OKLAHOMA CITY – Among the 149 members of the new state Legislature are the first Latina and perhaps the first mechanical engineer ever elected to serve in the House of Representatives.
When the First Regular Session of the 59th Oklahoma Legislature organized on Jan. 3, Rep. Annie Menz (D-Norman) cast her first votes on the House floor as the only Latin woman to do so in state history.
“Ours is a diverse state and Latina Oklahomans deserve to see themselves represented in their government,” she said. “I hope all young Latinas know they can do whatever they want, and me being here is proof of that.”
Menz grew up in Oklahoma City, was raised by an Army veteran father and immigrant mother, and enlisted in the U.S. Navy at age 17. Before being elected to the Legislature she worked as a legislative and executive assistant at the Capitol. She also has experience with nonprofit organizations that provide services to low-income communities.
Menz represents east Norman in House District 45.
Another Hispanic newly elected to the state House is Arturo Alonso Sandoval (D-Oklahoma City), a 24-year-old bilingual first-generation Oklahoman.
In a Legislature that for generations has been occupied primarily by attorneys, farmers and ranchers, schoolteachers/administrators, a few doctors and nurses and newspaper publishers, Alonso Sandoval will bring a scientific perspective. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma last year with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. “I’m big into robotics; that’s why I got into engineering,” he said. “I grew up watching Star Wars.”
His twin brother, Alberto, also graduated from OU last year, earning a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering, and now works for Boeing.
Alonso and Alberto are the first members of the Sandoval family to graduate from high school and from college.
Their parents emigrated to the U.S. from Mexico; their father is a landscaper, and their mother works in the hotel service industry. “They both know the value of education and hard work,” Arturo said during a conversation over coffee at La Oaxaquena Bakery and Restaurant in south OKC.
He received a job offer last year from Samsung in Austin, Texas, that would have paid him a starting salary of “nearly six figures, right out of college,” he said. His first inclination was to attend graduate school at the University of Texas “and then maybe go for a doctorate” and perhaps become a college professor.
But he chose to remain in OKC after he was approached by some southside leaders who urged him to seek the open House District 89 seat. “These are people I have known since I was in high school” at Santa Fe South, where he participated in the Youth Leadership Exchange.
“If I grow up here and leave the state, what does that do for my community?” he added.
While mulling a legislative race, Arturo also met with state Rep. Forrest Bennett, a Democrat whose legislative district straddles north and south OKC; state Sen. Michael Brooks, a southwest OKC Democrat; and newly elected Republican state Sen. Jack Stewart of Yukon.
When the HD 89 seat was vacated last year, “We were looking for a candidate who could bring a fresh perspective to the job,” Bennett said. “Arturo is a bright guy.” He was elected on June 28, 2022, receiving 63% of the votes cast in a three-way Democratic primary; no Republicans filed for the post.
Alonso Sandoval said he is “committed to standing up for the people of my district and ensuring they are well represented at the Capitol.” He said his focus in the Legislature will be on mental health, economic justice, criminal justice reform, and homelessness. “I want to be an advocate and be effective.”