August 23, 2026 Friends,   Starting out with the most important thing: Tuesday is Election Day!  Polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and everybody needs to VOTE!!   If you are a registered Republican, you have four statewide runoff races to vote in: Governor, State Superintendent, Insurance Commissioner, and Labor Commissioner.  Registered Democrats have a runoff for the U.S. Senate.  HD70 voters have a nonpartisan City Council race in which

July 27, 2026   Friends,   We are definitely in the heat of summer!  I’m just checking in to see that no one has melted yet. I took a break and went and saw my dad for a few days.  It wasn’t as hot as it is here but they have not had any rain in 100 plus days – so pick your poison.  Here’s a pic of me, my dad, my sister

June 21, 2026 Friends, Happy Father’s Day everyone — somewhere, somehow, someway there’s a dad in all of our lives.  Special shout out to two of my faves and most loyal readers, my dad Don and my husband Tony!   I hope everyone’s summer is off to a great start.  I am definitely enjoying the slower pace and being around Tulsa.  Politics is never far away though, my oldest son is home for

May 18, 2026   Friends, We’ve SINE DIE(D)!  The 60th Legislature of Oklahoma has come (crashing?) to an end.  I’m going to be honest, it became so frustrating in the last few days of session, that when I realized there was almost no business for the House left to take up, I set out for Tulsa, then jumped in our mini-van loaded with all things needed for a first apartment and drove

April 27, 2026   Friends, Spring is here, and Tulsa is looking as green and beautiful as always!  I am always so glad to be back home from the Capitol.  Spring also brings harsh weather and this week I’m also thinking about our neighbors in Enid, who caught the worst of the season on Thursday night.  The F4 tornado caused widespread destruction.  It’s truly a miracle that there were no serious injuries or fatalities.  If you’re looking

March 31, 2026 Friends, Another week of the session has concluded and I’m racing to keep up – hence the Tuesday newsletter!  We just finished a major deadline in the legislative session: all bills needed to be passed out of their chamber of origin (House bills out of the House, Senate bills out of the Senate).  We had some long nights at the State Capitol to get this done, but we did

March 1, 2026   Friends, We are one month into the legislative session, and we’re on a freight train to…  I’m not sure where.  Budget cuts?  Education investment?  Ban on data centers?  Insurance reform?  Re-legalizing cockfighting?  Licensing exotic dancers?  Not sure where we’ll end up, but bills are flying through the process.  The Judiciary and Public Safety Oversight committee I sit on had 51 bills in committee on Thursday! Lawmaking isn’t the only thing we do during session.  Being in

February 1, 2026   Friends,   I hope you and your loved ones fared okay during our storm – as I write this, temperatures are still very low!  During the worst of the storm and cold, I volunteered at the City’s new winter shelter for homeless individuals.  It was a challenging environment and I commend all those who helped bring individuals into the shelter and managed nearly 250 people who are in

Friends,   Happy Thanksgiving week! I hope the holiday brings time for gratitude, rest, and not too many dishes to wash!   The Most “Busiest” Time of the Year It’s been a fast fall – the holidays are here but so are deadlines to file our 2026 bills! It’s a busy time!   Along with some of my colleagues, I recently participated in a community conversation at the Capitol where

January 4, 2026 Friends, Happy New Year to all!  After the slowdown during the holidays, I feel rested and ready and hope you all do too. Bill Work On the less fun side of the season, legislators have lots of bill deadlines during the month of December, forcing us to narrow our focus and begin to formulate legislative bill language.  I have not landed on my final bill list yet – but

September 18, 2025 Friends, Happy 918 Day, House District 70!  I love this tradition of celebrating our city.  When you take a minute to pause and think about all the wonderful things Tulsa has to offer, you can come up with a pretty long list – a favorite of mine is Brownies Hamburgers!  Often though, I spend a lot of time wishing this or that would be better about the city (the roads!)

August 10, 2025   Friends,   The temps might not seem like it but summer is on its way out.  I know this for sure as I help my kids get ready for back to school including delivering one to college this week!  The seasons continue to push us to the next phase in life, ready or not.  In the case of my college kid – he’s ready, I’m not!     The

June 2, 2025 Friends, As I sat down to write this end of the session Stay in the Loop, I was interrupted by a scary and dangerous set of events in my immediate neighborhood – no doubt many of you have already seen this news and maybe even saw or heard some of the events yourself.  I won’t go into all of the details here but for me, it was a good reminder of

July 1, 2025 Friends,   It’s been an exciting few weeks to be an Oklahoman as the Thunder are now National Champions!  I will never let go of the fact that they should have been named simply the Oklahoma Thunder but like the whole state, I celebrate the big win for so much more than a title.  I love seeing ourselves as champions and the rest of the world seeing the unity, grit, determination, and drive of Oklahomans.   Thanks to all that joined Senator Dossett and me at

March 30, 2025 Friends, I’m back with another Stay in The Loop – which I hope, actually does help you keep you in the loop on state legislative matters at your house – the People’s House!  For me, I find it hard to keep up with what’s going on OUTSIDE the Capitol because it’s a true vortex over there.  When I came home this weekend and saw all the trees and flowers starting to bloom, I was reminded there is more

March 2, 2025 Friends, I hope you all fared well through the brutal cold and the following absolutely beautiful end of February.  Things are pretty similar at the Capitol, some really bleak, dark days and some wonderful where you can see the light!  And like the weather, it’s very unpredictable! Sunny Days I always love to see Tulsans at the Capitol.  Last week, Tulsa Area United Way friends were in town reminding legislators

February 5, 2025 Friends, Monday we returned to the Capitol to kick off our 4 month legislative session. A total of 1,928 House Bills and 1,125 Senate Bills were filed for this session – so we have our work cut out for us but I am very ready!  In these times when things are so unpredictable and rapidly changing, it feels good to focus on things we have at least some

Friends, Stay in the Loop returns for 2025 and the Sixtieth Legislature of the State of Oklahoma!  I am so honored to be returning to the legislature to serve you.  I hope everyone had some time to celebrate the season and is ready for the New Year.  Time most definitely marches on! Back to the Capitol  On Tuesday, we will head back to the House of Representatives Chamber to formally elect leadership and adopt the rules