Lawton, OK – I’ll never apologize for fighting for SW Oklahoma. Two years ago, when I first decided to run for office, I made two promises:
One: That although I may not always agree with you, I’ll always explain why I voted a certain way and have an open line of communication with House District 63. I’ve implemented that by doing weekly video updates, giving out my personal cell phone number on every mail piece and video, and attending hundreds of events in the district since I was elected.
And two: That no matter what, I would always fight for SW Oklahoma and our values.
As many of you may know, this week we passed a House Joint Resolution (HJR) that, if passed by the Senate, would put a question on the ballot for all Oklahomans to consider. HJR 1027 would ask voters to consider whether to require signatures be gathered from 5% of voters in each of the state’s five congressional districts instead of just an overall number of signatures from statewide voters.
HJR 1027 empowers SW Oklahoma and would ensure rural areas will be equally represented alongside counties that hold the majority of Oklahoma’s population (i.e. Oklaho- ma & Tulsa counties). The main opposition against this HJR is coming from Oklahoma City and Tulsa Democrats, political insiders, and out-of-state interest groups, like PETA, Sierra Club, and HSUS, to name a few.
How does this resolution help rural Oklahoma, you might ask?
Currently, as the initiative petition process works, these groups will go to a few locations in our two largest cities and gather all of their signatures. They have no incentive to come to rural Oklahoma or even drive down I-44 to Law- ton/Fort Sill, much less Geronimo, Altus, Elgin, Frederick or Duncan.
I have been in the room when out-of-state groups have told us that they don’t have to negotiate with local stakeholders in rural areas because they can hire signature collectors in Oklahoma City for $200,000 and put whatever they want on a ballot. We all saw what happen with SQ777 when out of state money flooded the air waves in OKC and Tulsa media markets and turned the tide and manipulated the narrative against rural Oklahoma and against our local farmers and ranchers.
This only shows you the unbalanced impact that out-of-state interest groups can have on elections here in Oklahoma. They have no need to visit rural Oklahoma because they don’t think our voices matter when deciding which state questions to place on a ballot. HJR 1027 gives more power to rural communities, which is why I voted for it on the House floor.
If you aren’t already please check out our weekly updates on Facebook (https://www. facebook.com/TreyCaldwell- 4StateRep), they normally come out on Thursdays around 3pm. Where I go into the details of the week, the law-making process, and what bills I’m currently running. As always if you need to get a hold of me please contact my office or me directly.