Political Pulse
Scott looks to continue to improve life in House District 72
(POL) Rep. Seneca Scott, D-Tulsa, did not have to look past his own children to find a reason to originally run for office in House District 72, and the same reason helps motivate him in his re-election campaign this year.
“First and foremost, I got into it thinking about the future of my two children,” he said. “They’re going to inherit this community. I think what’s going to keep me in it is the level of needs brought to me by my constituents. It requires a lot of persistence and tenacity to get them the services they deserve.”
In the two years he has served in office, Scott has already helped with many different programs to improve his district in north Tulsa. One of the most recent was the passage of a bill that would help provide low-interest loans to neighborhood grocery stores, which is part of a larger effort to deal with areas known as “food deserts” where residents do not have easy access to grocery stores.
“In a lot of instances, we find if folks can’t walk to a store, they’re going to be going to the convenience stores,” he said. He added that convenience stores not only have higher prices for necessary items such as milk and bread, but they also generally have less healthy food options than grocery stores.
That issue, which was sparked by the closing of an Albertsons in Scott’s district, was one of the top issues his constituents asked him to work on, he said.
Read more: Scott looks to continue to improve life in House District 72
Poll shows political ideology, media perception go hand in hand
(POL) A recent survey of likely Oklahoma voters found that the majority of respondents hold negative perceptions of the mainstream media.
When asked their overall perception of the mainstream media, such as NBC, CBS or ABC, 51.3 percent of the respondents in the poll conducted by SoonerPoll said they had a negative perception, compared to only 37.2 percent with a positive perception.
Republicans led in negative perceptions of the mainstream media with 70.7 percent expressing a negative perception. Some 53.1 percent of Independent respondents expressed a negative view of the mainstream media, and 34.8 percent of Democrats did so, as well, according to the poll’s results.
SoonerPoll also asked the respondents secondary questions concerning CNN and FOX News Network’s coverage of the news and found varying results. When asked about CNN’s coverage, more people remain neutral, however the percentage of positive perceptions mirrors the respondents’ overall positive perception of mainstream media with 38.6 percent. When asked about FOX News Network’s coverage, 56.7 percent of the respondents had a positive perception.
Read more: Poll shows political ideology, media perception go hand in hand
Election board certifies congressional runoff results, with minor changes
(POL) The Oklahoma State Election Board on Wednesday certified the results of the Republican primary runoff elections in two of the state’s congressional districts with all four candidates gaining provisional or overseas ballots.
The board certified that James Lankford won the Republican nomination in the Fifth Congressional District and Charles Thompson won the Republican nomination in the Second Congressional District during the Aug. 24 primary runoff election.
While runoff results for the state races were certified on Aug. 31, an extra week was required before the board could certify the results for the two federal elections. State Election Board Secretary Paul Ziriax explained that the law requires that two additional weeks be allowed after the runoff election for receipt of overseas ballots.
Read more: Election board certifies congressional runoff results, with minor changes
Hunt seeks to serve House District 44
(POL) Small business owner Kent Hunt, a Republican candidate for House District 44, makes an unusual promise on his campaign’s website: “even as your representative, he will still mow your lawn.”
While the promise comes as part of Hunt’s business, which is a lawn care and landscaping service, it could also be representative of his goal to help his district in Oklahoma. That goal includes working for a strong economy and cutting government costs in Oklahoma’s current budget situation, he said.
Hunt said he decided to run after being asked to consider a campaign by his friends.
“After several days of contemplation, I decided that I should no longer sit around and complain and do nothing about the problems we all share,” he said. “I have followed government at all levels for years. We have serious problems in our country, our state, my county and my city that, for whatever reason, have not been addressed, let alone fixed.”
Part of the problem in finding solutions is that many politicians may not be focused on the correct things, Hunt said.
“I believe the reason so many problems are not corrected is because our elected officials care more about getting re-elected than getting results,” he said. “I decided to tackle the tough issues with common sense solutions without regard to the political fallout most politicians appear to fear.”
Read more: Hunt seeks to serve House District 44
Economists oppose Okla. education ballot measure
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Economists from the state's top two public universities and fiscal analysts from a pair of Oklahoma think-tanks are criticizing a ballot measure to increase education funding. The four researchers held a press conference on Tuesday to announce their opposition to the State Question 744, which is one of 11 questions on the November ballot. If approved, it would amend the state constitution to require Oklahoma within three years to meet the regional average of per-student spending in surrounding states.
University of Oklahoma's Department of Economics Chairman Alexander Holmes called the proposal "foolish." Oklahoma State University Regents Professor of Economics Larkin Warner says the plan could ultimately hurt education by devastating other state services.
