Rep. Jacob Rosecrants and Alexander Torvi are candidates for District 46 of the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The election will take place on Tuesday and will determine the state House representative for the next two years.
Rep. Jacob Rosecrants, Democrat
Jacob Rosecrants has served as the state representative for House District 46 since 2017, having been reelected twice. Rosecrants has lived in Norman for 30 years and is an OU alum, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in history in 2008.
From 2012 to 2017, Rosecrants was a social studies teacher for Oklahoma City Public Schools. In an interview with OU Daily, Rosecrants said his career as a teacher motivated him to run for office and continues to inform his work. He also said Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters was a primary reason for running for reelection.
“We still haven’t fixed our system. If anything, the majority of Republicans here elected a clear and present danger to our public schools, who is Ryan Walters,” Rosecrants said. “That's enough reason for me to keep going.”
Education
Rosecrants cited state-mandated testing; private school vouchers; increased connections between public education and religion; and Walters as his primary concerns.
Teacher pay
Rosecrants said he supports teacher pay raises, adding Republicans have not gone far enough in addressing teachers’ salaries. According to Rosecrants, pay raises would help retain teachers without a reliance on emergency certifications.
According to The Oklahoman, Oklahoma issued 4,676 emergency teaching certifications from June through December 2023 — an all-time high. The certificates allow someone with at least a bachelor’s to teach in public schools without formal teacher training in the subject or grade level.
“We've done (teacher pay raises), it was never enough,” Rosecrants said. “We need to have a five-year plan. We need to make sure that we're accounting for inflation, things like that, and not just saying we did something and the problem is finished.”
Rosecrants said he did not vote on House Bill 2775, which included teacher pay raises, because Democrats were not consulted on it.
“I will not vote for a Republican budget in a Republican state if they don't ask us Democrats what we want to add to the budget, and they don’t,” Rosecrants said. “When they do, I'll sign on.”
In March 2023, the Oklahoma Senate approved HB 2775 as a part of a $630 million education plan. HB 2775 proposed allocating $500 million for teacher pay raises, while HB 1935 proposed creating the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit, which gives families up to $7,500 in refundable tax credits for private school expenses.
“What people need to understand, just because I voted ‘no’ on the overall budget doesn't mean that I didn't support the things (in) the bills that created that budget, which I have,” Rosecrants said.
Private schools
Rosecrants said while he likes some aspects of private schools, he does not want to sacrifice public funding to them with vouchers. He added true universal school choice would not include tuition charges, citing St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, which he called “exclusionary.”
“I don't want to starve our public schools with private school voucher handouts at all,” Rosecrants said. “It's just a bunch of people wanting to make a bunch of money and that's just sick to me.”
Rosecrants said Walters is responsible for St. Isidore, which almost became the nation's first publicly-funded religious charter school before being struck down by the Oklahoma Supreme Court. Rosecrants cited St. Isidore as evidence of increased institutionalization of religion in Oklahoma schools — something he said Republicans and Democrats both dislike.
In June, Walters issued a directive requiring all Oklahoma public schools to incorporate the Ten Commandments and the Bible in curriculum. In October, Walters reportedly planned to purchase 55,000 Donald Trump-endorsed Bibles with $3 million in public funding. On Oct. 17, 32 Oklahomans, including religious leaders, filed a lawsuit against Walters' directive.
“We have $3 million to go spend on Trump Bibles? Think about that. This is the United States of America, this is the freedom of religion, freedom from religion world that we're in,” Rosecrants said. “I'm talking to folks on their doorsteps, (and) if there's any commonality between Democrats and Republicans right now, it's dislike for the superintendent because of that reason right there. As an elected official of the state Department of Education, he’s tearing it down.”
In August 2023, Rosecrants was a part of a coalition calling for an investigation into Walters. At the time, Rosecrants said he was not calling for an impeachment, but a way of determining whether impeachment was possible.
School resource officers
Rosecrants said he supports school resource officers, school-based law enforcement officers, adding they should be required to attend mental health training. He said SROs would be a better idea than arming teachers and turning schools into “fortresses.”
“What it comes down to for me is security for our kids for them to be safe,” Rosecrants said. “You do not want to arm teachers, … (it’s a) horrible idea. A trained police officer is much better than that idea.”
In August, the Norman Public Schools Board of Education approved a five-year agreement for four additional SROs in elementary schools. On Oct. 7, the board approved the contracts for the SROs. According to the agreement, the SRO program would be effective July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2029.
Tax cuts
Rosecrants said he supports tax cuts for middle class families, including the state grocery tax cut. He added other tax cuts, including a personal income tax cut, would defund essential services.
“I love that we cut the state portion of the grocery tax. I do, because I'm for cutting taxes for the middle class, for families, not for large corporations,” Rosecrants said. “When it comes to another tax cut, like a personal income tax cut, that won't fly. If you're going to say, ‘Hey, let's get more money in your pocket,’ it's not even going to be all that much overall, either, but it will hurt services here in Oklahoma that are there for the people.”
Entertainment district
Around 1 a.m. on Sept. 18, the Norman City Council approved an entertainment district including an arena, of which OU men’s basketball and women’s gymnastics will be anchor tenants, by a 5-4 vote. The entertainment district would be built in the University North Park area, which is in House District 46.
Following the vote, residents filed a petition and submitted over 11,000 signatures to create a referendum that would send the fate of the district to a citywide vote. Petitioners cited concerns with the tax increment financing model, which would allocate 100% of sales tax in the area to project costs over 25 years.
Rosecrants said he supported the referendum, adding he was uncertain about noise pollution and traffic in the area.
“I do not think, and I'm not quite sure why we're pushing for it, that an arena should be the centerpiece of the entertainment district,” Rosecrants said. “I want what's best for Norman, if that is to pass by a vote of the people, then (I’m) all for it.”
Governance
As a former teacher, Rosecrants said he did not define students or parents monolithically. Now, he said he does not define constituents according to party identification. He added that being in the super-minority party allows him to vote independently of the party, which he said a Republican wouldn’t do.
“I get to be a true representative; I don't have to listen to any party,” Rosecrants said. “I’m afraid that if we elect like the Republicans to represent a Republican district, well, forget your votes. The Republican Party is in complete control, and so when leadership tells you to do something, you do it or you risk getting primaried or ousted.”
Rosecrants said he represents balance in a state of “one-party rule” through Republican control of the Senate, House and gubernatorial office. According to Rosecrants, Oklahoma Republicans are being split between far-right Trump-supporting Republicans and traditional conservative factions.
“There's where the big battle is going to be right now, not between Republicans and Democrats. It's between Republicans who are common sense, who work with everybody for the better of Oklahoma, and then these people that basically just want to tear it all down,” Rosecrants said. “One party rule leads to corruption.”
Alexander Torvi, Republican
Alexander Torvi has been the owner and operator of Torvi Construction, a construction company in Norman, for 16 years. According to his website, Torvi has been involved in the construction industry for four decades and has lived in Cleveland County since he was 10. He attended Oklahoma Christian School and graduated from Putnam City High School.
Torvi previously ran for Norman City Council’s Ward 6 seat in 2022. Torvi said he ran for state representative to represent the business community.
“Being part of the business community here for as long as we've been, and actually living in Cleveland County for, gosh, a majority of my life, representation is important,” Torvi said. “I would really like to see the state have policies to make sure that we're keeping our economy and our businesses strong here, not just in our district, but the state as well.”
Education
Torvi said education is among his highest priorities, as his mother and wife worked in public education.
Teacher pay
Torvi said he supports competitive teacher pay, which he believes will help retain teachers and attract college graduates. He added he wants to eliminate “waste” from public spending.
“We need to do a better job of how and where we're spending money,” Torvi said. “Those are resources that we can put back … into the classroom.”
Torvi said he also wants to increase funding for classroom resources.
“I'd love to see where we add more funding for resources in the classroom so our teachers don't have to pay out of pocket,” Torvi said. “A teacher should never have to pay for any resource for her classroom.”
Student resource officers
Torvi said SROs are vital for school safety and childrens’ understanding of law enforcement.
“There's great love and respect for what the SROs do. That just helps make the connection better with our kids and our law enforcement community, because they're vital,” Torvi said. “Parents want to know that their children or their spouse being on staff in schools … are safe and they're protected. It's very important that we have (SROs), and we have that resource available to us.”
Tax policy
Torvi said he supports a state income tax cut, but added he wants to work with legislators to find solutions to maintain funding for essential services, including expanding Oklahoma’s job market by decreasing regulations on businesses.
“Sometimes (Republicans) like to throw that out there as a great campaign talking speech,” Torvi said. “But when you talk about that, you have to talk about where are you going to expand to make up the difference for the revenue because there are Oklahomans that do depend on services that the state provides.”
Torvi said lessening regulations on businesses allows them to hire more employees, creating more taxpayers and residents to stimulate Norman’s economy.
“Pull back some of the onerous restrictions and harnesses that are put on our businesses here in the state because tell you what, being a business owner, the more people you can hire, you create more taxpayers,” Torvi said.
Torvi said mental health services are vital.
“Mental health disease: it is a real thing. I think every family in our state has a family member or loved one that does suffer from mental illness,” Torvi said. “We have to make sure we have resources for them.”
Entertainment district
Torvi said he has been busy campaigning and knows about only some aspects of the Rock Creek Entertainment District. He added he supports voting on the project.
“I'm always for the opportunity for people to have jobs (and) expand the economy, but also I feel there needs to be transparency and people do need to be up front,” Torvi said. “I'm always for people voting. That is a fundamental right, not just for our state, but for an American.”
Jan. 6
According to Rosecrants, Torvi went to Washington, D.C., during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. However, Torvi said he attended only former President Trump’s speech at the White House.
“I voted for the former president, and I had never gotten to see a president in person,” Torvi said. “I figured this was going to be the last speech he ever makes as president. So I'm like, ‘Heck yeah, I'm gonna go.’ I drove up with a group of people … they just wanted to be a part of history.”
Governance
Torvi said his experience as a business owner would allow him to find common ground with legislators regardless of party affiliation.
“I will work with anybody that is willing to sit down and talk to find solutions. Being in business for 17 years, that's one of the first things that I learned, was if a problem comes up, something's not right, you have to sit down and find solutions to fix it, and not point fingers,” Torvi said. “Once you fix it, then you can go back through and take measures to make sure it never happens again.”
Torvi said being a business owner required him to connect with employees who require paychecks to help their families, adding this would inform how he approaches his constituency.
“I believe it puts it in a perspective to where these are really important decisions you have to make, and that means you have to put time and effort when you do vote for these things that are coming up,” Torvi said. “What decision you make on a whim, it's going to have a domino effect on other things.”
The general election is Tuesday. The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Early voting will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday.
This story was edited by Ismael Lele, Ana Barboza and Anusha Fathepure. Gretchen Schultz, Matthew Moore, Grace Rhodes and Mary Ann Livingood copy edited this story.
