OKLAHOMA CITY – The race for Oklahoma’s Senate District 4 has drawn four Republican candidates who seek to replace longtime incumbent Sen. Mark Allen (R-Spiro) who is vacating the seat due to term limits.
Allen was first elected in 2010 and won re-election in 2014 and 2018.
The district is comprised of Sequoyah County and the northern half of LeFlore County in eastern Oklahoma.
The four candidates will compete for votes during the June 28 primary. No Democrats filed for the seat. As a result, the election could be decided if one candidate receives more than 50% of the total vote. If not, the top two vote-getters would advance to the Aug. 23 runoff.
The four candidates are Keith Barenberg, 55, of Colcord; Hoguen Apperson, 29, of Jay; Tom Woods, 27, of Westville; and Tom Callan, 69, of Jay.
Following is a series of questions posed to the candidates by Southwest Ledger. Callan did not respond to the questions.
Do you believe businesses should have the freedom and flexibility to set policies for their employees and patrons, and why? How do your thoughts on this relate to requiring a vaccine as a condition of employment, or the possession and use of firearms on company property?
Barenberg: “On policies, yes, but they do not have the right to make them put anything in their bodies.”
Apperson: “We don’t want government stepping in. Too many people lost their jobs for unfounded reasons. They just took it too far.”
Woods: “Ronald Reagan once said that ‘the most terrifying words in the English language are I'm from the government and I'm here to help.’ I'm a business owner, and I believe the government needs to stay out of telling business and property owners what they can and cannot do on their own property in their own businesses.”
Do you believe vaccines should be required in certain instances and places of employment (hospitals, nursing homes, schools), and why?
Barenberg: “No. Vaccines are your choice and only your choice.”
Apperson: “No. Not for attending school. I want it to be my decision (as a parent).”
Woods: “Vaccines that have been proven over time – like polio and MMR (mumps, measles and rubella) – are one thing. They have been around for decades and have been shown to be mostly safe and effective. But I do not believe that unproven vaccines like the COVID -19, which was pushed especially for political reasons, should be required. The way Democrats and left-wing media censored and shut down even a discussion of this issue was improper.”
If business owners were told by the government, they could not implement conditions of employment and certain workplace policies, do you believe the government would be taking away individual rights and freedoms of the business owner, and why?
Barenberg: “If it is an individual’s business, the government does not have the right to tell the business what to do as long as it is within the law and is not violating their rights.”
Apperson: “No. I don’t think it’s taking away from the business owner. There’s certain things we can’t and shouldn’t ask anyway. We can’t ask women if they’re pregnant or not. We hire people on the ability to do the job.”
Woods: “Yes. For the reasons stated in my first answer.”
What are your views on all vaccines – not just the COVID-19 vaccine?
Barenberg: “I’m fine with vaccines. It is your choice to take it or not.”
Apperson: “If someone wants to get a vaccine, that’s great. But we don’t need the government telling us if we have to get a vaccine.”
Woods: “See my answer to second question.”