Democratic incumbent Jacob Rosecrants and Republican Kendra Wesson will compete to be representative for District 46 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives during the Nov. 8 election.
KENDRA WESSON (R)
Wesson has lived in Oklahoma for most of her life and graduated from Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in accounting, then a bachelor’s degree in business in 2014.
Wesson has worked in accounting and bookkeeping since she was 17 years old, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations Oklahoma. Over the years, she’s worked in nonprofit accounting, governmental accounting, worked for the Chickasaw Nation and spent most of her career in oil and gas accounting before opening her own accounting firm in Norman, according to a video on her campaign website.
If elected, Wesson hopes to use her accounting background to increase transparency in government spending and find ways to save and spend funds better at the Oklahoma State Capitol.
Wesson said Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has looked at where money was being spent and pulled back on the budgets of certain departments, creating a surplus of about $3 billion in state savings. Wesson said she would like to find ways to use that money to help Oklahomans.
“What I'm hearing on the doorsteps in this district is people are really hurting, and they're unable to pay bills. They're deciding between medicine and food,” Wesson said. “We need to offer some kind of relief there.”
Wesson said inflation is the biggest issue facing Oklahomans. Prices of necessities, such as gas, have gone up substantially, and people are struggling to pay their bills, Wesson said.
“We need to be helping people stay on their feet,” Wesson said.
People are not being paid livable wages, and the cost of living is increasing, Wesson said.
Wesson said the government also needs to do a better job of allocating funds to schools, and that she wants to ensure every child gets a quality education.
Wesson said she's not looking to take immediate action to improve education without making sure she has a full understanding of what's happening in Oklahoma public schools.
“A lot of (educational issues) can't be legislated,” Wesson said. “So anything that comes across to me or any ideas, my question would be: ‘How does it impact an individual child, their future and the quality of their education?’”
Wesson's other campaign priorities include encouraging pro-business policies to grow the economy, funding public safety, supporting the Oklahoma National Guard and veterans, protecting Oklahomans' constitutional rights and promoting Christian values, according to her website.
Wesson said her main priority, however, is to listen to the people in District 46 and see what's important to them and what they need help with.
“I chose to run for representative for House District 46 to give people a voice and be sure that the needs of the district were heard,” Wesson said. “I'm an advocate and I'm really excited to serve.”
JACOB ROSECRANTS (D)
Rosecrants, who won the District 46 House of Representatives election in 2017, has lived in Norman for over 30 years and graduated from OU in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in history.
Before becoming a representative, Rosecrants taught seventh grade geography at Roosevelt Middle School in Southwest Oklahoma City, according to the Oklahoma state Legislature’s website.
Rosecrants said being a teacher is what pushed him to get into politics, as he saw many issues that teachers didn't have the funding to address, such as ensuring adequate mental health support for students.
Rosecrants said he believes schools also push overly strict academic standards onto students and that kids are over-tested.
In his previous terms, Rosecrants said one of his biggest accomplishments was implementing the Play to Learn Act, which codifies the use of play-based curriculum in classrooms for pre-K to third grade teachers.
Rosecrants said he is also proud of the Homicide Prevention Act, which increases the penalty for stalking from a misdemeanor to a felony while also providing a warning to those who are accused of stalking.
If reelected, Rosecrants hopes to continue his efforts to improve education, including pushing for the Active Oklahoma Kids Act, which would change recess requirements for students up to eighth grade.
"We don't let our kids be kids," Rosecrants said.
Rosecrants said when he was a teacher, he gave extra recess time to his classes, which he believes resulted in fewer behavioral issues and improved mental health among students.
Rosecrants said another part of his mission to improve education includes clarifying House Bill 1775, which prohibits curriculum and materials that are believed to discriminate on the basis of race or sex, so that teachers know exactly what they can't do, instead of having to navigate the broad terms listed under the bill.
"Probably one of the most reprehensible bills that's ever been written at the Capitol, and there's been a whole bunch, is HB 1775," Rosecrants said. "It's just insidious, the way that it's written."
Rosecrants said he wants to communicate directly with teachers to hear what they need, then work toward getting it for them.
"(Teachers are) the people that are on the front lines,” Rosecrants said. “They're the ones that are teaching the future of our state, and they're the ones that need the support to be able to stay in the classroom because, otherwise, they're leaving and going to other professions where they can be treated as true professionals, which they definitely are."
Apart from education reform, Rosecrants wants to create legislation to increase funding for mental health services, both in schools and elsewhere, as well as create a bill to prevent veteran suicides.
"I can't think of any higher calling than putting your life on the line for our country, and then when they come back from that with PTSD or whatever else, we pay lip service once again. We really don't do enough to help our veterans," Rosecrants said.
Ultimately, Rosecrants said he is running for House representative again because he wants to help the people in the state of Oklahoma.
"I'm not a politician. I never meant to be a politician. I never set out to be a politician," Rosecrants said. "I'm a representative, that's exactly what I decided to do. I decided to represent folks."
The general election is on Tuesday, Nov. 8. To check your voter registration, visit the OK Voter Portal.
