After years of volunteering in our community, I ran for City Commission because I believed that too many local voices were missing from the decisions being made at City Hall. As Ward 3 Commissioner, I made constituent engagement a priority, holding monthly coffee chats, convening public meetings, participating in community forums, and knocking on doors to hear directly from residents. I didn’t just listen; I brought those concerns into policy discussions and votes that affect our neighborhoods.

From sidewalks to streetlamps to ordinances, I’ve listened to you.

I’m running for House District 26 for the same reason. At the Capitol, too many decisions are made without meaningful input from the people they impact most. District 26 deserves a representative who listens to constituents, asks tough questions, and turns community priorities into responsible legislation that reflects our shared values.

SoonerCare is the backbone of healthcare access for nearly a million Oklahomans, serving children, working families, seniors, and people with disabilities. Protecting this program means ensuring eligible families can stay covered without being buried in unnecessary paperwork or administrative barriers.

Recent policy changes have increased eligibility checks, shortened deadlines, and added reporting requirements that make it harder for eligible Oklahomans to maintain coverage. These hurdles don’t reflect whether someone still qualifies—they reflect how easy it is to miss a notice, lose mail, or struggle with unreliable internet access.

Working parents, caregivers, low-wage workers, and people with disabilities are especially vulnerable to these disruptions. When coverage is lost, even briefly, families delay care, skip medications, and face avoidable medical emergencies. Children are far more likely to become uninsured when their parents lose coverage, compounding the harm.

Stable, continuous healthcare coverage leads to better health outcomes, lower medical debt, and a stronger workforce. It also helps keep hospitals and clinics, especially in Shawnee, financially stable and able to serve everyone who needs care.

Oklahoma should prioritize a healthcare system that values access, prevention, and stability over bureaucracy. Protecting SoonerCare means reducing red tape, keeping eligible families covered, and ensuring healthcare decisions work for people, not against them.

Rural Oklahoma is facing a childcare crisis that makes it harder for families to work and communities to grow. In Shawnee and surrounding communities, there aren’t enough affordable childcare options, forcing parents, especially working mothers, to leave the workforce or rely on unstable care.

Oklahoma should treat childcare as essential infrastructure by investing in rural providers, strengthening and fairly paying the childcare workforce, and supporting licensed home-based and cooperative care models that work everywhere.

Expanding childcare assistance with sliding-scale costs would help families stay employed. Partnerships with schools, hospitals, tribal nations, and community organizations can increase access for families with nontraditional work hours. Smart, flexible licensing and sustained public investment will keep providers open, strengthen rural economies, and ensure families can build their lives in the communities they call home.