The Journal Record
By Sean Murphy, Associated Press
Posted: 05:29 PM Monday, October 17, 2011
OKLAHOMA CITY – House Republicans elected Lawton Rep. T.W. Shannon to be speaker-designate Monday, paving the way for him to become Oklahoma’s first African-American House speaker.
Shannon, 33, must be elected by the GOP caucus again after next year’s election before he can become speaker in 2013, but that vote is typically considered a formality. He was chosen in a closed meeting over House Speaker Pro Tempore Jeff Hickman of Dacoma and state Rep. Mike Reynolds of Oklahoma City.
“I think this just goes to show you that Oklahomans don’t care what you look like. They don’t care about where you come from,” said Shannon, who’s also a member of the Chickasaw Nation. “What they care about is what you believe, and there’s no question that the members in that room believe that a conservative agenda for the state of Oklahoma is the way to move forward.”
Reynolds was eliminated in the first round of balloting, and Shannon defeated Hickman in a runoff. Vote counts weren’t released, but Hickman described it as a “very close election.”
The farmer and rancher from northwest Oklahoma downplayed any suggestion that would divide the caucus... FULL ARTICLE
Posted on
Mon, October 17, 2011
by John Cox