Michael Lutter was ready to announce his bid for SGA president.
Then a junior at the University of Oklahoma in 2016, Lutter had begun reaching out to gauge people’s interest in joining his ticket and running as his vice president. Lutter was preparing to make his choice and begin laying the groundwork for his campaign, but he had one more meeting before kicking everything into gear.
That meeting was with then-junior Daniel Pae — and it fundamentally changed Lutter’s outlook on the election and the history of student government at OU.
Pae told Lutter he also planned on running for SGA president, but there was a catch: If Pae didn’t win, he wanted Lutter to have his personal list of his goals for the university and his plans to achieve each goal so that Lutter could accomplish them.
“If we were going to be running against each other, (Pae) basically put all his cards on the table and gave me all of his plans,” Lutter said. “People, if it’s all about them, they don’t do that, but what he was all about was the university. That was kind of the point for me where I was just like, ‘Man, this guy is authentic. He actually cares more about this university than anybody I’ve ever met, and he actually has a plan for making these changes.’”
Lutter called Pae that night and let him know he no longer was running for SGA president. Instead, Lutter asked to run as Pae’s vice president.
Pae, with Lutter’s help, went on to win the SGA election and led one of the most effective SGA administrations in recent history. Just three years later, Pae now serves as one of the youngest representatives in the Oklahoma Legislature.
Despite Pae’s meteoric rise, the Lawton native and son of South Korean immigrants is still defined by his humble roots, tenacious work ethic and a desire to serve others.
And he isn’t done rising.
A Sooner start
Pae’s parents immigrated to the United States from South Korea in 1983 and opened a laundromat in Lawton, Oklahoma. Despite coming to the U.S. with little money and few connections, Pae said his parents followed their ambitions and set a standard of selflessness and determination that he still carries with him.
“I really saw the fact that the American Dream is still evident and possible today,” Pae said. “I think growing up in that environment with them as mentors really taught me to be humble and not to take myself too seriously. And to just remember that you’re only on this earth for so many years, so you’ve got to make sure that you use your time wisely and that you think about living a life bigger than yourself.”
Pae started at OU as a pre-med student seeking to eventually become a doctor. But after taking courses on American government and economics his freshman year, his aspirations began to change.
“(Government and economics) really fascinated me,” Pae said. “Especially the idea that you could rise up, run for elected office and try to do good work. That’s what led me to get involved with student government sophomore year.”
Pae served as a legislator in OU’s Undergraduate Student Congress before launching his successful campaign for SGA president, a position that few initially believed he could win.
“Back during that campaign, there were a lot of folks who discouraged me from running in the first place,” Pae said. “I wasn’t in a fraternity, I wasn’t in any big organization like (President’s Leadership Class) or (President’s Community Scholars) or Crimson Club. But because of my involvement in the SGA Congress, I felt that I could bring a lot of knowledgeable experience to the table and ... I could use the position for helping our campus really move forward.”
Once in office in 2016, Pae and his administration immediately got to work. During his year as president, Pae’s administration launched OU’s Student Legal Services program, brought the Crimson Cruiser bikeshare program to OU, established the OU Food Pantry and completed dead week reform.
To Tim Crisp — who served as Pae’s chief of staff in SGA and campaign manager for both the SGA election and Pae’s run for the House — Pae and his administration’s ability to accomplish so much was tied to Pae’s ability to bring groups of people together for a common goal.
“His big word was ‘synergy’ throughout the entire process,” Crisp said. “He wanted to create synergy between the branches of SGA and the people on campus and the students that we served to create an ability to openly and actively share our processes to move our campus forward, and we accomplished that. It was really one of the first SGAs to accomplish harder, large-ticket items in a very long time.”
The impact of Pae’s SGA administration is still felt today, current SGA President Adran Gibbs said — not just in its tangible achievements, but also in the way it raised the bar for future campus leaders.
“Daniel set the new standard for SGA for what it should be,” Gibbs said. “He was the epitome of listening to students and following through.”
Heading to the House
Pae graduated from OU in May 2017 with bachelor’s degrees in political science and economics and a master’s degree in public administration. After leaving OU, he worked in Lawton’s city manager’s office as an administrative assistant.
“I thought long and hard about what I wanted to do after college after I graduated, and it all led back to coming back to Lawton,” Pae said.
After working in the city manager’s office for a year, Pae decided to run for the House District 62 seat in the 2018 election. He ran to replace fellow OU alumnus and mentor Sen. John Montgomery, who was running for a seat in the Oklahoma Senate.
Pae, a Republican, said he knocked on close to 12,000 doors over the course of the campaign and interacted with countless Lawton residents. The campaign culminated in Pae’s 42-vote victory over Democrat Larry Bush. Pae was 23 at the time.
To Crisp, who managed Pae’s campaign, the victory was a result of Pae’s authenticity and desire to serve his constituents.
“(Pae’s mantra was) we’re not just going to knock on these doors, we’re not just going to talk to these people, we’re going to talk to everybody,” Crisp said. “(Pae wanted to) make sure that everybody knows that it isn’t a line, it isn’t a party, it isn’t an organization. It’s a 'Do you believe in me?' and 'Can I be that person that shows you how much I really care to do the things that you are searching for in your leader?'”
Rookie of the year
After nine months in the Oklahoma House, Pae said the key to his transition has been his experience under Montgomery. Pae worked for Montgomery when both were in OU SGA and interned for him during the now-senator's time in the House.
“I think that's what really helped me this session, was knowing the process ahead of time, all the tactics and terminology of the state government,” Pae said. “It really allowed me the opportunity to just focus on legislating versus catching up.”
Montgomery said Pae has acclimated quickly to the rigors of the role and the challenges that come with working in the Legislature.
“I think he’s performed really well overall,” Montgomery said. “He stays at it. He’s constantly busy. It’s a bit of a motivation even for me a little bit, to watch him interact with people and communities.”
Pae has a constituency of about 36,000 — almost 10,000 more people than he served during his time as SGA president. Pae said his experience leading OU prepared him to handle the challenges and pressures that come with being a representative.
“(OU) really laid a solid foundation for leadership,” Pae said. “The basics are the same. You just work hard, do your best and help other people.”
While serving in the House, Pae has found early success. He was recognized as the Oklahoma Public Employees Association's 2019 Freshman Legislator of the Year and received the 2019 Rising Star Award from the International Leadership Foundation.
Tantamount to Pae’s success has been his willingness to work across the aisle, Lutter said.
“It’s really inspiring because a lot of times people can feel like (politics are) fake or it’s not engaging or it’s polarizing,” Lutter said. “I think the reason Daniel’s been so successful is because he is so authentic, and he works so hard at coming up with real proposals and actionable change, and he’s very good at compromising.”
Pae serves as the vice chair on the Government Efficiency Committee, and he also serves on the Veterans and Military Affairs Committee, the County and Municipal Government Committee, and the Appropriations and Budget Human Services subcommittee.
Pae said he aims to continue bringing people together for the good of Oklahoma during his time in office.
“Even though I’ve been in the political system now for a few months officially at a statewide level, I’m still optimistic about politics and hopeful that we can really emphasize what unites us versus what divides us,” Pae said.
The next step
For Pae, now 24, his career is just beginning. As someone who was a college freshman just six years ago, he’s surprised even himself with how quickly he’s found success.
“I don’t think my freshman self would believe everything that’s happened these past few years, but I think that’s the fun of college,” Pae said. “You go in there with one mindset and with a set of expectations, and then you graduate being a totally different person with a different plan. That’s one of the most important lessons that I tell people, is that it’s about ultimately the journey and not the destination.”
Despite the growing list of accomplishments and titles that mark his journey, Pae’s peers said it’s his character that continues to set him apart.
“He is just about as genuine as they come,” said Kasra “George” Ahmadi, OU’s SGA adviser and assistant director for student programs. “He has always been himself. He’s never been anything different than what he presents himself as, and I just love the fact that with all the success that he’s seeing, that he just does not change.”
Pae’s immediate future includes a campaign for re-election in 2020, but after that, things are unclear. Pae said he’d like to serve in the House until he reaches the 12-year term limit and then teach government at a high school or university, but he’s also aware his journey could have a few more twists.
“You just never know what’s going to happen,” Pae said. “I thought I was going to be a doctor when I was a freshman, so we’ll see. I’ll keep an open mind.”
As for those who know him best? Crisp said Pae would follow the people. Lutter said he could see Pae as a senator. Ahmadi said he saw the governorship in Pae’s future. But each one agreed on one thing: Pae will be successful no matter what he decides to do next.
“It’s hard to say what’s out there,” Montgomery said. “I just know that whatever he’s going to do, he’s going to excel at it.”
