Patrick B. McGuigan, for The Southwest Ledger
State Senator Lonnie Paxton was elected to the District 23 seat in and round Tuttle (southeast of Oklahoma Metropolis) in 2016.
That 12 months, he virtually received the GOP nomination outright within the major, garnering 49.5 p.c of the voter help. He then received the overall election simply. Final fall, Paxton received his second four-year time period with out having an opponent in both celebration. He’s accumulating a report of accomplishment for his work, as we gray-haired scribes used to say, “below the Capitol Dome.”
Final winter, Paxton was put in command of the Senate portion of all elements of redistricting. Each 10 years, the Oklahoma Legislature is constitutionally required to redraw legislative and congressional district boundaries utilizing the newest U.S. Census knowledge. The requirement is said within the U.S. Structure, Article I, Part 2, Clause 3.
Paxton served as chairman of the Senate Choose Committee on Redistricting. The method appeared wider open and finally extra collegial than any on this observer’s reminiscence. As the method wound down, he wrote in a Senate workers press launch, “On the outset, we pledged to have an open and clear redistricting course of, and we delivered. At each flip, we engaged with the general public and sought their enter within the redistricting course of as a part of our dedication to transparency. The outcomes had been maps which are extra compact and higher than the present legislative boundaries.”
Paxton and state Rep. Ryan Martinez, R-Edmond, shepherded a course of that included city halls (18 in-person and 4 digital) throughout the state. Paxton advised Southwest Ledger, “We labored extraordinarily arduous at being clear and open. We might find yourself having 18 city halls throughout the state, making an attempt to the touch each nook and all elements of that concern. Members had open entry to the sixth-floor work space the place we had the redistricting workplace. “We sought all of the members and we accepted and listened to feedback throughout the method. Members felt as in the event that they had been concerned. It was essential to let everyone take part, and that’s what occurred.
“Re-apportionment for Congressional seats and redistricting of the legislative seats is essential. We didn’t develop sufficient to get one other congressional seat, however we grew and that meant many legislative districts will likely be totally different this subsequent election.” Some elements of the dialogue earlier than remaining votes on the brand new legislative strains took longer than others. Paxton mirrored, “One of many issues I’ve discovered is that totally different cities have totally different views on how to attract the strains.”
Whereas many communities need to have a single senator, that’s not a common desire: “In Lawton, they prefer to have two seats and that stayed in place.” The consequence? Nicely, in a 12 months when variety phrases throughout partisan strains had been uncommon (however not fully lacking), Senate Democratic Chief Kay Floyd, of Oklahoma Metropolis, stated in a workers launch: “Oklahoma Senate Democrats proceed to imagine the redrawing of legislative districts must be dealt with by an unbiased redistricting fee. Since this selection shouldn’t be at present doable, we selected to interact with the prevailing course of led by the Senate Choose Committee on Redistricting.…
“Whereas the brand new map produced by the committee and authorised by the Senate right now shouldn’t be good, members of our caucus had been in a position to vote for it as a result of the redistricting course of included enter from our caucus and from the communities we signify. The redistricting invoice handed by the Senate Tuesday additionally consists of an modification authored by Sen. (Julia) Kirt, which is able to make sure the district strains are adjusted, if crucial, when remaining inhabitants knowledge is obtained from the USA Census Bureau later this 12 months.”
Nonetheless forward will likely be tinkering with congressional district strains as soon as a remaining, revised Census rely is launched. Even with that in thoughts, the comity of the method appears rather a lot like a praise to the conservative Senator Paxton. In a dialogue of different pro-active achievements or problems with significance, Paxton pointed to his efforts to rein in renewing gaps between out there assets anticipated prices in state pension methods, with current approval of Value-of-Dwelling-Changes (COLAs) past anticipated progress.
After attending to the Capitol, “I shortly immersed myself in these points. I believe (departing state Treasurer) Randy McDaniel and (former state Senator) Mike Mazzei saved the state from an financial catastrophe within the work they did a decade in the past. I discovered all these years later how tough that reform was.
“At present, I believe we’ve misplaced some floor or the momentum we had then. I’m a volunteer firefighter and I perceive how essential, for instance, the firefighter pension is. Nevertheless it stays the poorest funded of all of the methods. The firefighter unions are urgent again towards making that extra sound. Within the remaining invoice that handed so overwhelmingly final 12 months I voted no. To some extent we’ve got suspended the reforms achieved in earlier years. I’m going to maintain engaged on that.”
As difficult as it’s to debate pensions – even, or maybe particularly, with fellow firefighters – Paxton has caught to the targets he articulated in a 2019 press launch: “For many years, Democrats raided the state pension funds to steadiness the price range or pay for political pet tasks. That left state methods severely underfunded and the state with billions in unfunded liabilities.”
The problem is one on which Paxton stays laser-focused, at the same time as he rises within the Capitol energy construction.
In our interview, Paxton continued, “One other space – one I kind of stumbled into – is the medical marijuana concern. I’ve change into one of many thorns within the sides of the massive producers. I’ve change into sympathetic to the craft producers, the smaller companies.
“I believe {that a} group, a metropolis, ought to have the ability to deal with each business, each enterprise the identical when it comes to inspections and different necessities. However a lot of the medical marijuana enterprise is Large Enterprise. There are outsiders coming in with large traders in publicly traded firms that really feel as if they’re exempt (from legal guidelines and laws) and need to keep that approach.
“My place, an essential space of labor for me, is to guard small homeowners and customers, and be attentive about these greater firms.” A legislative success (gratifying to Paxton) this 12 months was a reform that “took three tries to attain. We’ve made our guidelines extra rational on the subject of changing a U.S. Senator who leaves workplace early. We had been one in all only some states that had “inbuilt” a requirement that it was a nine-month minimal course of to get a brand new senator elected.”
He commented, “I don’t assume a governor ought to get to be an incumbent-maker, however we discovered that what we first sought: to require that an individual appointed promise to not search the workplace, we had been bumping up towards U.S. constitutional provisions.
“So now, the ultimate model of the invoice solely requires that an individual appointed (so the place will get stuffed and Oklahoma has illustration within the Senate) would submit a sworn affidavit that they received’t run. That was completed on the final day of the laws session.”
The governor signed the change.
In life exterior the Legislature, Paxton is an insurance coverage agent, property firm proprietor and a farmer/rancher. Having accomplished 5 full periods on the State Capitol, he has caught to his rhetorical weapons, regardless of his demonstrated capability (within the redistricting course of) to work with each legislative factor.
So, what, I requested, is Oklahoma’s best problem?
He replied, “No doubt, our best problem as a state is the McGirt concern.”
The matter he selected mirrored the pervasive and rising impression of “McGirt v. Oklahoma,” issued in July 2023. After the choice recreating the Muscogee Nation of pre-statehood days was promulgated, this author quickly tagged it a very powerful authorized end result in Oklahoma historical past. Preliminary rhetorical efforts to downplay its significance (usually from followers of the 5-4 Court docket edict) have been quietly deserted in current weeks.
Simply days in the past, the Biden administration terminated state authorities powers to manage floor land points in a lot of japanese Oklahoma.
Final week, the federal authorities introduced a projected $82 million in new spending to oppose efforts of the state and native jurisdictions to retain essential areas of jurisdiction. And but, opposition has intensified to a proposed “land repair” crafted to learn primarily two of the 5 largest tribes – with little of substance for the smaller Indian nations.
Paxton stated the aftermath of McGirt is and can possible stay, “a problem. No one has give you an answer. It is going to most likely take one other, contemporary U.S. Supreme Court docket resolution.”
We wrapped up discussing the best problem going through our county within the close to time period. Paxton thought it over briefly, then replied, “It’s straightforward to say the best problem is we’re so harshly divided. That’s, itself, the results of the failure of nationwide information organizations.
“I mustn’t get a break simply because I’m an R (Republican); they usually (Democrats) shouldn’t get a break as a result of they’re a D (Democrat).”
Paxton concluded, “The free press is the final word of all of the checks and balances. They’re essential to our total system. Good reporters must be all of us to guarantee corruption is discovered and rooted out. I don’t imagine that’s occurring.”
NOTE: This profile first appeared in The Southwest Ledger – Southwest Ledger, 7602 US Freeway 277, Elgin, OK 73538, (580) 350-1111. It’s reposted right here with permission.
