February 5, 2018
Just in time to celebrate the Valentine’s holiday, elections will be held on February 13th to select the next Oklahoma City Mayor and District 5 Oklahoma City Public School Board member.
The OKCMAR Government Affairs committee took the time to meet the key candidates and agreed to support David Holt for Mayor and Ruth Veales for School Board.
David Holt has been a supporter of REALTOR® issues, having received previous support from RPAC. Ruth Veales was selected because of her experience and desire to improve the quality of education in the Oklahoma City school district. Both candidates are recommended for serious consideration for OKCMAR members who live in Oklahoma City and OKCPS District 5 (Northeast OKC).
David Holt
State Senator David Holt is a 37-year-old attorney who served as Mayor Mick Cornett’s chief of staff from 2006 to the end of 2010, when he joined the Legislature. He earned his law degree from the Oklahoma City University School of Law, attending night classes while working at City Hall. He also authored the book on the Oklahoma City renaissance and the successful effort to land an NBA franchise. Holt told the OKCMAR G/A Committee his theme for the campaign was “One OKC. ” He would like to energize a diverse coalition of voters – not just to keep this renaissance going, but to take it into the next chapter.
“I’m part of the generation that has chosen to build our lives here because of the visionary leadership of those who came before,” said Holt.
“I believe Oklahoma City’s best days still lie ahead, but only if we rededicate ourselves to seeking the next big dream while still maintaining a steady focus on the fundamentals.”
He also talked about the need to lead in the effort to improve our schools, “While the city is not responsible for running the schools, I believe as Mayor I can help bring our city together to do what is needed to academically improve our schools”
Ruth Veales
Ruth was elected to the Oklahoma City School Board 8 years ago. During that time, she has been a tireless fighter to improve the academic performance of all the students in the district.
Highlights include:
- Creation of a District 5 Community Advisory Board to provide feedback and develop proposals to improve the education of our children
-This resulted in a report that detailed comprehensive reform proposals to improve the delivery of education to our children in the district
- Pushed and passed the continuous school calendar to provide our children with desperately needed remediation (the program we proposed was not fully implemented because of the budget)
- Led passage of the first equity policy in the district to ensure that all students were getting the education needed.
Ruth told the government affairs committee, “While these are important steps, they have not gotten the job done. I am asking for another term to build on the foundation that we have started.”
She was elected to the Oklahoma City Public Schools (OKCPS) Board of Education in 2010 and 2014. She is Chairperson of the Student Experience and Equity Committee and is in her second term actively serving on the National School Board Association’s Council on Urban Boards of Education (CUBE) leadership team.
Ruth is retired, having worked for the Urban League and the City of Spencer. She is the proud mother of three grown children and grandmother of 17 grandchildren.