political science from Baylor and a law degree from The University of Tulsa College of Law. Before entering politics, he worked as an attorney.
O’Donnell has been praised by the National Federation of Independent Business, and was chosen as the Natural Gas Vehicle Association Legislator of the year. He authored House Bill 3619 to help private property owners have more choices for energy.
He is a volunteer for The Stonebrook Project, a nonprofit in Catoosa that helps provide food cancer patients.
Democrat Susan Carle Young has a bachelor’s degree in nursing and a master’s degree in social work from OU. She is the chair of the Rogers County Democrat Party.
Young wants more money for higher education. She wants more money for common education and more increases in teacher pay. She believes that health care is a right.
House District 66 (Sand Springs, Tulsa, Oakhurst)
Republican Rep. Jadine Nollan, Sand Springs, is Assistant Majority Whip and chair of the Higher Education and Career Tech Committee. She has a science degree from OSU.
Nollan is a former school board member. She has a 100% rating from Oklahomans for Life and the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy. She is an adhoc member of the Tulsa Chamber and a board member of the Sand Springs Chamber.
Democrat Greg Laird works in the Tulsa County Public Defender’s Office. He has a law degree from Georgetown University.
He wants prison reform in Oklahoma. He thinks public schools are underfunded and wants hire teacher pay to deal with a teacher shortage.
House District 68
Republican Rep. Lonnie Sims, Jenks, has a fire and safety business. His family are members at Victory Christian Center.
He is president of his neighborhood association. He was on the Planning Commission for six years, eight as a Jenks City councilor and two years as major of Jenks.
Sims is vice chairman of the County and Municipal Government Committee in the House.
He hosted an interim study on the response to the historic Arkansas River Flood of 2019.
Democrat Michael Ross was an activist in the 2018 Oklahoma Teacher Walkout for higher pay. He is a teacher at Charles Page High School in Sand Springs and was the 2016-2017 Sand Springs Education Association Teacher of the Year. His daughter attends Jenks Public Schools.
House District 71
Republican Mike Masters is a public school teacher and sits on the boards of the Brookside Neighborhood and Business associations.
His family attends Brookside Baptist Church.
Democrat Rep. Denise Brewer was first elected in 2018. She has a degree in journalism from OU and she worked as a broadcast journalist for some Tulsa TV stations.
She has criticized the Republican leadership in Oklahoma, particularly Gov. Kevin Stitt.
Brewer wants a $15 minimum wage, paid family leave, and higher wages for tipped workers. She thinks public education is in a “crisis” and she wants higher taxes for more money for education. She advocates for prison reform.
House District 78
Republican Paul Royse supports religious freedom. He supports public education and opposes a salary increase for legislators.
He supports freedom of speech and help for veterans. A son of a pastor, he is pro-life and he supports the gun rights of the Second Amendment. He believes in limited government.
He opposes tax increases.
Democrat Rep. Meloyde Blancett heads Creative Oklahoma that fosters innovation. She is a principal of The Blancett Group, which deals mostly with public relations.
She wants to end bail. She is a proponent of State Question 805. She wants higher taxes for public education. She wants to strengthen school lunch programs. She wants higher teacher salaries. She opposes vouchers and school choice.