McGowen to Wesselhöft: Come back to Oklahoma

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McGowen to Wesselhoft: Come back to Oklahoma

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Dustin McGowen (405) 834-6335

MOORE, Okla. – Dustin McGowen, candidate for the State House of Representatives, is calling on his opponent, state Rep. Paul Wesselhoft, to return to Oklahoma for the election.

Wesselhoft is expected to leave for Chicago today, four days before the primary election, to attend the American Legislative Exchange Council's annual meeting. However, the conference doesn't begin until one day after the election.

"I'm outraged that he would abandon this campaign for a vacation in Chicago. He doesn't take this campaign seriously, just like he wastes our time at the State Capitol," said McGowen.

According to public records, only about 2 percent of Wesselhoft's bills have become law.

Wesselhoft has been planning to attend the conference since at least June 3, when he purchased registration. He is using campaign funds to attend the conference, spending at least $652 on registration and airfare, according to campaign expenditure documents.

"It's appalling that he would use campaign funds to attend this conference," said McGowen. "I guess it's good that he's received thousands of dollars from lobbyists and PACs, otherwise he'd have to watch election returns from home instead of the Chicago Sheraton."

McGowen's watch party will be at Dale's BBQ in Moore. McGowen works there to help pay for his senior year of college.

Will District 54 choose change or experience?

Will District 54 choose change or experience?
By Michael Kimball
Staff Writer

MOORE — The candidates for state House District 54 agree that age and experience are important issues in this month's primary. But each Republican candidate thinks the 39-year age difference between them works in his own favor.

Incumbent Paul Wesselhoft, 60, says his experience in life and as a two-term state representative are what makes him the better choice. His challenger, Dustin McGowen, 21, counters that his youth will bring a fresh approach the Legislature's needs.

McGowen says Wesselhoft gained his experience in a broken legislative system; he's only experienced in doing things the wrong way.

"I can bring new solutions to old problems, but still maintain the conservative values the citizens of District 54 hold dear to their hearts,” he said.

Wesselhoft says McGowen can't understand what his constituency needs without gaining more life experience first.

"I'm a retired U.S. Army Airborne Ranger,” Wesselhoft says. "I spent seven years with the state Department of Health. And only then did I run for public office.”

What they agree on
There are least some issues on which the candidates agree. Each advocates smaller government and lower property taxes.

Wesselhoft says he'd like older residents of his district to not have to pay property taxes.

"I'm not sure what that age is,” Wesselhoft said. "But at some age, by golly, in the United States you ought to be able to own your own home and the government should stop taxing you on it.”

McGowen points to new homebuilding in the Oklahoma City area, saying new growth can support a 2 percent reduction in property tax rates.

"If you're widening your tax base, you're getting more revenue, and there's no need to keep the tax rate the same,” McGowen said.

No Democrat or independent candidate filed to run for the post, so the winner of the July 29 primary will be elected to office.

Student-waiter seeks office, saying it's time to get involved

Student-waiter seeks office,
saying it's time to get involved

By Kristen M. Daum

A young Moore man wants to go from the pancake house to the statehouse.

IHOP waiter Dustin McGowen said he wants to offer an unconventional idea this election year that he says Republicans, like him, don't often promote: change.

"Just because I'm a Republican doesn't mean I can't change things,” said McGowen, 21, who filed for House District 54 on Tuesday.

He said he's running because "there's never been a better time for young people to get involved in our state's political process.”

For McGowen, change would mean debating on the floor of the state House of Representatives rather than taking orders at the local IHOP.

McGowen said he knows from personal experience how the nation's struggling economy affects Oklahomans. McGowen waits tables and has another job to pay for rent, food and a final year at Northeastern State University, where he studies political science.

Interest began at age 11

A longtime political junkie, McGowen said he was first bitten by the political bug at 11 years old when he became enamored with former President Clinton's impeachment hearings in 1998.

Incumbent Rep. Paul Wesselhoft, R-Moore, filed Monday to defend his seat.

Wesselhoft, 60, said Tuesday that he didn't know of McGowen's candidacy, but "it means I'll have to do some fundraising and work hard.

"I will take every candidate seriously,” said Wesselhoft, chairman of the House Industry and Labor Committee.

In a year where change and youth are at the forefront of the Democrats' political stage, McGowen said those qualities aren't solely for liberals.

"Younger people — people who don't necessarily have as much experience — can benefit our state by offering new solutions to old problems,” McGowen said. "I don't have to look at things through the glass of how things have been done before.”

Big issues for 2008 legislative session From Cleveland County lawmakers

Immigration, infrastructure 

likely to be big issues for 

2008 legislative session, 

Cleveland County lawmakers say

Transcript Staff Writer

Published: January 06, 2008 12:00 am

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Call it the problem of "what they need to be doing versus what they'll get to do."

With just over five weeks left before lawmakers return to the state capitol, the list of issues needing legislative action grows almost daily -- education funding, teacher pay, health care, transportation, corrections and, of course, the budget all "desperately need attention."

But many legislators -- including some from Cleveland County -- are concerned those issues will take a back seat to one which has dominated the state's political landscape for more than a year: immigration.

And some worry the issue -- like Frankenstein's monster -- just won't go away.

With Moore Rep. Randy Terrill's recent announcement that he plans to file the "son of" his previous immigration bill, House Bill 1804, some state lawmakers worry Terrill's newest bill could divert attention from many other pressing issues.

"Immigration, it's an issue that shouldn't be No. 1, but it is," said state Rep. Bill Nations, a Norman Democrat. "We ought to be talking about education and health care and other things, but Rep. Terrill has us talking about immigration."

And that debate, Nations says, is a distraction.

"They should be dealing with it in Washington, D.C," he said. "The bill that Randy wrote is causing economic hardships. It's going to distract us from dealing with more important things. But you can rest assured there will be a lot of press and immigration will be a front page issue."

Instead, Nations said, lawmakers should be working on issues such as health care.

"We need to look at some type of universal health care for children," he said. "I don't know if we are where it can happen, but there is a moral obligation to see if we can cover all the children in Oklahoma."

And while Nations says lawmakers and policy experts haven't solved the health care problem yet, he believes there is hope.

"State Insurance Commissioner (Kim) Holland's task force isn't quite finished with its study," he said. "She and I have talked and I may be pushing their timing, but I believe there is a need to keep the conversation in people's mind. We have a need and responsibility to do that."

But health care isn't Nations' only concern.

A slow down in growth has the five-term Representative cautious.

"Our budget will be fairly quiet," he said. "It's not so bad a revenue picture that we'll have to make drastic cuts."

That is, cuts in spending or cuts in the tax rate.

"I certainly hope we don't try any more tax cuts," he said. "I agree with (OU President) Boren and the State Chamber of Commerce. We can't afford any more tax cuts at this point. We already have incredibly low taxes and, by any way you want to slice it, we need to hold off on any future ones."

An idea that some of Nation's more conservative colleagues support.

"I think we'll probably have to assess our situation," said Moore Republican Paul Wesselhoft. "We don't know how important additional tax cuts will be until we can see what our needs are and know how much money is available."

Wesselhoft, who says "he's not against tax cuts" said lawmakers should "exercise some caution" with future reductions in state revenue. "I read what President Boren had to say," he said. "You've got to see the whole picture and see what the needs are."

For Wesselhoft, those needs include repairing the state's ailing roads and bridges and reducing the number of inmates in the state's corrections system.

"The most important issues are roads and bridges and the corrections system," he said. "We're going to have a tighter budget than we did last year and getting our roads and bridges repaired and answering the problems with the corrections department, those issues should be our focus."

To do that, Wesselhoft said he wants to earmark all the state's growth revenue -- about $32 million -- for road and bridge repair.

"That means it won't go to teaches salaries," he said. "But infrastructure is not a sexy topic. It doesn't lend itself to political rhetoric and gamesmanship. It's not a ribbon cutting kind of policy."

The state's bridges, he said, are crumbling.

"Chunks are falling through windows and killing our citizens. That should send a chilling message to lawmakers. It's a concrete example of why we should invest in infrastructure."

Wesselhoft also wants to reduce the number of inmates in state prisons by expanding the use of community based sentencing programs, alternative forms of incarceration and drug courts.

"We have an overcrowded prison system," he said. "We need to give more thought to putting those incarcerated for drugs into different programs. We are going to have to develop an alternative system, such as community sentencing for these people."

State Sen. John Sparks, a Democrat, agreed.

"We should look at the reasons for incarceration," he said. "We should decide if we can use alternative sentencing more."

The issue, Sparks said, comes down to money. "Without over simplifying the deal it comes down to this: How much do we want to pay to keep people in jail?"

Sparks says he would rather earmark state revenue for education.

"We need to get a handle on our higher education system," he said. "I think everyone would agree that higher education benefits the state. The numbers don't lie. If you don't have a healthy, well educated work force, economic development isn't going to happen."

Sparks said the state "needs to step up" and make higher education a priority. "It's important to understand, this isn't a sprint, it's a marathon. It's a commitment, a long term commitment. We're not going to fix the problem in one year. It's going to be an 'every year' issue that is going to take an 'every year' commitment."

For state Rep. Scott Martin, a Norman Republican, the focus will be on transportation issues.

"We're going to look at removing the trigger and the cap on transportation spending," he said. "So I'm sure that will be something that's heavily debated and discussed."

Two years ago, Martin said lawmakers passed legislation which had a 3 percent growth trigger. "If growth hit 3 percent, there would be additional funding to the Oklahoma Department of Transportation," he said. "If it didn't there would be extra funding, but not as much."

And while growth didn't reach the 3 percent threshold during last year's legislative session, Martin said it hit the mark after the session, but lawmakers "weren't able to go back and appropriate additional funds for roads and bridges."

"I'd like to review that," he said, adding that he also wants to reapportion fuel taxes which should be going for transportation issues but currently are not.

Like Martin, state Rep. Wallace Collins agrees that lawmakers should focus on transportation. But unlike Martin, Collins, a Democrat from Norman, said that discussion will probably be on light rail.

"We should be looking at transportation issues," he said. "And we'll probably be dealing with rail, it will get some attention. But I don't think ethanol as an alternative fuel is going to solve much of anything. I think it's a distraction."

Education and mental health, he said, along with the state's prison system and pay raises for state employees "all need to be dealt with."

"It's vital that we deal with them," Collins said. "I just hope we won't get bogged down with immigration and more tax cuts."

Editor's note: Despite repeated attempts, The Transcript could not reach state Rep. Randy Terrill, Sen. Jonathan Nichols or Sen. Anthony Sykes for this story. Their views on the session will be included in future stories.