Candidates meet at monthly GOP meeting

The Marshall County GOP held a meeting on June 16, 2022. The meeting, held at La Grande, was an opportunity for Marshall County residents to get to know the candidates better. There were candidates for State Representative District 21, State Representative District 49, County Commissioner District 3, and U.S. Representative D2.

Penny James is running for the District 21 State Representative spot. This specific district covers Durant, Colbert, Silo, all of the Roosevelt Bridge area and some of Lake Texoma. James said she ran for the position because politics was instilled in her at a young age.

“My dad would turn on the TV and me and my family would watch Walter Cronkite and whenever it went to commercials, me and my dad would talk about it,” James said. “We would ask each other our thoughts and talk about the parties during the commercials.”

She also spoke about he thoughts on the political parties and how she believes they are doing now. She lamented on how politics have changed in her eyes.

“The parties were created to protect the people and I think we’ve gotten away from that.”

Dustin Reid is another candidate that is running for the District 21 State Representative seat. He spoke on how his master's in Education and experience would benefit him for this role.

Reid was a history teacher until 2016, and then he went to work with the youth of the Chickasaw Nation. He also worked in Choctaw Nation Human Resources. He has moved up since then and works with 15 different departments in the Choctaw Nation. Reid said his small town background and honesty makes him the right candidate.

“I’m the type of person that with what you see is what you get and I operate with a handshake and my word,” Reid said.

Richard Miller is a candidate for the District 49 State Representative. Miller was represented by a friend at this event. He spoke about Miller’s career and how his experience will help him in office.

“Miller has spent his entire career interpreting and enforcing state laws from good and not so good.” the friend said.

He said that Miller will represent all of rural Oklahoma if Miller is elected to this position.

“Miller will support and fight for rural Oklahoma, not Oklahoma City or Tulsa, but for Marshall County.” the friend finished.

Josh Cantrell is the other candidate running for District 49 State Representative. Cantrell is currently the District 2 County Commissioner. Cantrell spoke about his background and how that will help him.

“I started being a surveyor at 23 and built buildings until 2016, and that allowed me to travel all across the United States and see how retched governments are in other states,” Cantrell stated. Cantrell said he has been open to the Marshall County community and tries to help everyone to the best of his abilities.

“Every single piece of paper I’ve sent out has my phone number on it,” Cantrell started. “When I became County Commissioner, the lady at the courthouse didn’t put my cell phone number out for the public and I was livid because I want people to call me and I want to help them.”

Pete Bridgman is running for the District 3 County Commissioner spot. He was a man of few words in his speech, but said he believes everybody has already decided on where their votes will go.

“This late in the game I don’t feel like talking is going to help me much since everyone has already made up their minds,” Bridgman said. “When I become District 3 County Commissioner on January 1st, 2023, I will be the best county commissioner that’s set foot in Marshall County.”

Chris Duroy is the District 3 County Commissioner incumbent and is seeking reelection. Duroy said he wants the public to vote for him based on his work ethic and not his name.

“I want y’all to look at my work ethic and my crew and see us work every day,” said Duroy. Duroy added that most of his team has been with him for over ten years. He spoke about his experience on this job - he has been District 3 County Commissioner for 14 years - and how it's crucial to the upkeep of District 3.

“You can’t just walk into this job and you have to learn it on the job,” Duroy stated.

Clint Johnson is running for the State Representative District 2 position. Johnson spoke about his dissatisfaction with politicians and his push for term limits for all politicians.

“If you give me the opportunity to be your congressman, I will go and stand up to them,” Johnson said.

He said he believes that being a politician should only revolve around the people you serve.

“I don’t work for the people of Washington D.C., I work for the people of District 2,” Johnson said.

Pamela Gordon also represented her run to everyone for the State Representative District 2 position. Her husband Mark Gordon spoke on her behalf because she had other obligations. Mark Gordon talked about the difference between a politician and a patriot and the importance of researching political candidates.

“Patriots will make their decisions and stand by those decisions while politicians will make a decision, then their greed will make them rescind that decision and go another way,” said Gordon. “Look at your politicians and see what they have done in Oklahoma City, if there are things you didn’t like to see, well they’re probably going to continue that in Washington D.C.”

Erik P. Wyatt was another candidate running for State Representative District 2. However, his speech was unlike most candidates. Wyatt said he did not want anybody to vote for him because he was stepping down due to health reasons. Wyatt said that it is important to vet the candidates running for office.

“Vet your candidates, it doesn’t matter if it’s my race, District 21, District 49, U.S. Senate, or the U.S. Governor, you vet your candidates across the board,” Wyatt stated.

Josh Brecheen was the final candidate vying for the State Representative District 2. Brecheen had Dana Hollowell speak on his behalf. Hollowell spoke about the work ethic and experience of Brecheen.

“Josh knows the definition of hard work, he was the Oklahoma State FFA President, which led him to get a degree in Agriculture at Oklahoma State University,” Hollowell said.

Hollowell added Brecheen also served in the Oklahoma Senate for eight years and was a field representative for Dr. Tom Coburn. Hollowell said that Brecheen came through on all of his promises when he was in the Senate position.

“Brecheen kept all of his promises and termed out after eight years,” Hollowell stated. “Brecheen hopes to get the opportunity to work for the State and keep his promises again.”