Keith Erwin

The Duncan Banner

October 24, 2008 03:21 pm

— The Duncan Banner emailed some questions to all the candidates running for political office that members of Stephens County will be voting on Nov. 4. What follows is this candidate's responses to these questions.

Questions for Keith Erwin, Democrat candidate for Oklahoma State Senate District No. 31

1)What qualifications do you have for running for Oklahoma's State Senate?
I think our legislators should make an effort to get involved in our communities. I am a Small Business Owner; Trustee for the Lawton Urban Renewal Authority; Board Member of Innovation to Enterprise (i2e), and Past Chairman of the following Lawton/Fort Sill organizations and activities: 2005 Capital Improvement Campaign; United Way Community Wide Campaign; Museum of the Great Plains; Lawton YMCA Board of Directors.
However, the qualifications that have best prepared me for the role of State Senator are my roles as husband, father, little league coach and high school Bible class teacher. These are areas that best exemplify the values and character that qualify me to be Senator for State Senate District 31 in Southwest Oklahoma.

2)Why are you running for Oklahoma's State Senate?
I am running for State Senate District 31 for my family and yours. Senate District 31 is consistently overlooked and overpowered at our State Capitol. Quiet representation has been a “bridge to nowhere” for Southwest Oklahoma. Our children and grandchildren cannot afford four more years of quiet representation. We must have a strong leader that will stand up to the OKC and Tulsa lobbyists and power brokers on important issues concerning the funding of our public schools and affordable, quality healthcare.

3)What is the most important issue to you and how will you work to alleviate the problem if elected?
We must adequately fund for our public schools. This can be accomplished without raising taxes by simply changing the priorities of our lawmakers at the State Capitol. We cannot re-elect a State Senator that consistently votes against our small town schools and for the OKC and Tulsa private school voucher and charter school agenda. Any money moved to risky voucher programs and city charter schools is money we don’t receive. When we stand up and fight for small schools, we are also fighting poverty, crime, gang violence and unwanted pregnancies. All children deserve the opportunity and hope provided by a quality education - not just the elite or wealthy in large metro areas.

4)With the ever increasing costs for construction materials, road construction/maintenance costs are increasing exponentially, what can be done to alleviate the problem? In other words, can the number of road projects remain steady or will the number of projects need to decrease yearly unless taxes are raised?
We have a priority problem not a tax or revenue problem when it comes to Oklahoma’s crumbling roads and bridges. We do not need to raise taxes! We need prudence and discipline in how we spend our money. We should not re-elect a State Senator that drains our state’s budget with tax breaks for the same greedy CEO's that we are bailing out on Wall Street.

5)Oklahoma has a prison capacity of about 25,000. We stay filled at between 96% and 98% yearly, which is well into overcrowded status. What is the answer for prison overcrowding in Oklahoma and how will you work to alleviate the problem? Do you think taxes need to be raised to solve the (any) problem?
We have a moral obligation to do all that we can to protect our children and families from hardened criminals. Criminal sentencing laws should remain tough to act as a deterrent, and violent criminals and repeat offenders should be held accountable to society. Our region has unfortunately been the victim of gang violence and activity, and we need to provide swift support to law enforcement to make our communities safe. Gangs were once thought to be an urban problem, but there have been several local media reports of gangs moving into rural communities to take advantage of outmanned local law enforcement agencies. We must address this problem with adequate funding, equipment and training targeted for our region. We need to do more to prevent individuals from choosing crime as an answer to their problems. I am a little league baseball, basketball, football and soccer coach for this reason. When adults volunteer in ways that connect them with kids - they are fighting crime. We need to get kids on a team and off the street if we want to fight crime.

6)Recidivism is measured as the percentage of all prisoners within a given year who return to incarceration within three years. For fiscal year 2005, the recidivism rate is 27.8%. What will you do to lower that percentage?
Faith-based programs designed to provide genuine life change could make a real, and cost effective difference in these cases. We should look for opportunities to partner with other agencies or organizations that can efficiently provide job training and character building programs. A great example is our Career Technology Schools. The long-term answer to this problem is a shift in our state’s priorities in the funding and support of policies and programs that are proven to prevent crime by giving at risk individuals hope and opportunity.

The last five questions come from a Duncan Banner reader.

7)What have been some "positives" that have happened during your campaigning?
It’s been nice to see my young children, Joseph (9) and Molly (7), come to appreciate the diversity found in our Southwest part of this great state. Although we are a diverse area in terms of race, politics, religion and income there is definitely an underlying fabric woven around values that binds us together. It’s refreshing to see those uniting principles as I knock thousands of doors across the district.

8)How can we make public schools better?
Education is the silver bullet for Southwest Oklahoma. A strong public education system is a key to a brighter future for not just our children – but all of us in Southwest Oklahoma. It ensures our children can compete in a growing global economy, it ensures our businesses are able to attract and retain quality employees and it ensures we are doing all we can to grow a new crop of leaders who will make important decisions about the future of our state. I support paying our teachers what they deserve by bringing their pay up to the regional average. I also believe that our schools need adequate funding to keep bus routes running, and to make sure that every child has their own textbook instead of having to share one with their neighbor. These are some of the key ingredients to a strong public education system. Without proper funding, our small town public schools will die a slow death and be consolidated. We can't continue to allow the OKC and Tulsa to get the majority of funding while areas like Southwest Oklahoma are left out in the cold.

9)Do you stand with your party affiliation on the issues of abortion and marriage? Why?
I became a born-again Christian at Falls Creek, and renewed my faith when I met my wife Amanda, 18 years ago. As a follower of Christ, I believe that all life is sacred – including the life of the unborn – which is why I am pro-life and anti-abortion. I also believe that marriage is Christian covenant between one man and one woman and I will support laws that define it in that way.

10)Would you ever cross party lines in a voting session? Why?
Like 63% of the voters in Senate District 31, I am registered Democrat. I am running as a husband, father, Bible class teacher and coach who believes that our families should be the first priority at our state capitol. I am more than willing to cross party lines because for me it is about doing what is right, and I know my neighbors are counting on me to do what is right. These days political lines are drawn as much on the rural vs. urban level as they are between parties.

11)Are you for or against Tort Reform? Why?

I am a strong supporter of lawsuit reform. By far, the two greatest expenses to businesses relating to lawsuits are: frivolous lawsuits that should not be in the civil system to begin with and the unreasonable amount of time it takes to get a lawsuit, good or bad, through the system.

Instead of remaining stuck in the current debate on whether to use “caps” to lower insurance premiums and the cost of doing business in our state, I have a plan that proposes five meaningful changes to Oklahoma’s Civil Justice System that we can accomplish immediately. My plan is detailed at my website: www.VoteErwin.com