GOP State Sen. Zack Taylor announces he will not seek reelection

Taylor announces he will not seek re-election

Sen. Zack Taylor, R-Seminole, who was first elected in 2017 to the Oklahoma House of Representatives and then to the state Senate in 2020, announced Tuesday that he would not seek re-election.

“The only constant in life is change,” Taylor said. “After prayerful consideration and discussion, my family and I have decided that it is best not to seek re-election at this time.”

During his service in the House, Taylor served as the Rules Committee chairman and worked diligently on occupational licensing reform, among other things. During his time in the Senate, he served as the vice chair of the Energy Committee, the vice chair of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, and on the presiding officer team.

Christian Ford joins SD28 GOP primary

The Republican primary in State Senate District 28 has a new face. Following the resignation of Sen. Jason Smalley, multiple candidates have announced their intention to run in the special election. State Rep. Zack Taylor was the first to announce back in January. Mike Haines recently joined the race, with Indrit Vucaj also filing with the Ethics Commission in late March. All are Republicans.

Republican Christian Ford is the latest candidate, recently posting the following announcement on social media:

I am excited to officially announce that I am running for State Senate, in District 28!

As a born and raised Oklahoman, I have been honored to serve as the Vice Chair of Lincoln County GOP, and helped draft the 2019 Oklahoma Republican platform, one of the most conservative Republican platforms in the history of the state. I had hoped that the legislature would take the platform we created and pass constitutionally sound conservative bills that would reflect what we, the people, wanted. Instead, establishment leadership has led the Oklahoma legislature to vote against measures that would be consistent with our Party Platform. In so doing, they have proven that they are not giving the grassroots the voice they deserve.

This is why I am running. I will seek, as your Senator, to stand for God, family, and country against those who would seek to destroy our Oklahoman way of life. From defending our God-given right to keep and bear arms, to restoring local control to our schools, to seeking equal protection for the unborn, I will seek to adhere to our Oklahoma Republican platform and the biblical and constitutional values that have made our nation great! Right now, these are perilous times as we see values being attacked from radical socialists who wish to strip our God-given rights away from us, this is no time to compromise. It’s time to take a stand and say “enough is enough”!! We will not sit idly by why babies in our state are murdered each business day and our country is attempting to be burned to the ground by ungodly socialist ideas that have and always will lead to tyranny.

Our voices CAN and SHOULD be heard by OUR legislators! We must return to biblical, conservative principles to make our State great again! Will you stand with me? Together we CAN make a difference at our state Capitol!

Stroud pastor, businessman announces candidacy for State Senate District 28

Well Known Pastor and Business Leader Announces State Senate Campaign for District 28

STROUD, OK 03/31/2020 -- Mike Haines is pro-life, pro-second amendment, and a champion for religious freedom. He is a Republican who believes the state has a duty to limit federal control and that the best engine of our economy is the free-market.

Mike Haines, pastor of Deer Creek Baptist Church and founder of Well Checked Systems International has announced that he intends to file for Oklahoma State Senate District 28, Jason Smalley’s vacated State Senate seat.

Candidate Haines said, “I have watched as decades have passed while issues that concern District 28 continue to be overlooked. We have ongoing economic development, rural healthcare, and addiction issues. Oklahoma State District 28 deserves a strong faithful leader that will not back down until our issues are solved.”

Mike Haines grew up in small-town rural Oklahoma working hard as a young man in quarries and his family’s small ranch. He received his Masters of Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary and holds three patents with two more pending. An award-winning software developer for IBM, he has built his business career on solving difficult problems.

“Many in the legislature continue to ignore the issues that affect our rural communities. We have to fight them to retain control over our schools, our businesses, our farms, and our families. The oil patch is in free fall and so many of our neighbors are out of work. There is no bottom in sight and no answers coming out of Oklahoma City, even though international bad actors are in direct violation of their own agreements.”, Mike Haines said.

He continued, “I am not running for a title or a seat, I am running for us. I will stand with our folks from Wellston to Pink and from Wewoka to Kendrick. There is no unimportant area of our district and we deserve to be represented with strength and integrity.”

For more information about Mike Haines, visit: hainesforsenate.com or facebook.com/okdistrict28

Sen. Smalley, chairman who obstructed abortion abolition bill, resigns to take private-sector job

The favorite pastime of the Oklahoma Legislator in recent years continues to go on. Another month, another legislative resignation for a job outside elected office. Last month, it was Democrat State Rep. Shane Stone; this month, it's Republican Sen. Jason Smalley.

In the past three and a half years, something like a dozen legislators (only two of which were Democrats) have resigned either in disgrace or to take another job.

Hat tip to NonDoc.com for reporting the news, and uploading Smalley's resignation letter, shown below:

Smalley would have been up for reelection this year, having been elected to the State House in 2012 and then moving to the Senate by winning his seat in the 2014 election.

More from NonDoc:

Smalley said he will not be a registered lobbyist for Motorola in Oklahoma but that he will supervise the duties of a registered lobbyist. In his official resignation letter to Gov. Kevin Stitt (embedded below), Smalley said he will “be in charge of [Motorola’s] Oklahoma operations.”

Last session, Senator Smalley received national attention for refusing to give the Abolition of Abortion in Oklahoma Act a fair hearing in the Senate's Health & Human Services Committee, which he chaired. Smalley stood in the way of a measure that sought the same consistent goal that he has repeatedly espoused over the years -- the end of abortion in Oklahoma.

While some of those who advocated for the bill could have followed more advisable methods of urging him to allow the bill to be heard, the fact remains that abortions are being performed today because Senator Jason Smalley took the side of Planned Parenthood and quashed the idea of trying a new strategy to bring abortion to a swift end.

Good riddance.

UPDATE -- Sen. Smalley issued the following press release:

Sen. Jason Smalley announces resignation from District 28 seat

State Senator Jason Smalley announced Tuesday he would resign office effective January 31.

“It has been an honor to serve the people of Lincoln, Pottawatomie, and Seminole counties, and I will always treasure the trust that the citizens of Oklahoma have placed in me,” said Smalley, R-Stroud. “After serving my country in the U.S. Marines for six years and eight years in an elective office, I believe it is the right time and opportunity to enter back into the business world.

Smalley said he would be named Senior Account Manager for the Motorola Solutions Corp., in charge of its Oklahoma operation.

“Motorola Solutions provides critical-mission technologies utilized by our first-responders, ensuring public safety across Oklahoma and the country,” Smalley said. “My experience in public office and as a Marine makes it a great fit and opportunity to continue to improve the communities in Oklahoma.”

Smalley passed the most significant teacher pay raise in state history and was the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from Higher Education three times, most notably for his work on reforming the Oklahoma Promise scholarship. Smalley was the first member to raise the income cap in over fifteen years. He also laid the framework to allow ridesharing networks like Uber to operate in Oklahoma.

Smalley was raised in Stroud, graduating from Stroud High School, where he earned a music scholarship to the University of Central Oklahoma. While attending college, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and was deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan, where he served multiple tours. Following an honorable discharge in 2006, he received his degree in Social Science from the University of Oklahoma. He was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representative in 2012, and two years later, to the Oklahoma State Senate. Smalley currently serves as the Chair of the Health and Human Services Committee and as a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services, Education, General Government, and Rules.

He and C’Anne have been married since 2003 and have three boys, Gideon, August, and Lincoln.

Smalley said he would send his resignation letter, to be effective January 31, 2020, to State Senate Pro-Tempore Greg Treat later today.